Archive for the ‘Church Practice’ Category
Why doesn’t your group have a pastor like other churches?
Those who preach or teach the Word in our meetings are ordinary brethren like you and me. Some, at the call of the Lord, devote full time to the Lord’s work. Others maintain secular jobs while serving in this capacity. We all are servants of the Lord since we all have a gift to use for Him (1 Cor.9:7-14; Gal.6:6; Eph.4:11-16; Acts 18:1-3; 20:33-35; Rev.1:1). Being a servant is not a class distinction, but a great privilege we all can enjoy, even if not called to serve full time.
No where in Scripture is the idea of a clergy / layity system supported. All believers in Christ are brethren and are equally responsible before the Lord for the study of His Word in their own lives. In fact, the Lord Jesus said to not call anyone “master” or “teacher” or “father” (Matt. 23:1-12). Preachers and ministers are generally voted on by a congregation to serve a local church and are paid a salary. They are given the place of spiritual leadership and superiority as long as the preacher remains “our pastor.” In other groups the preacher is appointed over a flock by a governing board. This practice, we believe, is not supported in the Scriptures.
We must also consider that we do not all look at Scripture the same way. We believe by having an “open” platform where various men are able to minister the Word, rather than a “one man ministry” allows the Spirit of God to use the diversity of gift and personality that He has given to the Church. However, we do not believe in an “every man” ministry (that is to say, we believe that every believer has a ministry but not every believer is called to be a preacher), but only ministry by those who are gifted.
Why do the women wear a head covering?
This particular truth, abandoned by some as archaic or cultural, is a beautiful expression that only the Lord’s glory (not man’s – pictured by a woman’s hair) is to seen and noticed among His people (see 1 Cor. 11:3-16).
Why are the women not allowed to speak publically during your meetings?
God makes it plain that He has assigned different roles for men and women to be displayed in our gatherings. God established man as head of the woman (1 Cor.11:3, 8-9; Gen.3:16). The woman is also a picture of the Church as seen in Ephesians 5, while man is a picture of Christ. Therefore, when the assembly gathers together the woman does not speak. She is always to learn in quietness (see 1 Timothy 2:12), regardless of the setting. Quietness does not mean silence in non-assembly settings, but the gentle and quiet spirit of 1 Peter 3:4. She is never to teach the man because she is to fulfill the above pictures of headship.
The clear teachings of Scripture on this subject have been clouded almost universally by the smokescreen of inferiority/superiority. There is no such thought found in Scripture! The claim is often made that Paul was simply a woman-hating bachelor, or he didn’t understand women, or his words simply conveyed a cultural “reality” of Corinth where short-haired, uncovered women often were prostitutes. Inspired Scripture says that the things that Paul wrote are the “commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor.14:37). As a result of this unbelief and faulty teaching, women are often active in preaching and teaching and praying in the church, publicly. Virtually everywhere, in almost every denomination and group, headcoverings have been discarded as a relic of the past and all too often the men wrongly take the place of the woman and never open their mouth in praise or worship.
Why do you have a “communion” service every week?
When the Lord Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper (or as some have called it, the communion service) He said, “This do in remembrance of Me” (Mk. 14:22-24; Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). This meeting is to be a time only for those who have put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus to remember the tremendous price that was paid in order to secure our salvation. This is symbolized by two elements: The bread – which pictures to us the sacrifice of the Lord’s body; and the cup – which represents the shedding of blood, without which their can be no remission of sins. The pattern of the early church in the book of Acts was to meet on the first day of the week for the “breaking of the bread” (Acts 20:7). Paul suggests that it is to be a continual exercise when he wrote, “For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord’s death till He come” (1 Cor. 11:26). Some have suggested that having the Lord’s Supper every week (instead of monthly or quarterly) dulls the worshipper sense of true appreciation. On the contrary, to those who practice the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper, it becomes the highlight of the believer’s week to gather once more with fellow believers and remind themselves of all that Christ has done to secure our salvation.