Now that you have thought about the order of service, I want you to think about what you would identify as the climax of said service. Where did the service peak? What was it about the gathering that everyone was anticipating? What is the one thing that surely cannot fail? What is it that keeps drawing people back to church? For many Protestant Evangelical churches, that answer, unfortunately, is the sermon.
Don't get me wrong, I love the sermon, assuming that it's done well. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to attend a handful of churches on a semi-regular-to-very-involved basis, all of which employed pastors gifted in teaching and exposition. As a student of theology, I very much appreciate listening in on sermons which challenge my intellect, attitude, and behaviour. I think the sermon is a very important part of the service, but I don't think it should be the climax.
Have you ever heard someone say something along the lines of "I didn't go to church today, but it's okay because I listened to the sermon." It's okay, I've been that person! While this may be a great option for those physically incapable of attending a church service because of illness, travel, etc., such reasoning is only possible because of our over-emphasis on the sermon proper.
Let's examine some of the possible negative effects that placing the sermon as the climax of the sermon can have:
1) We measure the "success" of a service based on the quality of the sermon.
We've all heard good sermons, and we've all heard bad sermons. Some strike home, others leave us wanting. However, such a variable should not be our guide as to whether a service is "good" or not.
2) We deify the pastor.
Recently, Seattle megachurch Mars Hill fired their pastor, Evangelical superstar Mark Driscoll. While the reason for his absence is not the focus of this post, it is important that we take note of the aftermath of such a decision. Driven by a misguided loyalty, hundreds of Mars Hill's congregants pledged their allegiance to Driscoll and vowed to follow him wherever he went. When it comes down to it, we must be committed to Jesus more than our pastor.
3) We lose sight of why we really go to church: to worship God.
Do you know the reason we gather on Sundays? No, not because of the Sabbath, because as any good Jew could tell you, the Sabbath is on Saturday. No, the early Christians gathered on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ! Isn't that cause for a celebration? Their focus wasn't on who was preaching that Sunday, but rather they gathered as a body of believers to worship the one true, Triune God.
So, if the sermon is no longer the climax of our service, that leaves us with two questions: what is the purpose of the sermon, and what should be the climax of our service?
First, on the purpose of the sermon. As a whole, our service should be directed wholeheartedly towards God. Our songs should be directed towards God, the scripture reading should be done in honour and worship of God, and when we greet/pass the peace/shake someone's hand, that should be done knowing that the person whose face you are seeing is indeed the image of the one true, Triune God. The sermon, too, should be to tell the congregation about God, his goodness, and how we can live in honour him. The sermon instructs and guides us to be better stewards of the Gospel, better residents of the Kingdom.
Finally, it is my proposition that Communion takes the place of the sermon as the climax of our worship service. It is at the Communion Table that heaven and earth meet, where our earthly body and blood meet the body and blood of the one whom is our own lifeblood. For if it at the table where we meet the body and blood of the crucified and risen Christ, what words that a preacher gives can exceed that?
It is no secret that we live in an individualistic culture. We like it when things are focused on ourselves, which is why so many of the songs we sing and the sermons we preach are focused on ourselves. However, individualism has no place in the church. When we become too inward focused, we lose sight of the one who deserves all the strength our mind can give.
The great bishop St. Augustine of Hippo once said, "For the fullness of our happiness, beyond which there is none else, is this: to enjoy God the Trinity in whose image we were made." Is this really evident in our churches today? Do we take all our enjoyment in the Triune God, or do we worry when we hear a sermon that doesn't necessarily pass our standards?
How would such a thought change our churches? How would our experience of both church and Christ differ if we believed that we were encountering the crucified and risen Christ every time that we came to church?
