Welcome to a Gathering of EChurch@Wartburg
Here is our Order of Worship
Prayer of Hope by Christina G. Rossetti (1830-1895) link and link
O Lord, in Whom is our hope, remove far from us, we pray Thee,
empty hopes and presumptuous confidence.
Make our hearts so right with Thy most holy and loving heart,
that hoping in Thee we may do good;
until that day when faith and hope shall be abolished by sight and possession,
and love shall be all in all.
Amen
Prayer of Richard of Chichester (1193-1257) link and link
Thanks be to You, our Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which You have given us,
for all the pains and insults which You have borne for us.
Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may we know You more clearly,
love You more dearly,
and follow You more nearly,
day by day.
Amen.
Acts 2:42-47 (NASB Bible Gateway)
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.
And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Benediction link
As you leave this place
may the Living Lord go with you;
May he go behind you, to encourage you,
beside you, to befriend you,
above you, to watch over you,
beneath you, to lift you from your sorrows,
within you, to give you the gifts of faith, hope, and love,
and always before you, to show you the way.
Amen
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Wade,
I watched this last week live when you presented it to your congregation. I thought then that while it sounds good it is a tough sell. I listened today and see that you are well aware of the pitfalls that are associated with trying to implement what we are all called to, being a part of the body.
My wife and I were part of a congregation of about 1000 in the mid west and saw firsthand the struggles of community when gossip became an issue for things shared in small groups. After that sharing became things such as health or finance and not a whole lot more. For those who have been burned, shunned by fellow believers becoming involved in small groups will always be approached with ones guard up if approached at all.
I appreciate that the desire is to have more of a connection/fellowship time as opposed to teaching the whole time. (Which is what we encountered) teaching and very little fellowship.
Know also that we pray for the ministry there and so appreciate that you allow for the services to be broadcast via e-church for those who have stepped away from the traditional
church setting.
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Kevin,
We’d love to have you on staff. 🙂
We are well aware of the pitfalls. Community is messy. Our experience is ‘gossip’ happens in churches with and without community.
Your wise words will be shared with our staff.
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I appreciate the desire to see believers have community with each other. I think it is normal part of the Christian life, the desire to be part of that spiritual family into which we have been adopted.
The church which understands the need for Christian community will, in my opinion, first teach what that looks like. What are the one another’s, what is hospitality, what is fellowship? How do we build friendships with each other?
Then it might offer a way for people to get those relationships started by having a small group ministry. Small groups are a great way to meet people, especially for new people to the chuch.
But when small groups become “not really optional”, when what happens in them is reported back to the leaders, when attendance is kept, when the adults meeting together feel they should study what the leaders tell them to, and should use the official format, etc., then it doesn’t seem to be about “community” any more. It becomes a convenient way to fix perceived church problems, to put people in a box where someone will feed them when they are sick (good) and report to a leader when they dont meet expectations (bad). The whole church begins to revolve around the small groups to the exclusion of normal social interaction. They become a false security for some people who mistake the structure and scheduling for meaningful life interaction. Real friendship and community CAN happen in them, but it is often despite the regimented nature of them, not because of it. The fairly new idea that all churches must have small groups, all Christians should be in one, that they should all be doing the right things (welcome, worship, word, witness, men and women don’t pray together especially about sex, children are an inconvenience to be stuck in the basement, bi-weekly is wimpy, small group leaders are on the leadership fast track) is dangerous. Spiritual abuse thrives in that kind of environment. Maybe that’s why I am so down on it. Because I longed for the community. I choked up listening to the description of that at the beginning of Wade’s sermon. All the years in small groups with people who dismissed us so easily reminds me that true community takes a whole lot more than sitting in the same room every week year in year out.
That’s my $2.50. And, yes, I am in a small group.
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@ Heather:
Agreed. Six years ago I was involved in a church re-plant. At first I was excited about it, but as the time drew nearer to launch the new church, certain ‘rules’ were being put in place. One of them was a requirement to be involved in a community group on a weekly basis. The leadership made it clear during a question and answer session that not being involved in a community group would result in ‘church discipline’. That was the last straw for me.