Communion Bags
Just thought I'd post on how we celebrate communion.
First of all, we utilize communion as a way of people "crossing the line of faith." I can't think of a more appropriate way to symbolize a step of faith than celebrating communion for the first time. In our culture, we sign on the dotted line to formalize a contract. With the new covenant, we eat the bread and drink the cup.
We tend to do communion during messages and series where it really fits the Big Idea. So we did communion during our DTR: Define the Relationship Series. I thought communion was a great fit with defining our relationship with God.
We celebrated communion yesterday and I talked about the aphorism: out with the old and in with the new. That is what communion is all about. It was a tight fit with this Neos series.
We don't celebrate communion the same way every time. We mix it up so it doesn't become too ritualistic. But my favorite form of communion is giving people a communion bag with a tin and a vial. I like for people to hold them in their hand during the service as a way of preparing their hearts for the experience.
We also encourage people to hang on to the tin and vial as a spiritual memento if they celebrated communion for the first time.
One word of warning:
The tins are noisy :) And you've gotta love the sound of suction as a few hundred people drink the vial :)
First of all, we utilize communion as a way of people "crossing the line of faith." I can't think of a more appropriate way to symbolize a step of faith than celebrating communion for the first time. In our culture, we sign on the dotted line to formalize a contract. With the new covenant, we eat the bread and drink the cup.
We tend to do communion during messages and series where it really fits the Big Idea. So we did communion during our DTR: Define the Relationship Series. I thought communion was a great fit with defining our relationship with God.
We celebrated communion yesterday and I talked about the aphorism: out with the old and in with the new. That is what communion is all about. It was a tight fit with this Neos series.
We don't celebrate communion the same way every time. We mix it up so it doesn't become too ritualistic. But my favorite form of communion is giving people a communion bag with a tin and a vial. I like for people to hold them in their hand during the service as a way of preparing their hearts for the experience.
We also encourage people to hang on to the tin and vial as a spiritual memento if they celebrated communion for the first time.
One word of warning:
The tins are noisy :) And you've gotta love the sound of suction as a few hundred people drink the vial :)
16 Comments:
If you don't celebrate communion often how can it become too ritualistic?
Doctrineman,
Love the name by the way :)
Too funny!
Anything can become ritualistic. In psychological terms it's called habituation. We learn how and forget why. For what it's worth, studies have shown that once we sing a song about thirty times we stop thinking about the lyrics. We go through the motions.
Communion is so SACRED that we try to make it a fresh experience every time!
By the way, isn't it interesting that Scripture doesn't prescribe how often we should celebrate communion?
Mark
Why do find my name funny?
It's just funny.
There's superman, batman, spiderman, and doctrineman :)
It's rather ingenious.
Mark,
I love the idea of switching communion up. However, drinking out of vials seems a little...um...weird. How do I REALLY know what's in there? :)
Great blog, by the way. I look forward to more.
Todd
Mark,
Do you have a lot of message series where the shed blood and broken body of Christ DON'T fit the Big Idea?
Yikes! :)
Mike,
Communion is one of two ordinances passed down from generation to generation of Christians. So it is a central practice. And certainly the crucifixion is at the heart of every orthodox Christian's faith.
Having said that, I can't imagine preaching on that one dimension of our faith every week. My job is to preach the whole counsel of God. The truth is scripture is far too kaleidscopic for us to preach the same thing week in and week out. I want people to understand the core of our faith and I want to equip people to live out their faith 9-5, Monday-Friday.
For example, we don't typically celebrate commmunion when we're talking about a theology of sexuality or financial stewardship or.
Scripture doesn't prescribe the frequency of communion. I don't have issue with those who celebrate more or less than we do. I see advantages both ways. But my goal is simple: I want communion to be the most sacred and meaningful experience possible every time we come to the Lord's table.
Thanks for reading :)
Mark
Is it just me or has this comment thread been kind of odd? ;)
Way to handle it PM!
"certainly the crucifixion is at the heart of every orthodox Christian's faith"
May I respectfully disagree? I believe the resurrection is central to our faith. A lot of people died on a cross, but only one man was raised from the dead three days later.
I also believe that celebrating communion is something that we should do as often as possible, maybe everytime we come together. However, I don't know if it needs to be a part of the worship service. It could be a part of a meal, small group or other setting appropriate to the situation. I think that churches that take it every Sunday (mine does) without being intentional about it is is no more "right" than a church that takes it sporadically.
Todd,
I totally agree.
Of course, you can't have a resurrection without a crucifixion.
Have you noticed that most churches have a crucifix? Especially in orthodox churches. But we fail to really symbolize the empty tomb like we could or should.
Good thought.
Mark
I proposed that my church build a 300 foot statue of nothing to represent the tomb. It was cost effective, wouldn't be an eyesore for the public and spoke the truth of the resurrection. Unfortunately, my proposal was denied. The church of Christ abhors all iconography. Oh well...
Hey Mark,
I get what you're saying, but how do you preach on a Christian view of sex or money without the cross?
What motivation do people have to sacrifice their money here on earth for the future riches of heaven is not Jesus, who became poor for our sake (II Cor 8:9) and sacrificed everything on the cross for the joy set before him in heaven(Hebrews 12:2)? How do you tell people to be sexually pure without mentioning the savior who died to make his bride spotless (Eph 5), thus making our sexual sin sins committed against his body (I Cor 5)? How do you tell people to enjoy sex in marriage without mentioning the one perfect example of love that we have on the cross?
I guess my point is everything has to do with the cross, otherwise it seems like there's a danger of just trotting out warmed over advice without the power to change. Without the cross, our sermons could be preached in a synagogue or a mosque.
BTW, we celebrate communion once a month, whether we're in Esther or Revelation. And I totally agree that when to celebrate is a matter of prudence. Thanks for your blog... it stimulates my thinking.
Todd,
I can see it in my mind's eye :)
Mark
Mike,
Good thoughts.
While I don't talk about the cross in every single message I do think that every message must be Bible-based. And that is part of what distinguishes it from a mosque or synagogue. Scripture is our operational software.
I think there are lots of biblical themes that we need to be careful not to ignore. Scripture is so kaleidoscopic!
I know you're not saying this, but one of my "hobby horses" lately is reminding people that Jesus didn't just come to revoke the penalty for sin. He came to help us grow into Christlikenss and be good stewards of our God-given potential.
My two cents,
Mark
One of the best messages I ever heard was at a Promise Keepers event and Ed Cole?, gave a message on sexual sins and he suggested that communion be a integral part of the restoration, he suggested that those with porn problems in front of their coputer screen receive communion with their wives, very powerful
Great idea! That is a powerful example. Probably wouldn't do it everytime, but thanks for the idea.
I think alot of people are really broken sexually and I can definitely see a communion experience being part of healing.
Love it.
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