WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.149 Over the last year, my job has taken me and my 00:00:03.149 --> 00:00:06.870 family out of state a few weeks a month. And 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:09.330 honestly, there have been some really good parts 00:00:09.330 --> 00:00:13.109 of that. We've gotten to visit some sweet congregations. 00:00:13.429 --> 00:00:16.929 We've heard some great sermons. We've met brothers 00:00:16.929 --> 00:00:20.010 and sisters in Christ in different places and 00:00:20.010 --> 00:00:22.949 have been reminded that the family of God is 00:00:22.949 --> 00:00:25.289 a whole lot bigger than our little corner of 00:00:25.289 --> 00:00:28.769 the Ozarks we call home. And on some Sundays... 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:31.820 We couldn't make it to another congregation. 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:35.100 We streamed the sermon from our own local church, 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:39.159 which is a gift. And I'm genuinely grateful that 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:41.880 we can do that. But somewhere along the way, 00:00:41.979 --> 00:00:47.000 Christy and I started to realize something. None 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.520 of this solved the problem. We still missed our 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.369 people. We missed the conversations before church. 00:00:54.549 --> 00:00:57.090 We missed the conversations afterwards that started 00:00:57.090 --> 00:01:00.270 with something completely ordinary and somehow 00:01:00.270 --> 00:01:04.390 turned into somebody saying, Hey, actually, would 00:01:04.390 --> 00:01:07.510 you pray about something? We missed knowing what 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:09.609 was happening in the lives of our brothers and 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:12.890 sisters. We missed being there when somebody 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:15.930 needed help. We missed being available to serve 00:01:15.930 --> 00:01:18.829 instead of finding out three days later through 00:01:18.829 --> 00:01:22.719 a text message. And the longer that we were gone, 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:26.799 the more we started feeling partially amputated. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:31.340 That sounds dramatic, I know. But that really 00:01:31.340 --> 00:01:35.079 is what it felt like. Because we could walk into 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:37.620 another faithful congregation and enjoy being 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:41.840 there. There could be a sweet spirit, good preaching, 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:46.000 warm people, real fellowship. But there wasn't 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.319 yet that built closeness that comes from sharing 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.900 life with the same people over time. They loved 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.980 Jesus and we loved Jesus. We really were brothers 00:01:55.980 --> 00:01:59.000 and sisters. But they didn't know our story and 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.200 we didn't know theirs. We didn't know who had 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:04.579 been struggling all week. We didn't know who 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:07.359 needed someone to stay five minutes longer. We 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:10.580 didn't know the little things you only learn 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:14.289 by being present. Then we started hearing the 00:02:14.289 --> 00:02:17.110 other side of it from home. People missed us, 00:02:17.110 --> 00:02:20.110 too. There were conversations that would have 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:23.729 been easier if it had just been face -to -face. 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:27.610 Things people wanted to talk through. Struggles 00:02:27.610 --> 00:02:29.789 that are just harder to share through a phone 00:02:29.789 --> 00:02:34.849 call. Our absence left a hole. Not because Christy 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:38.379 and I are indispensable. We aren't. The church 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:41.039 survived a long time before we showed up, and 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.360 I'm pretty confident Jesus can keep this thing 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:47.199 going without either one of us. But that is how 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:51.120 a body works. When one part is missing, something 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:54.300 is different. Streaming reminded me of that. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:57.800 A live stream can put a sermon in a hotel room. 00:02:58.379 --> 00:03:01.819 It can let you hear familiar voices. You may 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:04.539 even see people you love on the screen. But it 00:03:04.539 --> 00:03:07.360 started feeling a little like door dashing fast 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.159 food to a hotel while watching your family sit 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:14.000 around the table eating a home cooked meal. You're 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:17.280 eating and you're grateful for the food. You 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:19.599 might even FaceTime everybody while you eat. 