One question I have been mulling over recently is “Who is the church service for — believers or unbelievers?”
There are some who believe the church service is primarily for believers, while others believe the church service is primarily for unbelievers. This belief reveals itself in different ways depending on how it is answered.
The Church Service is for Believers
Those who say that the church service is for believers will often have church services that cater to the needs and desires of Christians. There will be an emphasis on programs and teaching that meet the needs of Christians. The sermons will often center on teaching Christians what they need to know to be better Christians. The songs will often use terms and ideas that Christians are familiar with. The programming will center around issues that Christians are dealing with.
In the churches I have pastored, this is the approach I used. But we always did a poor job of reaching unbelievers, as do most churches who follow this model.
Unbelievers who visit a church that is focused on “making disciples of Christians” will often be confused and weirded out by what goes on. They will ask questions like:
- What’s with all the teaching from Romans?
- What does “justification” mean?
- You say Jesus is coming back? That sounds a bit like the legends that say King Arthur is returning.
- Why do I want to learn “Christian business principles”?
- If I want to become a Christian, do I really have to be “washed in the blood of the lamb” and become “the bride of Jesus”? Both ideas give me the willies.
The Church Service is for Unbelievers
Then there are church leaders who say that the church service is primarily for unbelievers. In these church, the leadership understands that much of what the church does and says is a little strange to unbelievers, so they try to look at things from the perspective of an unbeliever, and make the church more “seeker sensitive.”
They gear the church service not toward the Christian, but toward the non-Christian who knows next to nothing about the Bible or church traditions. This tends to attract lots of crowds, and even generates lots of new believers, which is great, but ends up allowing most of these new believers to remain in relative immaturity. Bill Hybels and Willow Creek have recently announced this fact for their own church. The “seeker sensitive” model, while it attracts large crowds, does a poor job of bringing those crowds to spiritual maturity.
Is there a balance or middle ground between the two? I think there is, which we look at in the next post: “Who is the Church Service For?.”
Also, for more on this subject, check out my book, Put Service Back into the Church Service.
Maybe there should be a third option to this question. Who is the church service for – believers, unbelievers, or Christ?
Steve,
Certainly, the church service is ultimately for Christ. But to me, that answer is like the typical christian statement that everything we do should be “for the glory of God.” Well, of course, that’s true. But what does it mean? How does it look? So, who is the church service for? Absolutely Christ. But what does that mean? How does it look? What does Christ want us to do in and during our “church service”?
It looks like you and Owen and Robert have some good thoughts and ideas over there at morning meditations. Keep up the good work!
Why use the term “service”?
Yes. This is an old post of mine, and I would not use the term “service” any more either.
I am a bit confused about what you mean by ‘church service’. There are no scriptural passages that identify a proscribed meeting format. As you are aware, the ekklesia is not identified as the building or a formal organisation, but the ‘body of Christ’, those individuals that esteem Him above all things and submit to HIS governance of their lives, which will of course lead them/us to serving all those that seek to know Him and His purposes.
As well, what type of ‘assembly’ is proposed from scripture that would confuse unbelievers? Certainly, the common manner of sitting in rows adulating a ‘leader’ is not conducive to answering questions one may have.
Think small groups, twenty-thirty persons, sitting beside each other, praying for and with each other as your primary worship, and these hierarchal problems disappear.
I was a bit confused when I wrote this post too! ha! I wrote it back in 2007 and was just beginning to ask some questions about the church. I have come a long way since then!
I hadn’t noticed the date either, when I responded, so my criticism was clearly ‘dated’. Are you considering updating this – I am sure the insights you have gained in the past 6+ years have value to others.
Trust God.
Small groups are good, but remember that they met in Synagogues as well. They not only gathered in house churches but those house churches also gathered together. Acts 5:42, Acts 2:46, Acts 20:20. Sitting in rows is not bad nor wrong. Churches have done it through out the centuries and the church has continued to grow. This new concept that corporate worship and discipleship is outdated and that small groups are the way to go is just not so. History proves this point.
I would suggest you read Frank Viola’s books like Pagan Christianity, Re-imagining Church, Finding Organic Church, and The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, which answers your question.
I have read that book, though at the time of writing this post, I had not read it. I wrote this post back in 2007 and have learned A LOT since then. The book I mention at the end of my post was published in 2013 and explains more.
Check out Jeremy’s book he mentions at the end of the post, “Put Service Back into the Church Service”. It is excellent and well worth the read.