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 We
have been handed a paper headed "Nature of the
Assembly," and asked to comment upon it. It is more than
three pages, single-spaced, so we cannot reproduce it here, but
will try to give a fair gist of its content.
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All
form or ritual that God has instituted has deep meaning and is
ordained for our good. He wants us to be happy, mature, and
beautiful, and all his work in our behalf is to this end. He
does not exact responses from us to see how near we can come to
measuring up to his demands. The assembly must be seen in this
light. It is not simply a response to some command or duty. The
primitive church did not have to be begged, threatened or
dragged into attending. It was a natural expression of their
devotion to Christ and love for one-another.
There
is no indication in scripture that the saints gathered to
worship. Worship was the whole of their lives; a day and night
devotion and dedication to their Lord (Heb. 12:28; Rom. 12:1).
Neither of these passages have any connection with the assembly.
There
are therefore no acts of worship. Running errands for a neighbor
is as much worship as partaking of the Lord's Supper. Paul
seemed to think so (Col. 3:17). One who "misses
worship" to help a stranded motorist may render a more acceptable
service, which is what worship means, than if he spent
that hour sitting in church.
Where
did we get the idea that certain perfunctory acts constitute
worship? I say perfunctory for they are usually just that. We
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begin to sing, and ipso facto, just
like that, worship has begun; for that is one of the acts that
constitute worship. We should learn better. Such acts as
breaking bread or reading scripture are worship only in the
sense that talking, feeding the dog, and all the rest of daily
activities are worship. It is our very selves — our bodies,
minds, spirits — that are offered as a living sacrifice. This
is the only worship known in the scriptures. (See Heb. 13:15-16)
The scriptures know nothing of "five acts of worship"
in or out of the assembly.
We
do not assemble to perform acts of devotion. It is to be with
Jesus and his Body, to be built up in faith, encouraged, and
instructed in truth. Mutual edification is the principle to be
applied in and out of assembly. In assemblies, the Body is to
build itself up through mutual sharing. We are without
scriptural authority when we split the assembly into one speaker
and a silent body of listeners. We have come to equate silence
with reverence, thus by-passing spontaneous ministry that
builds, encourages, and informs. This is the atmosphere
conducive to "the fellowship of the Spirit," the
sharing of the common life in Jesus that we must seek to
achieve. This is the nature of the assembly.
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The
above paper was unsigned, and it was only after I had made notes
for reply, and was in process of typing them up, that I learned
the author. I am now told his initials are Leroy Garrett; but I
still do not know where the paper was published.
(continued next page)
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