1 Must we have both types of meetings?

I would say no.  Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” NKJV.  It is not a requirement that we meet daily, or weekly, but I do believe we should meet as often as we feel we are able.  The problem with our society and many Christians today, is we chave a tendency (and I know not everyone does this, but I know I am guilty of this at times) to check our Christian Beliefs at the door of the building where we worship, we fail to seek the truth in Gods word on a regular basis for ourselves, or we fail to pray to him, or some such.  Families are uniquely positioned I believe to minister and fellowship as believers with each other, but many of us (I speak of Americans) miss out or ignore this opportunity.  But are they required that we meet in small or large groups?  Certainly not. 

2. Is one meeting superior to the other in some way?

I would say no, there is no Preeminent or best style of meeting for all occasions, maybe one day when we are perfected, sanctified, and in God’s eternal presence there will be, but as flawed human beings, each of us has areas of need or areas of strength, and not everyone can learn in either environment better than another.

3.Is one meeting more appealing to you personally? Why?

There are benefits to both styles, and I do think that a group that focuses too much on the formal “large” service is not as intimate or as friendly as the smaller groups usually are.  My wife and I recently left a church where we felt that once that Sunday Morning service was over, that there was no real fellowship or kinship amongst the people.  We just don’t believe that way, so we’ve begun attending a different church here in town.  Does that mean that those sort of meetings are wrong? No, but it does truly show that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Even the Apostles, felt so overwhelmed with the masses in Jerusalem that they asked for Deacons to be appointed.  So there is a point at which a church may be too large, but where that point is I could not attempt to quantify. 

I’ve been in several different churches, the one I used to be a part of before moving here, had small groups that met periodically as our schedules allowed, and I loved the Saturday morning mens bible study.  I really miss that part of that group of believers since moving perhaps more than any other.  Ultimately I think some believers look at Church Attendance as an Obligation, when it should be viewed as a Privilege, or they look at associating with other “Sinners turned saints” as a necessary ‘evil’ instead of a chance to bear each others burdens and strengthen the body of Christ.

4. Is any meeting of Christians you’re involved in like either of these early church meetings?  How does your meeting differ from these?

The church I attend now has a much smaller more intimate atmosphere for its Wed Evening bible study.  It is to me preferable then being preached at for a third time in the week, the church we used to attend did not seem interested in using bible study as a tool of instruction or discussion, or at least after a year things changed and that focus was lost. I don’t believe you can get the most out of God’s word without voicing what the Holy Spirit is revealing to you personally.  I’ve learned a lot more from digging into passages, and questioning thoughts in a bible study then I have at times just being told what X or Y verse is saying.  Its not that I don’t trust the “authority” of any particular Pastor or Teacher, but we are responsible for our own faith, and must endeavor to prove what is true by the bible.

5. If the kingdom (God’s will done on earth as it is in Heaven) is the Good Reason (or Good News) God does everything, and it’s the message Jesus preached on earth, then is it right to expect these meetings to in some way bring about the kingdom.  How did they?  Or didn’t they?

I can’t really answer this one.  God has gifted each of us differently.  Not everyone is a hand, or an ear, or a mouth, or an eye.  We each learn and grow better in different ways.  The same was true in College, some folks were book learners who learned better from reading and practicing themselves, some learned better by seeing and being lectured too, and others just had to have a hands on approach, some were multi-taskers, that learned better if multiple styles of teaching are used, some learn better when thoughts are emphasized with visual slides, or music, or some other thing.  Why should this be any different in the Church?  The goal is for us to be perfected unto the image of Christ, and that comes through the hearing of Gods word.  So for each individual we must question ourselves, are we hearing the Word of God through the particular meeting style or not.  If we are not than something is wrong, and it may not necessarily be the messenger or format.  That’s my opinion on the matter though.

In Summary I agree with RBerman in a way, simply being drones for an hour listening to preaching, is not as likely to produce a change in the heart.  It can help, but you need more than just that.  Why are we there ultimately?  Are we there to Get something?  Or are we there to Serve Christ?  My wife and I both feel that we go to Church not necessarily to get something, though we certainly receive our share of exhortation and blessings, rather we believe that each of us is Called to unique ministry, and should seek to use the gifts we have been given, the best that we know how through Christ’s church to further his kingdom.  We weren’t afforded the opportunity to do that in the last church we attended, and I honestly felt that too many folks felt that the “paid staff” if you will should be doing all of this work.  How convenient it must be to ignore your God given calling to Evangelize, to witness, or to help your fellow believers or neighbors.  Ultimately though, the style of worship, or meeting, really is less important than the message that is brought across.

