The “Body Life”

Written by Dene McGriff


The “Body Life”

I titled thisrepparttar “Body Life” to contrast it torepparttar 146369 traditional church or home meeting. Christians get fixated on meetings –repparttar 146370 where, when and how. They can see howrepparttar 146371 home meeting can be intimate and participatory but can’t imagine how it would work in a larger meeting.

I would not have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it for a number of years – meetings with upwards of 200 or 300 people or more in a large hall that was totally unscripted becauserepparttar 146372 Holy Spirit was in control. There was no “order of worship”. Anyone could begin by a prayer, a song, a testimony. Very oftenrepparttar 146373 Holy Spirit led us corporately in a single theme. Anyone was free to participate at any time. There was no chaos. There was order. The chairs were in a circle. There was no podium. There were elders but they were not visible or obvious. If something got off track, they would bring it back, but they were truly there to facilitate rather than dominate. The spirit and attitude everyone had was to followrepparttar 146374 leading ofrepparttar 146375 Holy Spirit, to sense what to do when – whether to pick a song, read fromrepparttar 146376 Bible, pray, praise, testify or teach. Most understood that they were there to glorify God and to share whatrepparttar 146377 Lord had done in our lives that week. The meetings were fresh and often glorious.

This is not to say we didn’t have some bad meetings, people sharing inappropriately, etc. but that’s what leadership is all about. When someone goes off track or just plain “offrepparttar 146378 wall”,repparttar 146379 mature saints need to be sensitive torepparttar 146380 Lord and bring it back intorepparttar 146381 flow ofrepparttar 146382 Spirit. This is not heavy handed or dictatorial. The meeting is still inrepparttar 146383 hands of allrepparttar 146384 saints who are free to share a hymn, a psalm, a testimony, pray, etc.

So what canrepparttar 146385 pastor do who wants to turn his church around fromrepparttar 146386 dead one man show to a living body? The pastor may tell people, “okay, folks, I’m going to shut up forrepparttar 146387 next month. I’m just here to encourage you.” Function follows form. Take awayrepparttar 146388 pulpit. Putrepparttar 146389 chairs in a circle. Begin to announce a couple of weeks before handrepparttar 146390 reason forrepparttar 146391 change and how it will work, emphasizingrepparttar 146392 need for all to have fresh experiences and light fromrepparttar 146393 Lord to share. Encourage them to be sensitive torepparttar 146394 leading ofrepparttar 146395 Holy Spirit as to which song to pick, when and what to share. Keep prayers and testimonies “short, quick, real and fresh” (as we used to say). If someone drones on for a while without much real to say, it will killrepparttar 146396 meeting and interruptrepparttar 146397 Spirit’s flow.

Christians grow when they letrepparttar 146398 life of Jesus they have experienced flow out to others. This can happen in large meetings or small. It may take a little time and prodding to get people used torepparttar 146399 idea, but it can be done.

Most of these meetings fall flat on their face. Why? A "body life" meeting is only as good as our walk withrepparttar 146400 Lord. If we are living inrepparttar 146401 past, living off of experiences we had last month or ten years ago, we are going to be in for a rude awakening. It may sound trite to say that we need to "have a fresh experience of Christ" daily, but it is true. Many people can tell old "war stories" for hours on end, howrepparttar 146402 Lord did this or that for them years ago. But what counts is whatrepparttar 146403 Lord did in my life today, this week - not last year or 30 years ago. An interesting thing about a body life meeting is that there is no place to hide. You are exposed. If your experience is stale, your sharing will smell like a stale ash tray to you and othersrepparttar 146404 minute you open your mouth.

Why do we end up with big meetings and professional speakers? Inrepparttar 146405 traditional service, there is nothing to do, nothing to prepare for. It takesrepparttar 146406 heat off. We can hide and don't have to deal with our shallowness and lack of reality.

GOD SENDS HELP

Written by Irvin L. Rozier


1 Chronicles 12 verse 22. "For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, likerepparttar host of God."

Saul was dead, and it was time for David to become King. As a young man, he was anointed byrepparttar 146071 prophet Samuel, to berepparttar 146072 King of Israel. However, Saul was king, and David had to fight some battles to get torepparttar 146073 time and place where God wanted him. When this time approached, God sent help from everywhere...they were eager to make David king, and "were of one heart to make David king".

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