If you have ever taken a high school or college science class you have been to a lab class.  For chemistry and biology, lecture is not enough.  Students need to dissect an animal for themselves to really understand its anatomy.  They need to personally mix chemicals together and see the compounds they produce.  So if lab is good for learning science, couldn’t it also be good for learning faith?

If lecture alone is not good enough to master biology and chemistry, why is almost every church in the land satisfied with mere lecture?  Why not actually give church attenders the opportunity to personally mix the Holy Spirit into their Sunday morning worship experience?  Why not allow them to do some spiritual dissection and to personally see God’s power working in their hearts and in the hearts and lives of their fellow worshippers? 

So how can church lab work?  Lots of ways.  Give people lab partners and let them pray with one another in the Sunday morning meeting.  Let people take the time to listen silently to God and then tell the congregation what God told them.  Let people share their needs and concerns in the meeting.  Let people ask God to give them a word or a vision for another person in the meeting and then share it with them.  Rather than having a one man sermon, read a Scripture and then let people come to the mike and tell what they get out of that Bible verse.  Give people the freedom to obey Mary’s word about her Son:  “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Is this crazy?  No way!  This is the Bible’s directions on how to do church.  Read I Corinthians 14:26, one of the most ignored verses in the Bible. 

If you would like to experience church lab for yourself, come and visit Nashville’s most unique church, The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center on Sundays at 10:45, at 225 Berry Street, Nashville, 37207.