BiVO: A Modern-Day Guide for Bi-Vocational Saints by Halter Hugh

Author:Halter, Hugh [Halter, Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Missio Publishing
Published: 2014-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

Cheap Gatherings

J esus died for His Church. It cost Him everything and he purchased it by His own blood. And since he paid so much for it, it should also be darn expensive for us!

Because the weekend church gathering is such a huge part of the traditional Christian experience, I wanted to give an entire chapter to it. Just like I am in favor of, but also leary about, people making a living from the gospel, I am likewise in favor of and scared to death of the benefits and pitfalls of the weekly church service.

I wrote an entire book on how the gathered and scattered church can work together, so if you want a more thorough explanation of how God has designed the church to operate, look for AND: the gathered and scattered church . The short version is this: God’s people need to be together, and whether it is in a living room or filling a coliseum, there’s nothing inherently wrong with scores of saints worshipping God, enjoying each other, and taking an hour break from their normal missionary life. But, if the average Christian is not living a missionary life, the church gathering can be like an anchor that drags a battleship to a halt, causing would-be revolutionaries to recline, pop the top of a cold one, tip the bill of their hat over their eyes, and sleepily drift with the rest of the culture.

So the issue is not whether we have a worship gathering, but why we have one, how we structure it to keep God’s people on mission, and how to keep it from costing so much time, money, and energy. The key to this balance is found in the concept of true worship.

Consider this email exchange I had with a worship leader we’ll call Wendy.

Hi Hugh, I just read your book Sacrilege, and I loved it! You mentioned that you don’t like to sing in church, and as a worship leader, I found your reasoning to be quite intriguing. As I’ve read many recent missional books, I’m really struggling with the role of music, worship in general, and how this fits into my calling to lead people toward God. I’m at a bit of a loss, can you help? —Wendy

My response:

Wendy, Yes, in Sacrilege I did mention that I have never really enjoyed singing in church. Other than singing an occasional Black Keys song while riding my Harley, I’m really not into singing at all, anywhere. But as I’ve processed my aversion, I’ve come to realize that it’s not about the singing. It’s about the worship. Real worship.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.