Are we....re: Church
Are we "Going to Gather" or "are we Gathering to Go"?
Was there a time in Church history when the Body of Christ gathered as believers to go into the world? Did that gathering include unbelievers? Are there Scriptures that back up your answers?
This discussion will lead to a greater question plaguing my mind.
2 Comments:
Bob,
I like your question but it's a false dichotomy. Rather than gather or go, Scripture seems to indicate both. The questions become "when" to gather, and with "whom," as well as "when" to go, and to "whom," and for "what?"
What do you think about this?
Stephen, It may not be a false dichotomy in the confines of how I am using it.
The American Church predominantly "goes to Gather" so that others can come to Gather.
When a Church "gathers to go" the purpose of gathering is much different that the other. We gather to honor and worship God with a committed purpose to go and make disciples who make disciples.Loving God in worship with other believers in complete obedience to the Great Commission is definitely a huge difference.
Going to Gather makes the gathering the priority. Gathering to Go makes the Great Commission mandate a natural outflow of our worship and love for God.
I'm not condemning one over the other here, I'm just pointing a huge difference in the two descriptions.
Is going to Gather the main thing? Attending is our obedience
Is gathering to go the main thing? Gathering for worship and preparation to go out to do what Jesus taught us.
In our disciple Driven Church movements gathering is important and God loves our worship, but the main thing is loving and worshiping God enough to engage personally the Great Commission mandate to GO. Nothing pleases God more than to have children who love Him enough to obey all that He has commanded us as we GO!
We must distinguish between the two if GOING to personally engage the Great Commission is be lived
out in the lives of all believers as commanded.
We lead new believers into a God relationship where there love for God compels them to lead others to love God who do the same.
Going to Gather fuels consumerism.
Gathering to Go requires great commitment.
I said I don't condemn the one for the other because people don't know that Gathering without Going to fulfill the Great Commission is disobedience and the missing piece to growing the Christ family and reaching our world for Christ.
We cannot build enough churches fast enough to do it - but the Church the Christ family can accomplish it if only...they would.
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