At our Agape meal (the words mean a feast of the Father's love) we prayed for all our friends and praised God for his work in their lives. And then we received a 'word' from the house leader. That, as many are added to us, in all the business, it's crucial that we cover each other with love. Our love for one another is the security, the attractive fire that helps others feel safe in God's house. It helps them to grow and discover the reality of God at work in them.
Then we shared in the bread and the cup, remembering Jesus.
Our Agape meals are for those who make a covenant with others to commit to build this church for the rest of their lives. It is a serious commitment and a beautiful one. I have never doubted the beauty of such sacrificial love. Part of the beauty is that we entrust ourselves to the invisible work of God in that moment. None of us know what circumstances will arise in ten, twenty or thirty years time, we simply choose to hold true to our vow and trust in God.
LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He... who keeps his oath
even when it hurts.
Psalm 15
If only I'd been there...
ReplyDeleteDJ
isnt this showing how "exclusive" church actually is ?
ReplyDeletehow you have to in the " incrowd" so to speak to belong?
Solve the problem of celebrating the mutual commitment of your entire life to others inanother way.
ReplyDeleteBut no, since you asked, there is a great sense of belonging among all our members, covenanted or not.
your last comment in your reply (and thanks for replyinh, its appreciated)makes clear the point I am making ...
ReplyDelete"great sense of belonging among all our members" ... point made ...
so it is exclusive, exclusive to members. What if little joe bloggs off the street wandered by on the night of your "agape" meal, I am sure it would be inclusive for him.
do you see where i am coming from?
Yes, but I fear you might be writing without knowing the structure of our church: As a house church we have various meetings at our houses, not to mention at our Jesus Centres where the congregation meets on Sundays. All are welcome to come to these. In fact, when we share communion on Sunday we do not check who people are, we simply welcome people if they "love the Lord". In contrast the bread and wine we share at Agape on Tuesdays is for those who have fully committed their lives to the church, a condition which excludes some by default.
ReplyDeleteso why is it different to have shared communion with "members" and with members and non members alike?
ReplyDeletewhy the focus on having "agape" and it JUST being members ?
(i know i appear argumentative, apologies in advance for any frustration I may be causing by coming back at you)
should have written :
ReplyDeletewhy is it different to have shared communion with "members" THAN with members and non alike ..
my grammar error. apologies.
Because the bread and wine is supposed to be about covenant ie. those who make a promise to God and each other. That is the work that the Spirit does in our hearts, he makes us into one new man.
ReplyDeletesomething you can do surely without having to be on the "in crowd" or a member of a certain church .
ReplyDeleteAnd you say you do that on a sunday, cool, i have experienced that, and its nice , but why cant it always been inclusive of all people?
thankyou for your time in replying to these.
Finding the blog interesting reading! nice one..
I think that's a question you have to think through a bit more. Perhaps you don't understand what a covenant is?
ReplyDeletethink through more? hows that ?
ReplyDeleteyou think maybe i dont understand what covenant is ... in your words then, briefly, what is it?
whats sums the word up? defines it ...
it's a lifelong promise. a relevant example would be marriage.
ReplyDeleteso your putting communion and marriage together?
ReplyDeletei understand the covenant of marriage clearly ...
i dont understand how that goes with the idea of only "community" members being able to share in a meal and time of communion.
marriage is a type of covenant. communion is another. when jesus shared the last supper he said: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." So those who share the cup share in his covenant together.
ReplyDeleteCovenanted members don't have to live in community, they simply make a lifelong pledge to others in the church. We choose to be devoted to one another. After all, that is what it will be like in heaven.
a lifelong pledge to others in "your" church, as in the Jesus Army Church, or in church more wide, and general sense of the word?
ReplyDeletemy church
ReplyDelete(we've moved on from "exclusivity" here)
yes maybe. I will stop now then. Thankyou for taking the time to reply.
ReplyDeleteAnon
ReplyDeleteDon't all churches have committie meetings?..Are those meetings open to all that step foot in the church? or are they normaly kept to the more commited for that church?
; ) The TJ
I should think committee meetings were open to all, however meetings that made decisions regarding finance and other factors of church running would be held in a leadership meeting, which no not everyone is a member of for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteCommittee meetings are normally only for members of the committee though.For those committeed to the committee...or at least thats how it seems to work with the CofE here...but i think anyone can ask to be on the committee, but that in itself takes commitment.
ReplyDelete; ) The TJ