In my last post, I wrote about revitalizing the Church by making it more personal. The problem for those who have been (or who have yet to be) abused by clergy is that sometimes it can be too personal. Maybe one-on-one is not what our Lord and Savior has in mind.
Maybe having "love one to another," implies that the Church be organized in smaller, family or clan-sized groups. Neither anonymously corporate nor narcissistically individual. Enough of "us" that we really can afford to help each other in time of need, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and economically. Not so few of us that the fall of one can take down the group, not so many of us that we can't all know each other personally.
I wonder what that would be like. Maybe we should get back to style of the "primitive" church. Keep the corporate worship on Sunday (even though it was originally Saturday), and have the congregation break into small groups to meet in each other's houses one evening during the week for a light meal and a worship service led by whoever is hosting the group that evening. No written liturgy, no written music. Just whatever is in the memories of the group members. And the worship should include a check on how everyone is doing that week followed by a free-form mix of prayer, song, and group contemplation/discussion.
2 comments:
What? Invite God to your supper club!? OMG!
Of course this is a good idea, but I have seen that a certain amount of structure even in these small group settings is helpful. Something as simple as selections from the daily lectionary should be read in turns followed by the Lord's prayer before personal reflections.
I'll go for any structure that the participants can hold in their memories. I want them to interact with each other and with God, not with symbols on sheets of paper. Sort of like the primitive church.
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