Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet

Sunday mornings: the centre or the heart beat? 

Should our main gathering draw everything in, or be the place that gives life to each other and the activities we are involved in? By Tim Parkman

Stockton Tabernacle300Somewhere in my growing up and through no teaching or fault of anyone, I had this view that Sunday morning worship was the centre of our life as church together.

It was the place we all came to, the time in which all aspects of the church came together and worshipped. I am now coming to the understanding that this is wrong and could do more harm than good.

Rather than our Sunday worship (or whenever we meet as the gathered community) being the centre which draws everything in, it should be the heartbeat which gives life to one another and the activities we are involved in.

This does not undermine the role of our gathering, a heart beat needs to be strong, it needs to be an important part of our living, it is important to make sure that it is healthy and vibrant.

If anything this model increases the importance and sanctity of this gathering, but it also means that we are not always asking how we can draw the keep fit class, messy church, embroidery group (you get the idea) into the the Sunday morning worship. Rather it asks: how can we bring life to these groups?

Yes, an offshoot might be that people want to join us as we gather, but that is not the focus of our worship and our being. It's about how we bring life - God’s refreshing life - to our community from our acts of worship, rather than how can we get people in.

It's a subtle difference, but one that I think is important as we wrestle with what it means to be the gathered church and then scattered as we relate to the world around.

Imagine what it would look like if our gathered worship gave life, rather than trying to suck everything in (yours may already look like this), how people would leave knowing they are being asked to bring life to someone or something, rather than thinking about how they can get more people to the Sunday service.

Jesus came that may have life to the full. Let us not turn this life into a vacuum, but rather a heart that gives life to our community and our communities. 

 

Tim Parkman is the Minister of Saltash Baptist Church, Cornwall


Image: Congregation, Stockton Baptist Tabernacle Church/freefoto.com


 
Baptist Times, 17/07/2015
    Post     Tweet
A bridge of hope? The Baptist witness in Israel and Palestine
Baptists in Israel and Palestine are a unique bridge between different people and cultures in the region, writes Mark Hirst, who recently visited Baptists there. He shares this and other reflections to help fuel our prayers
Gaza: our voices do make a difference
The news is indeed dreadful, writes David Nelson - but showing solidarity does have an impact
Bruno and other friends: encounters and reflections  
Baptist minister Ivan King explains why he has written a book honouring some of the ordinary people who have welcomed him into their world as a pastor
'The Inter Faith Network is in peril - please support it'
The government is withdrawing funding from the Inter Faith Network, leading to its potential closure. Paul Weller, a member of the Baptists Together Inter Faith Working Group, is encouraging Baptists to urgently protest the decision
Look outward in Lent 
For many Lent has become a time for self-examination and for deepening one’s devotional life. But the call to Christian discipleship is to look away from oneself - so let’s experiment in new ways of sharing our faith with others this year
'Remember the call I gave you...'  
While all the speakers at Fresh Streams 2024 highlighted how we are living in a time of significant change, there was a clear message from God too, writes first-time attender Simon Evans-White
     The Baptist Times 
    Posted: 12/02/2024
    Posted: 22/12/2023
    Posted: 16/12/2023
    Posted: 19/10/2023
    Posted: 19/10/2023
    Posted: 10/10/2023
    Posted: 26/09/2023
    Posted: 23/09/2023
    Posted: 20/09/2023
    Posted: 04/09/2023
    Posted: 17/07/2023
    Posted: 23/05/2023
    Posted: 17/05/2023
    Posted: 03/05/2023