There seems to be something missing from church nowadays (most at least).  What is missing?  We have our worship, then our announcements, then offering, then preaching, then at some churches, alter calls and then out to put on the feed somewhere.  Sounds like it is all there on that schedule as God has ordained, right?  Where is that in the Bible again?

This kind of service does not appear in the Bible.  There is nothing really like it mentioned throughout its pages.  So why do we have this kind of service all the time?

The only thing I can come up with is that this is how it has been so we continue to follow the same path.  Just because it has been this way for ages, that does not mean it is supposed to be this way.  When you read the Bible such as in the book of Acts, it seems much more alive and flowing than what we have today.  Now, in many church services, much of the people have no participation and rely on the minister for everything.  This is not only bad on the people but also on the minister as he has such a large load.

Some people (like I do) enjoy worship and you get moving along with the Spirit flowing in the music then it is time to take offering, make announcements or it is time for preaching.  It can be like cold water being thrown on you, but things have a time slot and you have a little flex time between points of a service, but you still have a time line that has to be met.  Why? 

We need to let the Spirit move and all of us be subject to Him not schedules.  What would it hurt if an offering was missed or perhaps a sermon was not preached so that we could spend time loving on God and Him on us?  Just maybe the Gifts of the Spirit would flow and God would give a direct message or even messages..  The Gifts are not just for altar call.

When was the last time you heard a sermon in church and had the Holy Sprit move you with further revelation on the topic or perhaps the message had no application to you and thus your entire time was watching the clock to leave?

Many years ago, when we would have Bible Studies, they were more of Bible Discussion meetings.  People were encouraged to come with a Scripture to share or a question they where looking for answers about.  We would talk about the Bible and any anyone could share their views.  It was wonderful!  We had all kinds of crazy things come out, yep, that is for sure! But people got to participate allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them without them knowing it.

I know this all sounds wild and to some kind of scary, but it can get much more wild if you are game.  Imagine allowing God to have the entire service…

The Open Church

I had my eyes opened when I read a book over a decade ago called “The Open Church”.  It suggested an exciting change to the “church as normal” we are use to in today’s world.

The book described a different type of service where the focus is not a single message from a lead or visiting minister, but rather a Body ministry, where people in the meeting minster to each other.

Note: You might read this other post about Body ministry:

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The first change was the layout of the church meeting area.  Instead of having all the pews facing pulpit at the front of the area, they were arranged in a circle or square so that people would face each other.  It is those in the pews that minister by allowing the Holy Spirit to share through them in the meeting.  They may have a song, short teaching, or Scripture they feel led to share.  As the Spirit would flow though, there would be an obvious thread.

This could go on for hours with the pastors being more of a guide to make sure things do not get out of line.  You are dealing with people who live in a flesh body so things are not always by the Spirit and need to be watched over.  And some time restrictions need to be in place for more long winded people who are not completely flowing with the Spirit.

Through this method of Body ministry, the Holy Spirit is able to flow through many vessels instead of just one in a meeting.  It is mighty hard to have a message that serves all the people in a meeting every time.  That is where the Body comes in, there might be someone that is quite new the Holy Spirit has shown something to, which more seasoned believers might not be noticing and of course, the more seasoned believers have the ability to flow with the Spirit and minster to the younger.

It was not long ago, I found that this is how the Azusa Street revival worked.  They had the square layout of pews with the pulpit in the center and their pastor lived above the church.  The meetings went on day and night.  When he would hear someone getting flesh, he would correct the situation and bring it back into the Spirit.

Conclusion

While not everyone can handle an Open Church type service every meeting, perhaps they could be considered such as once a month, or even on a given day other the Sunday, if the church is set in their ways.  The main point is that the Body needs a method of ministering and it does not have to be based on a tight schedule.  Let God move and see what happens!