Comedy clubs occasionally dare to have open mics. Perhaps churches should be so bold! An open mic in church trains people to speak up about their love for Jesus, more effectively than a sermon ever can. However, the Sunday morning microphone in church is one of the most rigidly controlled mics in the world.
Why should “the preacher” have all the good mic time? When a church gives a preacher their mic, they don’t get it back for years. However, when ordinary Christians are allowed to come to the mic as they are led by the Spirit, the Rock of Ages will speak thru them.
Perhaps a closed mic says that a church doesn’t really believe that God will speak thru anybody but the pastor. Maybe church has trained far too many Christians to believe that they have nothing at all to say about their faith.
“Safe church” that shields you from the awesome presence of the risen Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s conviction, isn’t “safe” for your soul! When the reality of the living Jesus is exchanged for a program and a talk, we miss out on His radical, life-transforming power.
I think Christians don’t want Spirit-led, open mic meetings, because they’re afraid their heart will be exposed. If any church wants to step out of the box and hold a Spirit-led, open mic meeting, I can help facilitate that. Some Christians think that a Spirit-led, open mic meeting would be “chaos,” but if the Spirit can’t keep order, who can?
Heaven will follow the Lamb on the Throne, the risen Jesus. So perhaps to get ready, we should follow Jesus in church meetings.
Discernment and spiritually mature oversight is important in an open mic meeting. For example, the devil speaks to you and accuses others of wrong, but God, thru your conscience, gently shows you your own wrongs. It’s vital to know the difference. Here’s another example: If you woke up angry, you disobeyed this: “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”
Sunday morning you hear a talk,
But if you won’t walk Christ’s walk
The rest of the week,
That talk is cheap!
When Isaiah encountered God, he said, “I am undone.” When Christians leave church, many want to say, “I’m glad that’s done.”
If religious rhetoric doesn’t light your spiritual candlestick, get to know the living Jesus. He’ll do the trick and fire you up!
A Christian leader is: honest, kind, respectful, trustworthy, compassionate, self-controlled, humble, and morally upstanding.
I think this is a great idea!
Thank you. I’ve received a lot of flack over it, so it’s great to get some positive encouragement.
Flack…really? I wonder if it’s from pastors and/or church leaders.
Sometimes. But also from loyal church goers who don’t want any changes.
Interesting. And a little confusing for me.
Reblogged this on The William Tell and commented:
I’ve never considered this before, but it seems like a really good idea. Thoughts?
My wife and I led an open mic church for 9 1/2 years with The Salvation Army. It was an awesome experience. I wrote a book about it. Search Amazon for: Beyond Church Simms. Thanks.
Will do.