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:23.479 But you're still not sitting at the table. And 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:27.840 eventually, this landed pretty hard for me. If 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:31.620 all we needed was preaching and music, streaming 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:35.830 would be enough. Scripture says, though, we need 00:03:35.830 --> 00:03:40.370 one another. And if that is true, then the gathering 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:45.590 has to be more than an event we watch. Welcome 00:03:45.590 --> 00:03:47.729 to Grace in the Grind, brought to you by Arrow 00:03:47.729 --> 00:03:50.090 and Roots Coffee Company, where faith meets the 00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:52.949 everyday. Here we take time to notice God's presence 00:03:52.949 --> 00:03:56.590 in the middle of life's busiest moments, to find 00:03:56.590 --> 00:03:59.750 encouragement, clarity, and a reminder of His 00:03:59.750 --> 00:04:03.500 grace right in the grind of daily life. So grab 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:05.860 your coffee, and let's take a sip with this cup 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:16.779 together. In our last cup, we talked about the 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:19.120 church as a body rather than simply a crowd. 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:23.060 Christ has joined us to himself, and he has joined 00:04:23.060 --> 00:04:26.160 us to one another. So today, I want to follow 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:29.680 that truth straight into the gathering. Why do 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:33.120 we gather? What is supposed to happen when we 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:38.279 do? And maybe more personally, what is my responsibility 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:41.800 when I walk through the door? Because it's very 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.199 easy to think of church as an event. There are 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.399 people who prepare, people who preach, people 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:51.740 who sing, people who handle sound, slides, child 00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:55.079 care, coffee, security, and everything else that 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:58.040 has to happen before most of us even pull into 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:00.910 the parking lot. Then the rest of us arrive, 00:05:01.209 --> 00:05:05.490 sit down, receive, and eventually decide how 00:05:05.490 --> 00:05:09.110 it went. But when the New Testament talks about 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:12.110 the church coming together, that isn't the picture 00:05:12.110 --> 00:05:15.589 it gives us. The primary passage I want us sitting 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:19.569 in today is 1 Corinthians 14, because Paul repeatedly 00:05:19.569 --> 00:05:23.430 talks about what happens when you come together. 00:05:24.649 --> 00:05:29.029 And his controlling concern is not what is impressive, 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:32.800 What is polished? Did everybody enjoy it? His 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:37.560 concern is, was the body built up? In 1 Corinthians 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:42.420 14 .26, Paul says, When you come together, each 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:46.680 one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:51.379 or an interpretation. Let all things be done 00:05:51.379 --> 00:05:56.660 for building up. Corinth had plenty of problems, 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:59.019 and lack of participation was apparently not 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:02.040 one of them. Nobody seems to have been sitting 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:04.779 in the back thinking, I just don't know whether 00:06:04.779 --> 00:06:07.779 there is anywhere for me to contribute. They 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:10.920 had participation. What they desperately needed 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:15.019 was order. And pay attention to how Paul corrects 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:18.620 them. He doesn't say, this participation thing 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:21.699 was clearly a mistake. Everybody sit down and 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:24.870 let one person handle the whole gathering. He 00:06:24.870 --> 00:06:29.569 gives boundaries. He demands clarity. He insists 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:33.569 that what happens must serve others. And by the 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:36.629 end of the chapter, he says everything should 00:06:36.629 --> 00:06:41.290 be done properly and in an orderly manner. But 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:44.250 through the whole discussion, one principle keeps 00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:48.889 governing everything. Build up the church. That's 00:06:48.889 --> 00:06:52.509 the goal. not maximize spontaneity not maximize 00:06:52.509 --> 00:06:55.230 production not everybody getting a microphone 00:06:55.230 --> 00:06:58.269 not making sure only one or two people ever have 00:06:58.269 --> 00:07:03.009 one edification the strengthening of christ's 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:06.029 people so a better question for evaluating the 00:07:06.029 --> 00:07:10.589 gathering is not simply did i enjoy it but did 00:07:10.589 --> 00:07:13.089 what happened help the church become more faithful 00:07:13.089 --> 00:07:17.649 to jesus was the word clear Were believers encouraged? 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:21.949 Was truth spoken? Were weary people strengthened? 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:26.509 Was Christ exalted? Were we better equipped to 00:07:26.509 --> 00:07:30.689 love God and love one another? That is a very 00:07:30.689 --> 00:07:35.009 different scorecard. Now, before somebody hears 00:07:35.009 --> 00:07:38.029 this and decides I'm proposing a two -hour open 00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:42.189 mic service next Sunday, I'm not. Please don't 00:07:42.189 --> 00:07:44.949 tell your pastor I sent you with a wireless microphone 00:07:44.949 --> 00:07:48.500 and a dream. Biblical participation does not 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:51.519 mean everybody gets stage time. Visibility and 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:56.420 participation are not the same thing. Sometimes 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:59.500 participation is simply noticing that somebody 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:04.180 seems unusually quiet and asking, Hey, are you 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:07.980 really okay? Different members function differently. 