I’ve been in churches where they condemned outright the CCM movement. (I’ve never agreed with their sentiment) Yet in the small number of Concerts I’ve attended in my lifetime, not one have I seen any of the things they’ve accused or slighted these folks on.  Now that’s not to say that the Industry itself is without fault, I’m not wanting to delve into that, but I was pleasantly surprised when I had the opportunity to take my brother to a Winter Jam Concert organized by Newsong.  The tenor of the people, and the groups on stage, was one of honor to God, and reaching out to the lost.  By the end of that concert, I noted that the end result was not much different then an organized church’s typical Sunday service, except that instead of a lengthy sermon on one topic, many areas of need or concern were addressed through song.  In whole, the message was presented.  Some folks may never get more from a lecture than they might from listening to a particular song.  So Ultimately, I’d say the meeting style is not as important so long as you are growing in Christ.

Sorry, but that’s not fair.  Are there some pastors who make the Church lazy?  Of course.  Is it a gross generalization to say that is all pastors do?  Of course.

There are pastors, such as the one at the church I attend, whose gifts are in helping people discern what thier gifts are, then putting them into practice.  These kinds of pastors are hardly making the Church lazy.

Beth

1) We must be talking past each other.  I don’t think churches should be run at all like corporations, who pay their staff to generate revenue for the shareholders of the company.  Churches should be run as the NT describes, with a paid pastor who equips the people of God to do the work of the kingdom on a volunteer basis.  That’s how every church I’ve attended worked.

2) & 3) I’m sure there are bad churches who see their pastor as the only one who’s supposed to do the work.  Don’t attend or support that kind of unhealthy church. I don’t.

4) Shaun is correct that I was speaking of a preacher who stands in a public place to harangue passersby.  Our society is not one in which that sort of public speaking bears good fruit, regardless of the cause being espoused.

5) I sort of agree with you. Shaun’s original blog post was about this very thing.  Large group and small group meetings have different dynamics, and each is a tool which can be used to equip the saints.  I would never say, “Small group Christian fellowship is always bad,” and I hope you wouldn’t say, “Large group Christian fellowship is always bad.” I find both groups indispensible in my Christian walk.

I guess at this point I will stop, because as I would agree with you and Mr.Berman there (who was nice enough to call me Mr. Bashor) that screaming on the streets may not work and my point there was nothing short of a sarcastic low blow to his choice of words.

I do like to argue though, I’m not going to lie. What it boils down to is simple. You can do church the way you want to and as long as you are not doing harm then good for you keep up the good work. My personal conviction is simple, there is something very wrong with the way we are doing things and I have a hard time pin-pointing exactly what those things are.

I also think we ALL need to be extra careful when typing about a topic we care a great deal about about, careful not to appear unkind. I’m also a little paranoid about this conversation degrading into something unhealthy so I apologize if I’m being a little too big of a Dad all of a sudden.

I just grew up in a New Testament Church (TM) where we literally prided ourselves on replicating the N.T. church. 

Then it occurred to me:  Which N.T. church?  Corinth sounded like a mess, that’s all.  Then again, the churches I grew up in had all the N.T. “structure” in place, and they were messes, too.  So maybe we nailed it.

I still think we’re at our best when our idea of “church” flows from the mission, which flows from our understanding of who Jesus was.  And yes, this will take some different forms, imbedded in different cultures.  (As opposed to trying to replicate the exact church in Turkey in 240 A.D., or Greece in 90 A.D., or Rome in 700 A.D.)

I think early churches met primarily in houses, but I don’t think there’s something magically delicious about houses.  I think the church in Acts hung out in the temple courts, but I don’t think we need to find some temple courts to hang out in.  I think our forms flow from mission, which flows from Christ. 

But I could be wrong, or maybe Jesus talked a lot about the importance of structure and it just didn’t make the Bible or something.  I literally don’t know.

I think it’s good that we attend both types of meetings.  We have a larger church community where we serve, respond, minister and learn some biblical truth more than once per week and then we have a smaller church community where we do the same things every other week and both groups also discuss and act out living the gospel outwardly as well and encourage one another.

We use Hebrews 10:23-25 as our small group model. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.