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What should the focus of the assembly be? Resolving the tension between communion and the sermon.

One of the joys of following the New Testament model of church leadership, as opposed to the head-honcho/clergy getup that is so prevalent these days, is that it has the potential of being a far richer and stimulating experience. When a number of co-equal Elders share the responsibility of teaching and speaking to the congregation, their different styles and perspectives can bring out more of the depth and richness of Scripture. The Elders balance each other out, each one’s strengths compensate for each other’s weaknesses and each one brings unique gifts and insights to the mix.

There are times, however, when the different views and perspectives can be a little too divergent. When that happens, there had better be a spirit of grace lest the differences lead to argument and discord. Take the question of what the focus of the church assembly should be. My fellow Elders and I have been having a friendly discussion (debate is far too harsh a word) about certain aspects of it. We obviously have some different ideas and, if anyone were more interested in his own agenda than in what’s best for the Lord’s work, it would have the potential to degenerate into disagreement.

The assembly as we know it

Now in the tradition we come from, the entire church assembly is built around the sermon. Typically, in this tradition, an assembly begins with a prayer and possibly a few announcements. This is followed by singing. The sermon comes after this, and the assembly closes with another song usually combined with an “invitation.” Either after the sermon, or just before it, the Lord’s Supper (Communion or Eucharist) is celebrated. But there’s no doubt that, in the minds of many people, the sermon is the most important piece. I have known preachers to become quite upset if the songs or the Communion ran a little longer than expected and cut into the preaching time. Though the churches which share our background have traditionally taught that the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated every Lord’s Day, it has to be said that in many of them, it has become a rather perfunctory ritual which should be quickly disposed of in order to make more time for the sermon.

Before beginning the congregation where I serve, we took a hard look at Scripture to make sure we understood the purpose of the church and the assembly. One of our convictions was that the Lord’s Supper should be emphasized far more than it often is. So, before partaking of the emblems which Christ commanded His followers to eat and drink in memory of the sacrifice He made on our behalf, we have a talk to focus our minds on some aspect of that sacrifice. The results have been extraordinary. Among the many benefits of the emphasis is that we hear more doctrine just in the Lord’s Supper talks alone than I’d gotten in everything put together at the congregation where I’d worshiped before.

Two different approaches

As much as we all enjoy and benefit from the Communion talks, it is they which have brought our difference in viewpoint to the fore. The question is, “How should the Lord’s Supper meditation relate to the rest of what we do during the assembly?” Part of the difference in outlook is a reflection of our basic temperaments. Some of my colleagues tend toward the spontaneous. They are not entirely sure what they are going to say until they actually get up to speak. Another of my colleagues wants to have all the Ts crossed and all the Is dotted, weeks in advance. When the former are in charge of preparing the assembly, it is a given that they will give little direction to those responsible for preparing the other parts of the assembly. The songs may, or may not, have any relationship to the sermon or even to each other. Their feeling is that the meditation should be something which stands alone without regard to the music or the sermon. When they give a communion meditation, it’s likely that it will be from one of the gospel accounts of the “last supper” or from 1st Corinthians 11.

While I am a long ways from being as compulsive as my fellow Elder who wants everything in total order long in advance, I am a fan of theming – which implies a fair bit of planning ahead. I happen to think that if the messages of the songs which are sung, the Communion meditation and the sermon are all tied together that the impact can be much greater than if the content of the various parts of the assembly is not related. Yes, the meditation is complete in its own right, but I think that in most cases it should fit the general theme of the assembly. While fully agreeing about the importance of the Lord’s Supper, my more spontaneous colleagues worry that if the meditation is themed to fit the rest of the assembly that it can “steal the thunder,” so to speak, from the sermon.

The broader context

Is there any way to reconcile these two different approaches? I think there is. But in order to do so, we need to step back a little and take a look at the broader context. What is the purpose of the assembly, anyway? In general terms, it is to help Christ’s followers become like Him. How does one become like Christ? By focusing on Him and copying His example. Paul wrote, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV)

This insight gives a whole new perspective on the assembly. The focus of the assembly is not the sermon. (In fact, why do we even have a sermon, let alone give it so much emphasis? That’s a question for another day!) The focus of the assembly is not the Communion meditation. The focus of the assembly is not the singing. The focus is not the prayers. The focus is Christ. He is the center, and everything should relate to Him and His death, burial and resurrection. So often we have things turned around! We should not be worrying about whether the meditation will detract from the sermon. We should be worrying about whether the sermon will detract from the message of the cross! Perhaps the sermon should be prepared with the meditation in mind instead of the other way around.

Putting it into practice

It works something like this: Take a hard look at whatever passage you intend to speak from (I’m assuming that you are preparing an expository sermon, but the same principle applies to topical sermons) and ask yourself what the central theme or idea of it is. Then ask how that theme or idea relates to the sacrifice of Christ. Then, write the sermon so that it expresses that theme or idea while keeping the focus on Christ and what He has done for us. Now that you have identified how the passage fits with Christ’s sacrifice, the Communion meditation can be written to emphasize that same aspect. Suddenly, the Lord’s Supper takes on new meaning. It is not merely a repetition of the facts of Jesus’ death, but a rich tapestry which touches every aspect of our Christian experience. Instead of a ritual which merely touches the edges of our faith, the Lord’s Supper becomes the central core of the assembly which ties everything else together.