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:11.800 That's the whole point of a body. But there's 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.459 a problem when most of the body begins to understand 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:17.920 its role primarily as sitting and watching a 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:22.279 few visible parts function. The issue isn't whether 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:25.879 everybody is on the platform. The issue is whether 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:29.660 we have quietly turned the congregation into 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:33.980 spectators. Hebrews 10 gives us another window 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:38.039 into this. Let us consider how to stir up one 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:42.100 another to love and good works. not neglecting 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.740 to meet together, but to encourage one another. 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:49.600 Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. We often pull out that 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:51.440 verse when somebody's been missing church for 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:55.299 a while. And yes, gathering matters. But look 00:08:55.299 --> 00:08:59.120 at the reason the writer gives. Consider one 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:03.620 another. Stir up one another. Encourage one another. 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:06.779 That means the question before you walk through 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:10.100 the doors isn't only, What am I going to get 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:14.460 today? It's also, who might need me to be present 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:17.980 today? Sometimes that means noticing the person 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:20.559 sitting alone. Sometimes it means praying with 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.120 someone. Sometimes it means talking with an exhausted 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:27.940 parent. And sometimes it means asking the second 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:31.379 question. Because Christians have mastered this 00:09:31.379 --> 00:09:34.419 little Sunday exchange. How are you? Good? You? 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:40.049 Good! Smile, smile, all good. And we both walk 00:09:40.049 --> 00:09:42.529 away having successfully exchanged absolutely 00:09:42.529 --> 00:09:45.690 nothing. Real encouragement sometimes requires 00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:48.649 being present long enough to hear the real answer. 00:09:50.529 --> 00:09:53.450 That is one of the things being away exposed 00:09:53.450 --> 00:09:56.889 for me. I could listen to a sermon remotely, 00:09:57.129 --> 00:10:00.090 but I couldn't glance across the room and think, 00:10:00.289 --> 00:10:02.690 something seems a little off with him today. 00:10:03.570 --> 00:10:06.529 I couldn't stay afterwards for the conversation 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:10.720 nobody scheduled. And the people back home couldn't 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:15.419 do that as easily with me either. There are things 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:19.000 we will tell somebody standing beside us that 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.519 we will never create a calendar appointment to 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:25.360 discuss. There are burdens that come out because 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:29.200 somebody asked at the right moment. There are 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.279 needs you see because you were simply close enough 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:36.240 to notice. Presence creates opportunities that 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:40.379 efficiency never will. That is part of why the 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:43.480 gathering matters. Not because God lives inside 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:46.059 the church building. Not because missing one 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:49.019 Sunday means you've abandoned Jesus or that you're 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:50.419 going to have to make it up in heaven later. 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:53.159 And definitely not because church attendance 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:57.120 earns some spiritual points. It matters because 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:00.519 embodied people ministered to embodied people. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:04.480 Some things require being close enough to notice. 