The Holy Spirit and the Southern Baptist Convention (XXXIX): “What Makes Modern Churches Uneasy about 1 Corinthians 14:26-40″

Before beginning my treatment of what 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 actually teaches, I would like to do this one post on what it is about this passage that makes most modern churches, and especially their leaders, very antsy.  Put another way, before dissecting the passage itself, let’s invest a little time thinking through why, outside of heavy-duty Charismatic/Pentecostal circles, this passage is usually avoided like the plague.

When I was back in seminary in the early to mid-1970s, there was a new wind blowing in the non-Charismatic wing of the Jesus Movement called “Body Life.”  It greatly emphasized fairly spontaneous “sharing” by a number of people in large group meetings.  And, with the exception of those people who always stood up and “shared”–whether they had anything fresh to share or not–and those who “shared” simply because they loved the sound of their own voices, it was a generally very positive experience.

However, those experiences were at week-night parachurch ministry meetings or, and only very occasionally, at a mid-week or Sunday night church service.  To this day, in the non-Charismatic evangelical church circles in which I have been involved for the 30-35 years since, I have never seen anything that remotely resembles the dynamics of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 in a Sunday morning service of any of these local churches.

Now, I myself have been the pastor of three of those churches (for almost 12 years).  And, yes, I was either the short-term church planter or interim pastor for another half-dozen churches (for almost six years).  Thus, while I definitely was in a position to do something about bringing more “body life” into the worship services of these congregations, I have not done so.

Why?  Mostly because I was fearful–afraid of rocking the boat, afraid of things getting out of control, afraid I might be branded a “closet Charismatic”… who knows what else.  The main point here is that I let fear control me, instead of trying to apply Scripture as best I knew how.  I did that mainly by avoiding 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.

When you think about it, we really know very, very little about how the meeting of first century believers were conducted.  Actually, aside from 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, there is no extended description of church meetings anywhere in the New Testament.

Yes, Acts 2:42 does tell us the four priorities of the church from the beginning: teaching, fellowship, “the breaking of bread” (whether only the Lord’s Supper or it being taken in the context of a communal meal) and prayers.  Yes, Acts 13:1 tells us that “prophets and teachers” functioned in the church at Syrian Antioch… but not how or when.  Yes, Acts 19:8-10 tells us that Paul taught daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus for two years… but nothing at all about the church’s weekly services in that great city.  Yes, Acts 20:7 tells us that Paul preached “until midnight” in a Sunday evening meeting in Troas… but that was an exceptional situation, given that Paul was just about to leave town.   

Where does that leave things?  Pretty much wide open for interpretation methinks.

But, you might say, what about the New Testament passages that talk about the role of the pastoral figure in the church?  Won’t they provide some guidance in this area?

As I see it, the most biblically honest answer is “not really that much.”  Why do I say that?  Just move with me through the following key passages and see what you think.

How about Acts 2:42?  Great priorities–but when and how were the apostles to teach?  How were prayers handled in a congegational service?  It does not say.

Acts 6:4 seems more helpful, what with emphasizing the necessity of pastoral leadership to “devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry.”  But, how does that fit into the meetings of the church?  It does not say.

Other passages could be considered here, but let’s skip through to Paul’s two key exhortations to Timothy in regard to preaching.  In 1 Timothy 4:13, Paul instructs his younger lieutenant: “Until I come, give your attention to public reading (i.e., of the Scriptures), exhortation and teaching” (HCSB).  In 2 Timothy 4:2, we read: “Preach the word, in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction.”   And, yes, both passages are very helpful in forming proper pastoral attitudes toward the task of preaching.  However, neither gets into when in the service, how long, what style–any of the questions we long to ask about how preaching fits into the Sunday congregational meeting context.

So, when the dust settles, we find ourselves back at 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.  We are left staring at this section which seems very “strange” to our experience, but which apparently needs to be carefully considered if for no other reason than that it speaks more directly and fully to what we are to be about on Sunday mornings than any other NT passage.  We will begin doing just that in the next post.

Coming Thursday: “Whenever You Come Together, Each One… (1 Cor. 14:26-33a)”