Christians usually meet to be passively instructed. Perhaps we could also meet to exercise our faith & spiritual gifts, with one another. Where there is no caring interaction there is no sense of community.
(A church in Smyrna experienced life-changing community together. That is such a rare thing that someone made a movie about it, All Saints. The body of Christ is called to be family; not formality.)
Perhaps “elder” is not a church office, but a mature believer who has followed & obeyed the risen Jesus for many years. Perhaps the Ephesians “five-fold ministries” are not ranked religious offices, but spiritual functions that God can use any Christian in.
The gifts of the Spirit aren’t grandiose badges of honor. Instead they often operate in humble people who don’t even realize that God is using them.
Artificial plants look real but they’re not. People can do that too. Ekklesia lets people be real. Ekklesisa is a group of Christ-followers gathered to listen to and be directly led by the living Jesus. Church meets classroom style, but ekklesia meets support group style.
Where there is no heart-to-heart communication and no spiritual connection; there is no sense of community. Ekklesia includes heart-felt caring, equality in Christ, honest communication, mutual valuing, and surrender to the risen Jesus. You can’t understand ekklesia until you experience it with a group of people.
Imposing a program on a group of people replaces spontaneity with control; intimacy with formality; and interaction; with passivity. A program is a show to watch. Worship needs to be much more than a program.
Watching a religious program is nice, however, experiencing the risen Jesus prompting a group of people, is much more powerful! Jesus is not someone to schedule & program for an hour on Sundays. He’s the One to let schedule & program you 24/7/365!
God doesn’t need a preacher or anybody else to program a church service. He’s an amazing Programmer all by Himself! Learn more about how Jesus can actively program a church service, all by Himself @ this link.
Man alive! Jesus is manna live — the living bread of life who has come from Heaven!
