This series is reviewing Rethinking The Wineskin by Frank Viola. See my introduction to the series, if you haven't already, for the background discussion about the book.

The very first thing Viola tackles is the church gathering. This is appropriate, since this is the very first thing most people think of when talking about church practice (though arguably it is not the most important thing). This is one of the longest chapters in the book. The only topic Viola spends more time discussing is leadership, which is actually covered over two chapters. (We'll get there later.)

Modern church basically has four reasons for church gatherings. Corporate worship, evangelism, sermons, and fellowship.

Viola points out that none of these reasons are described in the NT as a purpose of gathering together. There is only one purpose described in the NT - mutual edification (1 Corinthians 14:26, Hebrews 10:24-25).

As Paul pulls back the curtain of the first-century gathering in 1 Corinthians 11-14, we see a meeting where every member is actively involved. Freshness, openness, and spontaneity are the chief marks of this meeting. Mutual edification is its primary goal...

The Lord Jesus was free to speak through whomever He chose. And in whatever capacity He saw fit. Consequently, the common practice of a few professional ministers assuming all the important activities of the church, while the rest of the saints remain passive, was utterly foreign to the early church.

For some reason, we think that tradition has more to say on this topic than scripture. We act as though the hundreds of years of presentationally styled meetings carries more weight than what the apostles started. These are the guys that Christ chose to build His church. I think we should pay attention to what they said and did!

The end result of this mistake is what we see today - churches full of Christians who look very similar to the rest of the world.

The institutional church is essentially a nursery for overgrown spiritual babes. It habituates God's people into being passive receivers. It stunts their spiritual development and keeps them in spiritual infancy...

The Reformation recovered the truth of the priesthood of all believers. But it failed to restore the necessary practices that embody this teaching.

The early Christians knew nothing of liturgy. They knew nothing of programs (or bulletins). They knew nothing of rituals. They knew nothing equivalent to the modern-day "pastor." They knew that their purpose of gathering together was simply mutual edification. They each came to the gathering knowing that the Spirit may very well move them to edify the body.

The format of our gatherings either supports or erodes the principle of the priesthood of all believers. While modern church might claim to support this idea, in practice, we elevate the position of the clergy to that of priest, and suppress contributions from those who are under them.

The open format gathering is the heart of the practical expression of the priesthood of all believers. It cuts through the system of a clergy/laity division. It cuts through denominationalism. It cuts through human control and gives control of the gathering to the Holy Spirit. It is essential to the renewal of the church to more closely resemble the descriptions contained in the NT. As big and as important as this is, we would be fooling ourselves to believe that this alone is enough. There is much, much more to be addressed.

Labels: books, church, house church, open formats, reviews