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:08.419 And I think there is a harder question we need 00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:13.059 to ask. If I can be away from my local church 00:11:13.059 --> 00:11:17.139 for weeks and nothing really feels missing, what 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:21.840 does that tell me? Again, I'm not talking about 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.820 guilt because you missed a Sunday. People get 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:28.179 sick, families travel, work schedules occasionally 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:33.360 can pull us away. There are seasons when circumstances 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:37.500 genuinely keep us away. This isn't an attendance 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:41.379 scoreboard. I'm asking whether absence actually 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:46.279 costs us anything relationally. If I can disappear 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:49.500 for weeks and there are no conversations I miss, 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:53.200 no people I wish I could check on, no burdens 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.779 I would normally help carry, no brothers or sisters 00:11:56.779 --> 00:12:01.450 whose presence I genuinely long for. and nobody 00:12:01.450 --> 00:12:03.889 seems to feel much of a difference because I'm 00:12:03.889 --> 00:12:07.629 gone, then we shouldn't just shrug our shoulders 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:12.649 and say, well, I watched the sermon. Something's 00:12:12.649 --> 00:12:16.970 wrong. Not necessarily something malicious. Not 00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:20.169 necessarily something anybody intentionally created. 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:23.750 But something about our experience of the church 00:12:23.750 --> 00:12:27.629 has become too thin. Because when you belong 00:12:27.629 --> 00:12:32.210 to a people, Separation should feel like separation. 00:12:33.350 --> 00:12:37.730 If gathering with the body is completely interchangeable 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:41.690 with watching content from the couch, that should 00:12:41.690 --> 00:12:44.570 be a warning light. Maybe we have learned how 00:12:44.570 --> 00:12:46.710 to attend a service without actually sharing 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:50.629 life. Maybe we have been around the body without 00:12:50.629 --> 00:12:54.610 becoming meaningfully connected to it. And hear 00:12:54.610 --> 00:12:58.460 me, the answer isn't shame. The answer is recognizing 00:12:58.460 --> 00:13:01.740 what is missing and moving toward the kind of 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:06.080 shared life Scripture actually describes. Paul 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:08.659 gives us another picture in Colossians 3 .16. 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:12.139 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.539 teaching and admonishing one another through 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:21.139 psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We sing to 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:25.879 God. Absolutely. Worship belongs to Him. But 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:29.159 Paul says something is happening between us as 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:32.799 we sing. We are teaching and admonishing one 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:37.000 another. Think about that. The person next to 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:40.220 you is not merely background noise while you 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:44.259 have your private worship experience. Their voice 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:47.600 is part of what's happening in the room. When 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:51.059 someone who has walked through deep grief sings 00:13:51.059 --> 00:13:54.440 about God's faithfulness, you hear those words 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:57.409 differently. When someone who has prayed for 00:13:57.409 --> 00:14:00.169 years without seeing the answer still sings, 00:14:00.409 --> 00:14:04.389 Great is thy faithfulness, that means something. 00:14:05.230 --> 00:14:08.769 When your own heart is dry and you hear other 00:14:08.769 --> 00:14:11.289 believers confessing truth you are struggling 00:14:11.289 --> 00:14:16.330 to feel, the body carries you for a moment. Sometimes 00:14:16.330 --> 00:14:20.309 you need to hear somebody else's belief. And 00:14:20.309 --> 00:14:24.149 sometimes they need to hear you. Not because 00:14:24.149 --> 00:14:28.289 your voice is impressive. Some of us are providing 00:14:28.289 --> 00:14:31.529 theological encouragement and musical humility 00:14:31.529 --> 00:14:36.350 in the exact same moment. And that's okay. The 00:14:36.350 --> 00:14:40.009 goal is not a room full of performers. It is 00:14:40.009 --> 00:14:44.190 a people confessing truth together. And I want 00:14:44.190 --> 00:14:47.370 to be careful here. The point of this episode 00:14:47.370 --> 00:14:50.519 is not preaching is overrated. Absolutely not. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:53.580 Paul tells Timothy to preach the word. The church 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:55.759 needs qualified teachers to handle scripture 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:59.399 carefully and faithfully. A congregation will 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.720 not become healthier simply because everybody 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.100 gets to share their thoughts. The internet has 00:15:05.100 --> 00:15:07.100 pretty thoroughly tested that theory for us. 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:11.100 Not everybody's opinion needs to be shouted out. 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:16.200 Preaching matters. But preaching serves the gathered 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:20.009 church. It isn't the entirety of the gathering. 00:15:20.409 --> 00:15:24.590 The same is true of the music, of prayer, communion. 00:15:25.889 --> 00:15:28.909 Each part serves Christ's people as we gather 00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:32.210 under his lordship. And that's why streaming 00:15:32.210 --> 00:15:36.049 exposed something for us. If my definition of 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:39.470 church is mostly hear preaching, sing songs, 00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:42.870 receive information, then a screen can reproduce 00:15:42.870 --> 00:15:46.919 a surprising amount of that. Maybe even more 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:50.460 conveniently. You can pause the sermon, turn 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:53.120 up the volume, skip the announcements, drink 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.860 coffee and sweatpants, but scripture gives us 00:15:55.860 --> 00:16:00.100 a category a screen cannot reproduce. One another. 