A CHURCH SERVICE (46 OF 56)
Scripture: Acts 20:1-16
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A Church Service (46 of 56)
Series: Acts 20:1-16
Wyman Richardson
Acts 20:1-16
Read Acts 20:1-16
I like Will Willimon. I may be an unlikely fan of his. I am more conservative than Willimon, though I would not call him a radical leftist or anything like that. He is a Methodist churchman, a former Methodist bishop in Alabama who is now associated with Duke University. He says some things I disagree with and some things I agree with. His book with Stanley Hauerwas, Resident Aliens, had and continues to have a great influence on me, however, because I think it is radically New Testament and counterculture in its view of the church. I think Willimon frequently gets the idea of ''church'' right.
For instance, in his commentary on Acts he notes that the early church did two things: (1) it moved on mission engaging the world and (2) it gathered for worship around the preached word and the Lord's Supper. Willimon noted that there was a balance in these two things, and that there needed to be a balance for a church to be a healthy church. Then, in looking at the American Church today, he asked an interesting question. Let me let him share his thoughts.
The church of Acts is not always pushing out, on the move, opening its doors, appealing to unbelievers. The church also gathers for worship and fellowship. Without the sustenance received at its Sunday gatherings, the church might lose itself in mere busyness, might forget who it is and whose it is, might lose heart amidst the myriad of demands and assaults upon it by the surrounding world. The things which happen when the church ''gathered together to break bread'' (v.7) simply do not happen for the church anywhere else. While we are busy praising God and exploring the ways of God in our worship, something happens to us - the ministry of encouragement.
A church with no prophetic thrust, which does not challenge the status quo, has little need for the weekly rhythm of worship. So relaxed and at home in the w ...
Series: Acts 20:1-16
Wyman Richardson
Acts 20:1-16
Read Acts 20:1-16
I like Will Willimon. I may be an unlikely fan of his. I am more conservative than Willimon, though I would not call him a radical leftist or anything like that. He is a Methodist churchman, a former Methodist bishop in Alabama who is now associated with Duke University. He says some things I disagree with and some things I agree with. His book with Stanley Hauerwas, Resident Aliens, had and continues to have a great influence on me, however, because I think it is radically New Testament and counterculture in its view of the church. I think Willimon frequently gets the idea of ''church'' right.
For instance, in his commentary on Acts he notes that the early church did two things: (1) it moved on mission engaging the world and (2) it gathered for worship around the preached word and the Lord's Supper. Willimon noted that there was a balance in these two things, and that there needed to be a balance for a church to be a healthy church. Then, in looking at the American Church today, he asked an interesting question. Let me let him share his thoughts.
The church of Acts is not always pushing out, on the move, opening its doors, appealing to unbelievers. The church also gathers for worship and fellowship. Without the sustenance received at its Sunday gatherings, the church might lose itself in mere busyness, might forget who it is and whose it is, might lose heart amidst the myriad of demands and assaults upon it by the surrounding world. The things which happen when the church ''gathered together to break bread'' (v.7) simply do not happen for the church anywhere else. While we are busy praising God and exploring the ways of God in our worship, something happens to us - the ministry of encouragement.
A church with no prophetic thrust, which does not challenge the status quo, has little need for the weekly rhythm of worship. So relaxed and at home in the w ...
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