"It is easily forgotten that the community of Christians is a gift of grace from the kingdom of God, a gift that can be taken from us any day — that the time still separating us from the most profound loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let those who until now have had the privilege of living a Christian life together with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of their hearts. Let them thank God on their knees and realize: it is grace, nothing but grace, that we are still permitted to live in the community of Christians today." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together.)
I have been pondering the nature of church lately and wondering about the components of a typical Sunday service. I wonder sometimes if we have forgotten the grace that Bonhoeffer describes above. I wonder if we are so far removed from experiencing "koinonia" (fellowship) that we no longer recognize it when we have it. Each week we have the opportunity to gather together in a culmination of a week long walk with Christ and celebrate with our brothers and sisters that which has saved us. We do so through song sermon, through tears and laughter, through teaching and tithing and so many other ways.
But sometimes I wonder if perhaps we have forgotten why we gather at all. If we ever do. If we begin to resent the very grace of our weekly gatherings (where ever we gather). We will lose something of the grace God wishes for us in our lives.
Any who have been called as leaders into this community must model the joy of gathering together. If we cannot do that we cannot question members of our congregations when they struggle with joy in fellowship.
Harnessing Chaos 