CHURCH MEETINGS

CHURCH MEETINGS

During my 45 years of being a follower of Jesus, I have faithfully attended churches of various denominations in various locations. Certainly the number of meetings I attended would be in the hundreds, and perhaps in the thousands, and I have noticed that most all "church meetings" can be classified as being one of two types. The first type could be called "Pulpit-to-Pew" meetings, of which there are many, and the second type we will call "Round Table" meetings. I'm sure you have all attended both of these, although perhaps not referred to by these terms. The normal meeting in churches located in our Western culture would certainly fall into the first class mentioned. Our church buildings are constructed in such a way as to facilitate "one way" communication from pulpit to pew. The other type of meeting often consists of a circle of chairs, or benches, located in a home or some other suitable room. The main difference in this setting over the first is that everyone can see each other, and communicate face to face.

This second type of meeting mentioned can go under several different names, such as small groups, cell groups, home groups, house church etc. The name is not as important as the function they serve, that of allowing people the freedom of asking questions and receiving answers from others in the room. We know that the best way to receive understanding on any topic is to be able to ask questions, and receive answers about things you don't understand! This freedom to communicate with each other when a new topic is being presented, can make all the difference between being edified by the teaching or not. Of course this cannot be done in a pulpit to pew setting, because of the confusion it would cause. Both types of meetings are necessary for people to be properly instructed in the things of the Lord, so it's not a case of saying one type is better than the other. I have certainly benefited from both in my years of walking with the Lord, and highly recommend people to take advantage of both types of meetings, in order to get a balanced understanding of the Christian life. Unfortunately some churches only offer the first type mentioned, and have never seen the need for the other. Many scripture passages like (Acts 2:42-47), or (Heb 10:19-25) show us clearly how the early church met, and they helped cause the good news of the gospel to spread throughout the known world of their day. Surely we in the 21st century can learn much from our brothers and sisters who lived in the first century, when the Church Jesus said He would build was just beginning!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer