What is Congregational Worship?

“Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching”
Hebrews 10:25

Introduction

We are encouraged in scripture to “meet together” and “encourage one another”. But what is “meeting together”?

What is a “Church” or “Congregation”?

Throughout Christendom, many gather together for worship, or to sit down and listen to a sermon given by a minister. Today, this is often done in what we call church buildings, meeting halls and alike.

The modern phrase “church”, comes from a later Latin translation of the Greek word “kyriakos”, which means “belonging to the Lord”, and this Latinised word “church”, became associated with “church buildings”.

The phrase “church”, was later inserted into the Bible where it often says “ekklésia”, which is the Greek word meaning “to gather”, “assemble” or to “congregate”. This word is also the origin of the modern day word “ecclesiastical”, which is also now associated with church buildings or the formulaic running of religious organisations:

• “The churches/congregations (ekklésia) in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the congregation/church that meets at their house“. – 1 Corinthians 16:19

As we can see, the original word, where the term “church” is inserted in Bibles today, does not refer to a building, but rather, a gathering of Christians as a group. We see in the above cited verse, that these gatherings were usually done in people’s homes, but sometimes these gatherings were also done in Jewish Synagogues (Jewish houses of worship and prayer), (Acts 2:46), but more often the former, especially after the Christians were no longer welcomed in Jewish Synagogues.

As opposed to what many would believe, the scriptures do not direct us to gather together in a manner that is “formulaic”, or to something that is akin to a “function” which would require a holy building, temple, or alike. Rather, the congregating of Christians is a communal one, which can be done at any place, at any time. This echoes the saying of Yeshua who stated:

• “…’Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father'”. – John 4:21

A congregation, simply put, is a gathering of Christian brothers and sisters, which does not require a special church, temple or any other kind of dedicated building.

What does Congregating Entail?

When it comes to “gathering” or “congregating”, the scriptures detail to us, what “meeting together” actually entails:

• “For where two or three gather together in my name, there am I with them”. – Matthew 18:20
• “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer“. – Acts 2:42
• “And all those having believed were together the same, and having all things in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need“. – Acts 2:45
• “Let the word of [the] Anointed richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God“. – Colossians 3:16
• “…When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up“. – 1 Corinthians 14:26

As we can see, when Christians gather, it does not require large numbers, but even just two or three people can be considered a “congregational gathering”.

When gathered together, Christians may share scriptures, encourage one another, teach scripture to one another, converse, sing songs, eat (which also includes practising the Lord’s Supper), and even may share their means (be that financial, materially, or otherwise) with one another.

Truly, a Christian congregation is a family unit, a community of love and worship, it is not a cold functional thing, consisting of one mouth and one hundred ears (as is the case with a great majority of modern churches). Each Christian is considered a part of the “body of the Anointed”, who all have their own strengths, weaknesses, gifts and contributions:

• “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in [the] Anointed we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully”. – Romans 12:4-8
• “The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with [the] Anointed. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of [the] Anointed, and each of you is a member of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?”. – 1 Corinthians 12:12-30

As we see, merely ‘sitting in a church’ does not make one a Christian, just as sitting in a garage does not make a person a car. Rather, when Christians gather together, this in turn is what ‘creates’ a “church”, or more accurately, congregation, or gathering.

To have a congregation, we see that we only require two or more believers coming together. They may not even require any need of Elders, but of course, some congregations may choose to “elect Elders” in their group to take charge of organisational affairs and teaching within the group.

(For more information on Congregational Elders, see my article):

What is a Congregation Elder?

What to do about “bad” Congregations

Though congregations should be gatherings of Christians for the purposes of encouragement, love and worship, sometimes we may encounter bad congregations.

A bad congregation may, or may not, be a subjective matter. What makes a bad congregation in someone’s eyes may have many variables, which may range from the behaviour or attitude of the congregating members, the Shepherds of the congregation (Elders), or perhaps the doctrines and teachings of the congregation.

A congregation should all be “united in like mind” (1 Corinthians 1:10), that is, all united in Yeshua as their Lord and Master, and with the Father, Yah, as their God, being dedicated to worshipping in “spirit and truth”, and remaining true to the teachings of the scriptures.

Because many Christians have different understandings or interpretations of the Bible, it is to be expected that at times, brothers and sisters will disagree on some matters. This is natural, for none of us today are inspired like the Apostles, and so will have varying understandings of scripture, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that, so long as we all are seeking genuine truth, and are not claiming that our personal opinions are more valid than anyone else’s.

Whilst disagreements over “non-essential” subjects may occur, that is, non-salvation doctrines, such as debates over literal or symbolic hellfire, interpretations of the prophecies of Revelation, the celebration of certain festivals, the age of the Earth, or an opinion on the date of a Biblical event, Christians do well to be humble, and accept differences of opinion where the scriptures allow freedom of thought (1 Corinthians 10:29).

However, there may also be times when there are disagreements over things, which some brothers and sisters may consider “beyond non-salvation matters”. Subjects, which affect the very purity of one’s worship.

For example, a Christian or a few Christians in the group may believe in the Trinity, whilst another does not. In this case, the subject becomes a very heated one, for this entails the very being we proclaim to ‘worship’ and ‘pray to’. How can a congregation be united, if everyone disagrees over the person we are actually praying to? Or who we believe to be our God?

Likewise, some Christians may be teaching or believing in things, such as the allowance or even promotion of polygamy, or fornication, or homosexual relationships. Clearly, these are subjects relating to the very commands of Yeshua himself, and therefore, a brother may not feel in good company to congregate with a group of Christians who subscribe to such things.

Whilst these matters are personal, we all do well to act on our own conscience in accordance to our understanding of the scriptures, for we all must answer to Yeshua at the end of the day, and we are commanded to “get out of her” (false religion) and to “stop touching unclean things” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

An early example of this, can be found in the 1st-2nd Centuries, when a group of Christians, called the Gnostics, began teaching that the God of the Old Testament, was a different God to the New Testament, and that Yeshua had never come in the flesh, but rather, pretended to be flesh, and came to “rescue people from the evil material world”.

Apostle John himself wrote a warning in regard to this group of Christians, informing others to not follow them (2 John 1:7). Likewise, Paul wrote to Christians on warning them not to fall into “Sectarianism”, that is, following a man as an unquestionable leader (1 Corinthians 1:12-13).

Typically, when a congregation has one or two members the rest of the congregation deems to promoting false teachings which clearly and directly break the commands of the scriptures, the members will choose to limit their associations with them, and refuse to share worship with them. This usually deals with the matter effectively.

(More on this subject can be found in my other articles here):

Do Christians Have to Agree on Everything?

Disfellowshipping Part II: Apostasy, Sects & the Antichrist

However, there may be times where we are in the minority, and we may feel that an entire congregation may have fell to false teachings.

Therefore, if we personally deem, that a congregation has “gone off the rails” so to speak, and has begun to promote teachings which completely contradict with the commands of God and Yeshua which are essential for salvation, if we believe an entire congregation has completely fallen into unrepentant sin, sectarianism, or antichristism, we do well to fall away from such congregations, and seek other Christians elsewhere, who are holy in their conduct, like minded to ourselves and our understanding of scripture, in accordance to the seeking of truth.