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:06.000 You see that in Acts 2, after Pentecost, Luke 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.480 describes believers devoting themselves to the 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:12.080 apostles' teaching. Fellowship, breaking bread, 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:16.399 and prayer. And if you keep reading, this wasn't 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.600 simply a weekly event they attended. It was shared 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:23.679 life. They ate together, prayed together, cared 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:27.000 for needs, worshipped together. The gathering 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:30.840 mattered enormously, but it existed inside a 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:34.419 life they were already sharing. Sometimes we 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:36.759 ask Sunday mornings to manufacture an entire 00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:41.830 shared life by itself. deep community, discipleship, 00:16:41.870 --> 00:16:44.830 biblical literacy, pastoral care, friendship, 00:16:45.129 --> 00:16:47.909 accountability, worship, evangelism, and preferably 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:52.990 all before lunch. But the gathering cannot replace 00:16:52.990 --> 00:16:57.070 shared life. It strengthens it. It expresses 00:16:57.070 --> 00:17:00.830 it. It gives that shared life a regular rhythm 00:17:00.830 --> 00:17:06.049 around Christ. And this is where the culture 00:17:06.049 --> 00:17:10.589 works against us. We review everything. Restaurants, 00:17:10.630 --> 00:17:16.430 hotels, movies, coffee makers, podcasts. Apparently 00:17:16.430 --> 00:17:18.910 even windshield wipers need our detailed opinion. 00:17:19.549 --> 00:17:24.089 So we become very skilled consumers. Then Sunday 00:17:24.089 --> 00:17:28.309 comes. The sermon was a little long. The music 00:17:28.309 --> 00:17:31.500 wasn't really my style. They played... Too many 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:34.559 new songs. They played too many old songs. The 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:36.539 room was cold. The announcements took forever. 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:39.819 Some of those observations might even be fair. 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:44.599 Churches should care about clarity. Leaders should 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:48.279 prepare. Teaching should be faithful. Music should 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:51.579 serve the congregation well. But there is a difference 00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:55.740 between discernment and consumption. Discernment 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:59.299 asks, was this faithful? Did this honor Christ? 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:04.390 Was the church built up? Consumerism asks, did 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:08.450 this suit me? And when most of the room starts 00:18:08.450 --> 00:18:11.369 understanding its role primarily as watching 00:18:11.369 --> 00:18:14.670 and evaluating what happens up front, something 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.710 about the New Testament picture of the gathered 00:18:17.710 --> 00:18:21.849 body has grown thin. Not necessarily because 00:18:21.849 --> 00:18:25.869 anybody planned it that way. Sometimes, we simply 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:30.250 drift there. And I want to slow down here because 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:33.130 it would be easy to hear this as an attack on 00:18:33.130 --> 00:18:37.170 the modern church service. It really isn't. Stages 00:18:37.170 --> 00:18:39.490 aren't sinful. Microphones aren't sinful either. 00:18:40.130 --> 00:18:43.150 Screens aren't sinful, nor is live stream. A 00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:45.309 carefully planned service isn't automatically 00:18:45.309 --> 00:18:49.470 a performance. And worship team rehearsing so 00:18:49.470 --> 00:18:52.009 they can serve the congregation well is not evidence 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:54.529 that somebody has sold out to the entertainment 00:18:54.529 --> 00:18:58.089 industry. Most pastors aren't sitting in an office 00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:00.910 plotting how to turn Christians into passive 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:03.789 spectators, and most Christians aren't driving 00:19:03.789 --> 00:19:06.789 to church thinking, I would really like to consume 00:19:06.789 --> 00:19:10.430 some religious goods and services today. Usually, 00:19:10.490 --> 00:19:14.549 it's more subtle than that. A structure works, 00:19:14.809 --> 00:19:19.029 so we keep using it. Roles settle in. Habits 00:19:19.029 --> 00:19:22.750 develop. expectations form, and eventually something 00:19:22.750 --> 00:19:26.329 that began as a useful structure starts quietly 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:30.069 shaping the way we think. That is why the whole 00:19:30.069 --> 00:19:34.329 season matters. Not because everything familiar 00:19:34.329 --> 00:19:37.650 is wrong, but because everything familiar still 00:19:37.650 --> 00:19:42.130 has to come underneath scripture. Maybe leaders 00:19:42.130 --> 00:19:44.529 need to create more room for the body to function. 