I remember gathering with a group of pastors for a special evening of fellowship. As we sat together, the room was thick with a sense of expectation. We knew something exciting and memorable was about to happen in our midst. Initially we were quiet and reflective, but spontaneously the gathering erupted in excitement and joy.
Australia kicked the winning goal.
Sadly, this kind of "enthusiasm' is often absent from many of our evangelical gatherings. Men and women are happy to jump and shout when their sporting team wins, but are hesitant to show any obvious expressions of emotion when they go to church.
I suspect that one of the main reasons for our guarded emotions is that we wish to distance ourselves from Pentecostal theology. The fear is that if we resemble the excitement of a Pentecostal church then we naturally have subscribed to every aspect of their theology.
Yet, this response sells us short. It is essential that we know God in his Word by his Spirit, and that we continue to be vigilant against letting our feelings about God shape our perception of our status before him. Whether or not we feel close to God may have more to do with how much sleep we've had the night before!
However, once we have heard the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, (and continue to hear it week after week,) then it is entirely inappropriate for us to remain impassive. Instead, we should allow our affections to react to this news in a natural fashion.
We should laugh and cheer as we hear of the victory of Jesus over the Devil at Calvary" we should mourn and cry as we reflect upon our sins and our weak human flesh" we should be motivated to love and serve our Father and our neighbours as we come to comprehend more of the depths of the wonder of the Father's love for us in Christ.
However, this brief sample of the range of emotions to the gospel provides an insight to a further problem, and perhaps another reason why we downplay our emotions. Within any gathering, people will arrive from a variety of different situations. One mother may still be rejoicing in her son's recent wedding, whilst another mother may still be mourning her son's recent funeral. One person might be bearing a heavy conscience as they recognise the need to repent of a habitual sin, whereas another person might be marvelling at a remarkable answer to prayer.
The wrong answer to this dilemma is to adopt the Bobby McFerrin approach to the Christian life: "Don't worry, be happy!" This fails for two reasons. Firstly, it fails to validate the emotions of those who rightly feel sadness or remorse. Yet, more seriously, it fails to understand the nature of the Christian life.
For, whilst our earthly gatherings are a reflection of the heavenly gatherings around Christ, they are still earthly, not heavenly. The Christian life is about hoping and waiting for the blessings we have already received in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, not for pretending we're already healthy, wealthy and happy.
So then, what emotion should our gathering feel? It depends on what God is saying by his Spirit as his Word is spoken. It may be that he leads our congregation to remorse, or to celebration, or anywhere in between. Yet, whatever happens, we must be ready to be moved by God as he leads us by his Spirit through the path of repentance towards service of him and our neighbour to his glory as we await the return of Jesus.
This is an excerpt from Jodie McNeill's "Rethinking Church Gatherings' seminar at the upcoming TWIST Music Conference, to be held this year on 12-13 August 2006. For details and registrations visit [url=http://www.twist.org.au]http://www.twist.org.au[/url].
