When the Bible commands of us that we not forsake the gathering together of the saints (Hebrew 10:25) it tells us that we are required to attend regular services. While I may attend to the question of why God commands such (remembering, of course, that He has no obligation to reveal to us the “why”) this is not the question I’m considering here. Rather I am attempting to understand the function or purpose of our weekly meetings. What is the goal of gathering together?
The church is called to equip the saints. That requires time together. The church is called to fellowship together. That requires time together. The church is called to pray together. That requires time together. The church is called to proclaim the good news of the substitutionary death, the burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord. That requires time together.
The church, at least in our day, finds itself competing for the time and attention of its members. Children’s sports leagues now schedule games on Sunday mornings. In the summer there’s usually plenty of room at church, while the local lakes tend to be crowded. And of course the waitlist at your favorite restaurant waits for no one. In an understandable, though I’d argue misguided, attempt to deal with this competition, many churches seek to cram as much of the above biblical callings of the church into as brief a time as possible.
What we end up with is a rushed at most hour and a half of praise music, announcements and a practical homily designed to avoid alienating any unbelievers in the audience. All of which misses the point as to why we gather. We gather to worship the living God. There is an audience when we gather, but He is one.
It is a cliché, and like many cliches it has become one because it has truth in it. We do not come to get but to give. And we find that when we give we receive. The worship is the giving. The blessing is the receiving. The point, to finish the circle, is the giving.
Can unbelievers be brought into the kingdom while we are giving worship? Of course. But they are not the reason for the gathering. Can believers be instructed and edified while we are giving worship? Of course, but even that is not the reason for the gathering. Can believers experience the unity of the body and encourage one another when we gather? Of course, but that is not the reason for the gathering.
Marva Dawn put it well when she called worship, “a royal waste of time.” It is royal because we meet with the king. It is a “waste” of time because it serves no other purpose. Worship is the end of the end, our reason for being just as much as our reason for meeting.
When we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added to us. When we honor Him, worship Him in Spirit and in truth, all these things will be added to us. All these things, evangelism, edification, encouragement are good gifts, and inadequate in comparison to the worship of the living God. He is why we gather, our Maker, Redeemer and Friend.
This is the sixth installment of an ongoing series of pieces here on the nature and calling of the church. Stay tuned for more.