Exporting the Churches of Christ: Communion

Communion.

The Lord's Supper.

The Table.

If you've grown up in the churches of Christ as I have you are sure to be familiar with the above terms. Known by various names depending on where you are, the form has remained relatively the same for generations; someone to present the "communion talk" and various men grabbed at the start of the service to "pass the plates" with the "giving back to the Lord" talk shortly thereafter.

I'm not being disrespectful about the weekly practice of the Lord's Supper. I am glad to be counted among the churches of Christ that have faithfully administered the weekly ordinance. The practice was something undertaken by the earliest Christian disciples as a weekly reminder of the Lord Jesus' obedient sacrifice and the institution of the new blood covenant and therefore something that should be done today. Even though the broader evangelical movement has strayed away from a weekly remembrance the churches of Christ (and other restorationist groups) have remained consistent. We have not bought into other's justifications ceasing weekly observance for fear that "the supper will lose significance" even though doing so ironically robs it of all significance. While we have perhaps substituted our understanding of what elements actually constitute the Lord's supper (wafer and grape juice vs. a communion meal) our motivation remains pure; remembering collectively the great sacrifice of our Lord on a weekly, corporate basis.

Having returned to cross-cultural living again I have begun to see that we have been a little careless about what we're exporting regarding communion. American churches of Christ have exported not only the gospel but some of the bad habits that make a church of Christ service, well, a church of Christ service. Regarding communion, the most harmful is the traditional communion talk. No matter where I've travelled the tendency has always been the same, to use the communion talk to talk about communion. You know the scriptures well because they're repeated every week ad nauseam:

1 Corinthians 11 or Matthew 26:26. Rinse and Repeat

They've been repeated so often that a pattern has emerged at the weekly commencement of communion, a communion talk about communion. That's like the master chef describing his sumptuous creation by talking about the scientific theory of hunger! Every week our people around the globe are being reminded, not about the sacrifice of Jesus and the eternal purposes behind that event, but about the reasons why communion should be a weekly ordinance! That people ought to be prepared to receive the Lord's supper is not in dispute but the few moments before we partake of the communion meal are wasted when we use the time to talk about the communion meal itself. What a waste. As I've been leading and teaching our people to think differently about this here are some of the ideas I've used to assist our members to think not about the communion meal but about God:

1) The cross, wrath, mercy, judgement, and propitiation.

2) The holiness of God.

3) The grace of God.

4) The resurrection of Jesus.

5) The worthiness of God.

6) Repentance and reconciliation.

7) Jesus, the Greater Adam.

8) The Once-for-all Sacrifice.

9) Forgiveness (horizontal & vertical).

10) Jesus, the Great High Priest.

There are a multitude of scriptures for each of these, all capable of leading us through the worship event of communion. They are the things that stir our hearts, wills, and emotions to a deeper more profound love for God. They are the doctrines that serve as conduits to the mercies of God that overflow into soulful adoration.

Stop using the communion talk to talk about communion and start talking about God. Stop reminding them that they ought to be talking communion every week and lead them to scriptural truths that will produce their desire to do so.

God deserves it and our people need it.

A Voice of One...

I've wondered what it must have felt like for John the Baptist

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:1-3

to stand against the tidal-wave of his culture; Dressed in his animal skins when robes were the rage, eating locust and wild-honey when normal food was plentiful, choosing homelessness in the wilderness when he had other options. I think it was because he saw the hand of God at work and chose wisely the right side of history.

God will not care about your personal net worth.
God will not care that you owned the latest smart phone.
God will not care that you climbed the corporate ladder.
God will not care how many "friends" you had in your online circles.

His greatest concern is that you see his hand at work and choose to join him for your good and his glory. What's holding you back from becoming a lone voice?

Why I Wear Two Wedding Rings

Like most normal guys now days, I'm not a jewelry person. I don't even wear a watch. In my younger years jewelry seemed cool, rebellious, tough. Gold earrings and gold necklaces for tough guys were all the rage…but then again so were New Kids on the

Block Vanilla Ice and Heavy D & The Boyz. Thankfully those days are long gone. Ever since then I've been on a gradual jewelry diet so that today the only accessories I take with me are a wallet, phone, and two wedding rings. Yep, two wedding rings.

I'm still only married to one woman (this year celebrating 10 years) and I've never lost my original white gold wedding band, so what caused me to go and get another wedding ring?

Gold Culture

After moving to Portugal we noticed something that we had never noticed as visitors all those years; 99% of married couples wear matching yellow gold wedding bands. Its traditional. Being from America, when we got married we followed the American tradition of a nice diamond ring for her and a rugged, utilitarian band for him.

"Can this ring withstand rock-climbing, auto-repair, skydiving, and bear cage-fighting?"

"Why, you do all of those things?"

"No. I just want to make sure this ring can handle it if I ever decide to."

Now, I'm certain that it would have been no big deal to just keep our old wedding bands. No one here is expecting us to get matching yellow bands just like immigrants to Eastern Europe aren't expected to wear their wedding bands on the right hand. But we're doing it regardless, because no one expects it.

Love Is…

I've come to realize that ministry is as much about loving people as it is about doctrine. It's what Jesus did when incarnate he entered into our world; not only to preach but also to serve and die. We're wearing two wedding bands because it says something, albeit, small about how we feel about our adopted culture. It expresses our desire to be servants. It demonstrates that we uphold and honor the institution of marriage. It's our small way of becoming… and who knows, it may just be the catalyst to a conversation about the hope within us which is worth far more than the cost of a second wedding ring.

Sorry Joey, Jordan, Donnie, Danny, and Jonathan…This time I think I have you beat.