It was great to have Chris Mac with us last week. Not only from want he brought but bringing an outside perspective. Loved Toddler group and the way people were dealt with at foodbank. Great that we had around 20 guests to the meal in the evening.
As a church we don’t want to be isolated. We get input from the likes of Jono, Viv, Derek and Chris.
A few weeks ago Mike and I travelled up to Glasgow to see a church leader there called Andy Merrick. His church have organised some conferences that some of us have been to. We felt we wanted to contact him because his church seems to have moved further into what we might call the supernatural of God.
Now we weren’t going to try to find out his methods and copy them. As I said two weeks ago – God doesn’t so much anoint programmes as people. Programmes and structures and organisation are all very well but primarily god wants his people to be the carriers of his presence.
So we had a good morning chatting with him but Mike and I left with one main thing that Andy said – it was no surprise. It’s all about making more room for God’s presence. That was the impetus for me to preach again on that subject two weeks again.
Today I want to look at some practicalities. How do we together make more room for God’s presence and for us to press deeper in. Very practical.
One of the things that I love and have wanted to promote is our family feel and that everyone can contribute when we are together. One of the potential downsides of that is that sometimes the very thing that we value can stop us pressing in more to the presence of God.
Let me explain – we’re singing a song, we are worshipping. Then the song ends and someone comes to the front to share. We then tend to sit down and maybe we switch off from God. We partially disengage. The vertical relationship with God is put on hold while we listen to the horizontal – the person at the front to us.
So we have a problem – how do we hold on to and keep these two things that we highly value?
I’ve got some suggestions. What I’m looking at here is not some major change of direction or emphasis – rather I see it as growth in our steps towards maturity.
- Less talk from the front. The biggest challenge here is to Mike and myself. Mike and I are working on that – have grace towards us when we fall short! So last two weeks – straight in to singing. Now that’s not the new rule! It’s something we’ve done deliberately to try to move in the right direction. At times some talk at the beginning is appropriate.
Shorter notices – more in the bulletin
A prayer, a testimony, a scripture, a prophecy, a teaching, a word of knowledge or wisdom, a song, a tongue/interpretation
Guidelines to help us with our contributions.
- Is it from God? Obvious but worth saying at the outset for completeness!
- Is it for everyone or is it for me? Sometimes God is just speaking to you and it’s for you. You don’t need to share it. We might be so excited that we think everyone has to know. But make sure that it is to share.
- Is this the right occasion. Sunday morning is not the be all and end all. Testimony in particular can be brought in other meetings eg Wednesday evening, monthly prayer time, other ad hoc groups, over coffee at the end, or not in meetings at all. I love testimonies – they stir my faith. Sometimes they are a good thing to start a meeting with – so if you have a significant testimony it might be good to have a word with Mike or I to see if that’s the best thing.
- What is the right timing. Does it fit in with God is doing/saying right now? Don’t bring it JUST because there’s a gap. Sometimes the gap is for silence.
- Be willing to share with someone else to find the right moment. Judy usually asks me. I usually say yes!
- Don’t waffle!
- Help people to keep engaged with the Lord. Can your testimony become a prayer of thanksgiving.
- The rest of us – don’t switch off, don’t automatically sit down, don’t disengage
Remember – our times on Sunday are all about him – the treasure within not the jar of clay.
What about standing/sitting? John raised this with me.
Standing is good because: 1. Its biblical
Rev 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
- It’s honouring
- It helps us engage. Sitting is passive, standing is less so.
However – there are no rules. You can worship sitting down. Often a worship leader encourages people to stand as it is a step towards engagement. But if you can’t stand that’s ok!
Visitors – we are asking that they speak to Mike or I first – also not to be involved is specific ministry times. That’s entirely reasonable – if I were a visitor I’d do that.
To sum up – we’re not looking at restriction or limitation, rather it’s making more room for God. The more space we leave him the more room for blessing! We are not just adjusting the furniture – we are expecting him to act, to speak, to meet with us.
Even if he doesn’t do those things his presence is enough!