00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:47.970 Maybe members need to stop waiting for leaders 00:19:47.970 --> 00:19:52.589 to manufacture. community for us. Maybe both 00:19:52.589 --> 00:19:55.869 are true. Probably all of us have something to 00:19:55.869 --> 00:19:59.589 examine. Grace lets us tell the truth without 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:04.650 needing someone to blame. Being away taught Christy 00:20:04.650 --> 00:20:09.329 and me something else. At first, we mostly noticed 00:20:09.329 --> 00:20:13.230 how much we missed the body. Then we began realizing 00:20:13.230 --> 00:20:17.150 that our absence affected other people too. Because 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:20.000 every member brings something. Your prayers, 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:22.680 your relationships, your attention, encouragement, 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:25.880 ability to notice, willingness to serve, and 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:29.039 when you're absent, those things are absent too. 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:32.660 That doesn't make everyone's absence sinful. 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:37.079 Life happens. There is grace for limits. But 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:39.819 there is a difference between sometimes being 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:43.160 unable to gather and believing physical presence 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:46.220 is basically unnecessary because the sermon is 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:49.500 available online. Those aren't the same things. 00:20:50.460 --> 00:20:53.099 Streaming can be a wonderful tool when circumstances 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:56.559 keep you away. But it makes a poor substitute 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:59.900 for a body. Because the church was never designed 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:04.619 to merely deliver Christian content. Christ placed 00:21:04.619 --> 00:21:09.880 us among people. So this week, I want to give 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:13.019 you one simple practice. Before you walk through 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:15.279 the doors of your church, maybe while you're 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.880 sitting in the parking lot, change the question. 00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:20.829 Instead of asking, what am I going to get out 00:21:20.829 --> 00:21:25.269 of church today? Ask, Lord, who can I strengthen 00:21:25.269 --> 00:21:30.309 today? And then ask the other side, what do I 00:21:30.309 --> 00:21:33.009 need to humbly receive from your people today? 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:39.109 Both matter. Give and receive. Encourage and 00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:42.369 be encouraged. Notice and allow yourself to be 00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:46.750 noticed. Carry a burden. Let someone else help 00:21:46.750 --> 00:21:52.309 carry yours. Sing truth. Receive truth. Listen 00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:56.069 to the word so you can obey it. Stay five minutes 00:21:56.069 --> 00:21:58.950 longer when the conversation matters more than 00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:02.630 beating the lunch crowd. You don't have to turn 00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:05.390 Sunday mornings into spiritual scavenger hunts 00:22:05.390 --> 00:22:08.289 where you nervously scan the room trying to locate 00:22:08.289 --> 00:22:12.630 your ministry assignment. Just be present. Actually 00:22:12.630 --> 00:22:16.849 present. Available to God. Available to his people. 00:22:17.789 --> 00:22:23.130 and see what happens. Now, all of this leaves 00:22:23.130 --> 00:22:25.289 a pretty obvious question hanging in the room. 00:22:25.970 --> 00:22:29.170 If the gathering isn't a show, what do we do 00:22:29.170 --> 00:22:31.910 with excellence? Should musicians even rehearse? 00:22:32.269 --> 00:22:35.509 Absolutely. Should pastors work hard preparing 00:22:35.509 --> 00:22:39.430 sermons? I certainly hope so. Should churches 00:22:39.430 --> 00:22:43.869 care about sound? Organization? Lighting? Removing 00:22:43.869 --> 00:22:47.579 unnecessary distractions? Of course. So where's 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:52.220 the line? When is excellence an act of love and 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:55.240 careful stewardship? And when does excellence 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:59.299 begin training us to expect entertainment? When 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:01.460 does the music serve congregational worship? 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:05.019 And when does the congregation quietly become 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:09.480 an audience watching worship happen? When does 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:12.599 technology help the body? And when does it begin 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:16.079 shaping the body into consumers? Those questions 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:20.640 aren't solved by saying old is biblical, new 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.640 is entertainment, simple is spiritual, polished 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:27.259 is worldly. None of those are good enough. So 00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:30.940 I don't want to rush through it. In the extra 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:35.119 shot, we're going to directly talk about entertainment, 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:38.660 excellence, and worship. Because the answer to 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:44.319 performance isn't sloppiness. is recovering what 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:47.880 the gathering is actually for. And once we know 00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:50.640 the purpose, we can start asking whether our 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:55.099 tools are serving it. Being away from our local 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:58.220 body taught Christy and me something I probably 00:23:58.220 --> 00:24:01.920 should have understood more deeply before. We 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:04.299 could find good preaching elsewhere. We could 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:07.019 worship with faithful believers elsewhere. We 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:09.119 could stream our own pastor from a hotel room. 00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:13.410 And all of those things were great. But we still 00:24:13.410 --> 00:24:17.230 missed our people. And they missed us. And I've 00:24:17.230 --> 00:24:20.289 come to believe that ache was actually healthy. 