How many times in your worship service did the speaker ask you to turn to your neighbor? A couple of Sunday’s ago I attended a service and the speaker asked us to tell our neighbor something over 50 times during a 30 minute presentation. Exhausting! What happened to the day when a person would attend church service without having to grab their neighbor by the hand, pray with them, prophecy with them or speak a word into their life.
Turn to your neighbor
Do not get me wrong, I appreciate prayer, intercession and words of encouragement from my neighbor. My preference however is to speak with them after the service has ended. When our churches adopt mannerisms and modern day actions to entertain and engage attendees, focus on our true purpose of assembly is lost. In I Timothy 2, Apostle Paul offered an order of service for believers as they gather to worship the Lord.
1 Timothy 2
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
The proposal suggest that when we come together, we commence our service with prayer, intercession and supplication for all men. Paul’s order, translated into today’s church, is often defined as opening prayer, followed by opening scripture and then of course the praise team or choir. Did I miss the suggestion of “turn to your neighbor and say”? It is not there and neither will you find support for that anywhere in your King James, Dake or NIV Bible. Imagine Christ delivering his Sermon on the Mount of Olives in the heat of the day. Not once did he ask the multitude to turn to their neighbor and say anything! Yet he taught a message that has stood the test of time and will be repeated until His set time to redeem His church. Today, when we hear a message the subject is often forgotten but we remember the antics surrounding the presentation. Where is our focus?
When we as ministry leaders fail to offer a sound worship experience for believers we are enabling weakness in faith, we commit an incredible disservice, and detract from the purpose of corporate assembly. According to Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theologist) the gospel call is a call to worship, to turn from sin and call upon the name of the Lord. The picture of the church as a worshiping assembly is nowhere more powerfully presented than by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 12: 18-29). Reverent corporate worship, then is not optional for the church of God….Rather it brings to expression the very being of the church. It manifest on earth the reality of heavenly assembly. Let us return to the days when we reverenced the house of God. There was day when people entered into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: we were thankful unto him, and blessed his name. (Psalm 100:4) Our approach to the house of God was with reverence and respect for the establishment, its people and purpose. Will those days of yea and nay ever return?
Attention Preachers, Teachers and Guest Speakers – I refuse to disrespect God’s house by turning to my neighbor and saying ???? during the course of corporate worship. If you are void of a message or word from the Lord, turn the mic over to someone who has prayed, fasted and has a Rehema word for God’s people. Consider following Paul’s advice to the young man Timothy….Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:2
Author Melody Baker is an ordained minster and licensed evangelist. She is a former pastor, current Outreach leader and Missions Director. She attended Liberty University where her concentration is Evangelism and Church Planting.
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