the church

Insights on church life

by Pastor Pete Beck III

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meeting-anity 

 

It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God — a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. Ephesians 4:11-13 (NET1)

 

Recently a pastor friend pointed out to me that the Charismatic Renewal chiefly centered around what happened in corporate gatherings. The gifts of the Spirit were mostly understood to operate in meetings. In fact, the highlight of our Christian experience was often what happened when we gathered together. The way we evaluated our meeting-anity was based on

 

what kind of corporate worship experience we had,

how "good" was the preaching,

did the gifts "flow" and

did we sense the "anointing"?

 

This way of evaluating church life has continued into the present. Whichever church has the most of the above wins. This is all very interesting in light of what the Bible teaches about God's purposes. When we gather together it is supposed to be for mutual edification and equipping so that the church can then GO and do the work of the ministry. The Great Commission requires that we go outside the walls of the church to connect with the unchurched and unsaved where they live. The highlight of our Christian experience, therefore, should be in the going, not in the gathering together.

 

Therefore, I suggest that we make a new list for evaluating our meetings.

 

Are we being encouraged in our walk with God?

Are we being equipped to do ministry?

Are we being exhorted to GO and obey the Great Commission?

Are we being challenged to live for God's glory?

 

May God help us to be radically obedient in the coming days! The church must equip, equip, equip... and go and make disciples. If we do this, everything else will take care of itself.

 

 

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