00:24:20.890 --> 00:24:23.990 Because when you belong to a people, separation 00:24:23.990 --> 00:24:29.309 should feel like separation. So maybe this is 00:24:29.309 --> 00:24:33.190 the question to sit with. When you miss the gathering, 00:24:33.329 --> 00:24:37.450 do you actually miss the church? Not the sermon. 00:24:37.769 --> 00:24:41.250 Not just the songs. Not just your normal Sunday 00:24:41.250 --> 00:24:45.170 routine. Do you miss the people? Do you miss 00:24:45.170 --> 00:24:47.750 knowing what's going on in their lives? Do you 00:24:47.750 --> 00:24:50.769 miss being available to help? Do you miss receiving 00:24:50.769 --> 00:24:54.029 what God gives you through them? And would somebody 00:24:54.029 --> 00:24:56.490 notice that something is missing because you 00:24:56.490 --> 00:25:01.690 aren't there? If the honest answer is no, don't 00:25:01.690 --> 00:25:04.930 hear this as condemnation. But don't ignore it 00:25:04.930 --> 00:25:08.549 either. Because if nothing feels missing when 00:25:08.549 --> 00:25:11.809 we're absent from the body, we may need to ask, 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:14.339 whether we have really learned to belong to one. 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.039 Christ didn't just give his church preaching. 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:21.519 He didn't just give us songs. He gave us one 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:24.359 another. And that means there are conversations 00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:29.380 that only happen because you showed up. There 00:25:29.380 --> 00:25:32.259 are burdens you can only see because you were 00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:35.859 close enough to notice. There is encouragement 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:38.619 someone may only receive because you were willing 00:25:38.619 --> 00:25:42.700 to give it. And there may be grace God intends 00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:45.740 for you to receive through someone sitting three 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:49.519 rows away. If all we needed was preaching and 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:53.400 music, streaming would be enough. Scripture says 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:58.200 we need one another. So gather, not merely to 00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:00.960 watch, not merely to receive content, not merely 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:04.519 to evaluate. Come ready to worship Christ. Come 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:07.339 ready to receive from his people. Come ready 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:11.480 to give what he has placed you in. Because when 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.059 we really belong to one another, absence leaves 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:19.099 a hole. If Grace in the Grind is helping you 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:21.640 think more carefully about Christ and his church, 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:24.599 one of the simplest ways you can support the 00:26:24.599 --> 00:26:27.039 show is by grabbing a bag of coffee from Aaron 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:29.440 Roots Coffee Company. You get genuinely good 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:31.319 coffee, and it helps keep these conversations 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:35.240 going. You can find the link right in the show 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.599 notes. No pressure, just good coffee, supporting 00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:41.119 conversations that I hope are pointing people 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:45.900 back towards Jesus. Thank you for listening to 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:47.500 Grace on the Grind, brought to you by Arrow and 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:49.980 Roots Coffee Company. If this episode helped 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:53.180 you rethink what it means to gather with the 00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:55.799 church, share it with someone who would wrestle 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:58.619 with that question alongside you. Follow the 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:01.240 podcast wherever you listen. And if you have 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:04.099 a minute, leave a review. It really does help 00:27:04.099 --> 00:27:06.839 more people find the show. And make sure you 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:09.259 come back for the extra shot, because we're taking 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:12.660 the next step into the question churches across 00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:16.160 almost every style and tradition have to wrestle 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:19.660 with. When does excellence serve worship, and 00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:22.980 when does it quietly become entertainment? Until 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:25.619 next time, keep the coffee strong and your faith 00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:25.920 stronger.