Sorry for those of you who were following the posts about my mission trip, but I am taking a break (not sure if its temporary or more permanent) from those experiences and bring up some different topics that are on my mind, which are many now that I am back in an academic atmosphere.
My home church is a church where there is not too much value placed on the sacraments. Actually to be honest many of the people might not even know what sacraments are. We do Communion twice a year. Once at Easter as a congregation and once at Christmas as individual families and the pastor. It has been years since our baptismal has been used and when there is a mention of baptism in a sermon it nearly always used as an oppurtunity to warn people that baptism does NOT save you. I can not remember the last time I heard our pastor share the importance of being baptized.
I did not realize until I started attending MVNU and started attending a church in Mount Vernon that takes communion more than twice a year that I yearn for the Lord's Supper. I wish I could fully describe what this sacrament means to me and all the theological and historical things that hit me every time I partake of the body and blood. Though I am still reflecting on it I think if I ever get the oppurtunity to pastor a church we will have communion at the least once a month and more ideally every week. I know many disagree with me for various reasons. I would like to hear some of those disagreements and maybe even some affirmations of this idea. Also I am going to put a poll up about the frequency of performing communion. To end this post I will quote a comment I read on another blog today. "If you think there is something wrong with frequent communion then you need to take it more often"
My home church is a church where there is not too much value placed on the sacraments. Actually to be honest many of the people might not even know what sacraments are. We do Communion twice a year. Once at Easter as a congregation and once at Christmas as individual families and the pastor. It has been years since our baptismal has been used and when there is a mention of baptism in a sermon it nearly always used as an oppurtunity to warn people that baptism does NOT save you. I can not remember the last time I heard our pastor share the importance of being baptized.
I did not realize until I started attending MVNU and started attending a church in Mount Vernon that takes communion more than twice a year that I yearn for the Lord's Supper. I wish I could fully describe what this sacrament means to me and all the theological and historical things that hit me every time I partake of the body and blood. Though I am still reflecting on it I think if I ever get the oppurtunity to pastor a church we will have communion at the least once a month and more ideally every week. I know many disagree with me for various reasons. I would like to hear some of those disagreements and maybe even some affirmations of this idea. Also I am going to put a poll up about the frequency of performing communion. To end this post I will quote a comment I read on another blog today. "If you think there is something wrong with frequent communion then you need to take it more often"
10 comments:
Sorry about the quality of the picture at the top. It looked better on google.
Stuffy Nazarenes are always shocked to learn that John Wesley took communion daily. It blows their argument that it "makes it less special" completely out of the water. After all, Nazarenes are not allowed to argue with John Wesley... :)
One point of disagreement on our baptismal. Corinna was baptized this past year, so it has been used a little more often than "years". I do believe baptism is important too. In Acts as soon as you were saved you were baptized. As far as communion, I agree. I feel we could stand to take communion more frequently. It reminds us of what Christ did for us. I believe it can become ritual, if people don't take time before they partake and examine their lives and thank God for what this sacrament represents. I believe even when we take it just twice a year it becomes ritualistic for some. The key is remembering why we are taking it.
I think the problem with the way many Nazarenes approach the Lord's Table is that they view communion as just a symbol. The Eucharist is more than just a symbol, it is a means of grace by which we encounter the living God. A lot of people talk about taking communion which can make it sound more mechanical like something we do. I like to think in terms of receiving communion, more as something God does for us. Even though we have to physically receive the sacrament.
Peace in Christ,
Steven
My apologies for saying we haven't used our baptimsmal for years. I was not informed of Corrinna's baptism while I was at college. I want this comment thread to focus on Communion though I may do a separate post on Baptism.
I agree that communion can become ritualistic (rituals can be good)and like Pastor Steven said mechanical, but I don't think the way to combat that danger is by taking communion is by receiving it less. It is by good presentation of what it is and means and does to us. The pastor officiating must have a good theological understanding of Communion and a passion that come through his speech when he talks of it.
Sorry I just thought of something that bugs me. Why do we not take communion at more district events? I would greatly enjoy taking communion with a larger gathering of brothers and sisters.
Communion is a unique thing, and I think I think that it should be offered very frequently.
As with any action that is regular, there seems to be a high risk/likelihood that it becomes nothing more than a routine lacking meaning. "There is a fine line between tradition and a rut" (Joe Noonen). As I have learned more, communion has taken on deeper meaning and some new meaning. As with many of the church's (indeed, any group) traditions, (at least one of) the challenge(s)is to infuse the tradition with meaning.
But I don't think that this risk is something which ought to prevent use from remembering together our Lord's death through communion frequently.
The tough thing about our segment of the larger church is that it was so dependent on multiple pastors leading several different congregations, many of these rural areas could only have certain people lead communion, such as the regional bishops. The current requirements for serving communion of once a quarter still reflect the rural church setup that existed 150-50 years ago.
Ryan,
Your comment illustrates another aspect of the communion debate: who should be permitted to offer communion? The Bible does not say that only pastors are permitted to offer communion. In fact, it seems to have been a very informal event that took place whenever Christians came together. Yet in today's church, especially the COTN, only ordained elders or liscensed ministers serving as pastors are empowered/permitted to serve communion.
Maybe this barrier is part of the cause for our unfamilliarity with the sacrament. I like the idea of all Christians being encouraged to serve communion to one another. What are your thoughts?
I would also like to hear some opinions on that. I had always believed that any Christian can serve communion, but lately I have been questioning that and wondering if maybe there is some value in allowing only ordained ministers to serve it.
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