The Ordinances – A Spiritual Foundation
A sacrament is, “a Christian rite that is a means of divine grace.” An ordinance is, “an authoritative order or decree.”
In the Churches of God, General Conference, we observe the ordinances of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the washing of Feet. We believe that these three things were decreed by Christ, not as means of imparting salvation or some supernatural power, but as a means of worshiping through remembrance.
We believe that the spiritual foundation of the local church is based in the observance of these three ordinances.
- The Lord’s Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Lk. 22:19
- Feet Washing, “I have set an example so that you should do as I have done to you.” Jn. 13:15
- Baptism, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AND TEACH THEM TO OBEY ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.” Mt. 28:19-20
Why did I emphasize the last portion of the statement from Matthew? Because we have not been doing the best job of that here at Churchtown. I am always preaching that we need to look in the mirror and evaluate who we are, what we believe, why we believe it, and how we live it. Well, the same applies in all situations and as I have been looking in the mirror, I have been convicted of the fact that the spiritual foundation of the church is cracked and must be repaired.
This is not a bad thing in and of itself. I teach that foundations are good precisely BECAUSE they crack and thus can be repaired. It is the person, or the church with NO foundation that is drifting.
I do not want to drift. To this end, we as a congregation of believers must move forward in our spiritual growth, and in order to do this we must be intentional with our spiritual practices. Moving forward, I would like to:
- Learn about fasting and be intentional about fasting as a congregation and intentionally practice it regularly. There are many ways in which we can do this:
- A person fasts, as folks normally do, from dinner until breakfast with the caveat that they spend at least one hour of intentional prayer in the evening, after they eat, and in the morning before they eat again.
- We study at 12, 24, 36, and 48 hour fasting procedures and follow-through.
- We intentionally fast overnight before we serve The Lord’s Supper on a Sunday morning to break the fast.
- Between all of this, perhaps there will never be a week when a person, or group of people are NOT fasting and praying for the church and chamily. Perhaps we could even be intentional with a “schedule” – for lack of a better word.
- “Sweet Hour of Prayer” this idea is certainly nothing new, but something that is imperative to the healthy spiritual foundation of this church. I would like to set aside one evening a month to simply come together and pray. An hour? Three? Whatever and however we are led.
- I see this as being organized and led by a person – or group – from the congregation who have the gift of intercessory prayer. You know who you are. Are you relating to this idea right now as you read this? Perhaps then, you are being called.
- Council has committee to this as well. Beginning October 10th, we will be gathering in the sanctuary in the effort to discern and define our roles as deacons and elders and intentionally pray over the congregation we serve. It is a good thing.
- Prayer during the service. I know we pray during the service, but I am speaking of a rotating group of people willing to go off by themselves and pray while the worship service is taking place – pray as they are led for God’s Holy Spirit to bring wisdom, for eyes and hearts to be opened, and for the Word of God to be expressed as it should.
- This is a bit of a more unique idea, but I know there are people willing and we have the space both upstairs and downstairs for a small group to gather – maybe not even from the entire time, maybe just until the communal prayer of the congregation begins.
- Intentionality with the ordinances. If we profess to follow the ordinances of Jesus, then we are simply being selfish and disrespectful if we only follow those commands when it is convenient or when they do not make us uncomfortable. We are rather steadfast with baptism – when an individual decides that it is for them, we move to conduct that baptism in a timely manner. With The Lord’s Supper and Feet Washing, however, we are less intentional.
There is a bit of a conundrum when it comes to The Lord’s Supper. On the one hand, I preach, becassue it is true, that we should not turn it into a ritual that we simply feel we must do. On the other hand, we know that God commands us to do it, and we read in Acts 2:42 that the people gather regularly for the breaking of bread including the Lord’s Supper. So how is this best accomplished? I believe that it is best accomplished by looking at the calendar at the beginning of the year and setting specific dates on which we will share The Lord’s Supper together. This would be on top of the many times we share it together during special services and times of the year (Christmas, Easter. Thanksgiving et.)
- The same holds true for the Washing of Feet. We must look at the calendar and set aside specific dates during which this ordinance will be conducted during our time of worship as an act of worship. We practice it now only on the evening of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) of Easter week. We should set aside a Sunday in the Spring and a Sunday in the Fall to intentionally observe this commandment as a congregation.
- This is the ordinance that we get self-conscious about, there is no doubt, and I believe that we must press into the way that this ordinance makes us feel. Why? Because that is EXACTLY what God intends! It is uncomfortable. It is powerful. It does attack our self-image and our pride and challenges us to be obedient – something that not too many people are very good at – myself included.