Calif. Megachurch Cancels Services to 'Be' the Church

Welcome to works-righteousness in action -- by the spawn of our own Protestant bretheren who accused the Catholic Church of works-righteousness in the first place. Funny how things come full-circle...

We've been proudly building the City of God for so long that we've forgotten that it isn't all about our own sweating selves.

The two words most often used in the Hebrew OT to designate the community of Israel (Qahal, and edah)generally designated the community gathered for worship. The Greek OT used the word ekklesia.

One of the terms for worship is abad, which can also refer to slavery (Ex 1:1), service to another (help or employment), or worship of God or idols (Ex 3:12; Deut 4:19).

Most people are probably aware that in both Testaments, the idea is found that you cannot serve God in isolation from serving man and "vice versa."

I doubt all six thousand members of the denomination were in need of such a radical reminder. It seems to me it would have been better to use the service to encourage those who are serving their fellow man to continue what they are doing; and to brow beat those who aren't.

In reality, I can't help feeling this is one of those "gimmicks" the megachurches have become known for

Funny how the Catholic lectionary for today says,
[Jesus] said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

By my reading, the two great commandments are closely related but actually distinct.

This Protestant has to offer a weak defense: these megachurch services are so happy-clappy, so overblown and overdone that it's almost a mercy to let people out of them. And, the devout may just be able to rediscover that still small voice that would lead them to a place where the Word Itself comes thru, in a less crowded church, if not the One True Faith.
I wouldn't leave my relatively little Presby church for any Crystal Cathedral. St. Peter's, now that's something else entirely...

So, in other words, "we are church..."

I'm one of the over 6,000 members of North Coast Church who served this weekend...

Jeff Miller and many who have commented here could not be more off-base. North Coast is not a watered down, 'happy-clappy' religi-tainment church... our Weekend of Service isn't a 'gimmick.'

We are a large church composed of many small, intimate Growth Groups that emulate the accountability, love, support and worship of the early church. Our leadership consciously avoids the cults of personality that can shut out the work of the Holy Spirit in any church body - and our teachings are not just 'based' on the Bible, they are Bible.

Weekend of Service isn't a 'gimmick' - it's a way to maximize our response to the greatest mandate God has given us: Love One Another. In addition to our every 18mos Weekend of Service, each small group completes a service community project 1-2 times each year... it's how we 'show up' as Christians in our communities. It's not about what gratifies or convicts us as Christians -- it's simply about caring for the world, regardless if those we help share our faith or not.

I encourage all here to set aside their pseudo-religious intellectualism and step out of your comfort zone and get your hands dirty, sacrificially, in the service of our Lord. You may or may not get anything out of the experience -- but it's not always about you. It is always about Him.

Come visit North Coast -- you'll be gratified to find out that your assumptions are incorrect.

In Him -
Lisa Galloway

We are supposed to believe now that these people went out and served others for 24 hours straight on Sunday, without engaging in any other sort of activity. And if they only spent a couple of hours serving others, what did they do with the rest of their time that day? Here's and idea: perform both worship and service. If you are going to cut time from anything, make it something like watching TV or going online. I betcha these same folks who canceled worship still found some time for these sorts of things, while continuing to pit worship and service against one another.

Richard,
Weekend of Service project volunteers could volunteer for one of 4 scheduled sessions over the weekend - may of us signed up for more than one. No one worked for 24 hours straight (except perhaps for the amazing project managers).

At North Coast Church, our members meet in homes each week in small groups (usually 12-16 people.) We worship, pray, have Bible study... so this week, we indeed did perform both worship and service. North Coast doesn't pit service against worship or vice-versa... though service can certainly be a form of worship for many.

Do you truly believe that worship and supplication, sacred acts of intimacy and linch pins of the Christian faith, can only be performed on the weekend? Or that we should only serve others Monday through Friday?

While Catholicism has a more legalistic model than Evangelical Christianity, we share a common devotion to Christ and to making ourselves as much like Him as possible, and to drawing as close to Him as possible. Surely serving others, with humility and mercy, is as valid an activity of devotion as corporate prayer or singing... and there is room on His calendar for both.

Galloway, the denomination (North Coast) is "canceling all worship services this weekend."

Remember the commandment to honor Sabbath?

If the Israelites pray or/and go to the temple 24/7 from Sunday to Friday and abstain on Saturday are they breaking the commandment or not?

That question serves to show you the flaw in your logic. Just because you pray and worship on any other time beside the HOLYdays it doesn't justify you from NOT giving reverence due to the Lord of Host at the time of His choosing.

The Apostles and the Church had replaced Sabbath with Sunday. Yet, the obligation to have a one day worship to God never change.

North Coast changed it

Respectfully, Beng -

In Matthew 12:11 and 12:12 demonstrate the commonse sense, people-reaching way Jesus wants us to view the Sabbath. "How much more valuable is a man than a sheep - it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath"...

Paul also speaks to this: in Colossians. 2:16-17. He says, "Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

But the 4th commandment speaks pretty clearly, too...

I think we could go back and forth all day long between New Testament and Old Testament, Ritual Law v. Moral Law, Legalism and Spirit-led. There is scripture to support every point of view on this subject. The arguments are as long, old and deep as the differences in Catholics and Protestants, the difference between a legalistic faith and a relationship-based faith.

Lisa, respectfully, you misrepresent Catholicism as a legalistic faith. It is not. Without the relationship, there is no point in the law, which is the entire message of Paul, particularly in Romans. Please do not dismiss our reverence toward the Lord's Day out of some idea that it is simply a rule and may be dismissed in service of our fellow man. It is not. Without the Body and Blood of Our Lord, service means nothing whatsoever, and only serves to build up ourselves, rather than God Almighty. A quick reading of the Letter of James might be helpful here, too.

From a Catholic point of view, the act follows from the faith, not the other way around, regardless of how Protestants might perceive Catholicism. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass precedes any good work we might undertake. That is why we are a bit scandalized by a church calling off worship to give service--we are not either/or but both/and.

Of course, we realize that what you call worship is not the same thing as the Mass, so our shock is most likely misplaced.

Yours in Christ,

TCN

My, my, my.

The second greatest commandment (Mat 22:39) allows for medical professionals to tend for the sick, for polices to serves and protect etc during the Sabbath as taught in Mat 12:11-12. These are immediate and necessary work of charity (as is the incident on Mat 12:11-12)

As St. Augustine would say:

The charity of truth seeks holy leisure- the necessity of charity accepts just work

What is so immediate and necessary that North Coast cancelled ALL their worship service for the weekend? Not just dispensing some of it's members (police, nurses etc) but ALL of them?

On one extreme, there are people who meticulously observe Sabbath and refuse to tend a dying man. On another extreme there are those who forget Sabbath altogether to help the unfortunates.

North Coast is going for the later extreme.

I think a prayerful reading on Mat 26:11 should put us on a proper balance between those two extremes.

Miss Galloway, I thought most megachurches followed a pattern similar to the megachurch nearest me, Kensington Community Church. They do good works on Sunday, too, but their Sunday service is central. They worship Our Lord together first or afterwards. For example, they've been known to hold services in school gyms.

So I'm curious about why it was necessary to cancel the services altogether rather than having break-out groups with services at whatever location they're doing their charitable work.

MissJean, you and I must be neighbors! I was a member of KCC for a few years before converting to Catholicism. In many ways, KCC is an exemplary evangelical community, showing how it's possible to both worship on Sundays and serve on Mondays through Saturdays. However, they have been known to cancel Christmas services, particularly in years where Christmas falls on a Sunday. Another of my former churches, Woodside Bible, would never cancel Sunday services for any reason aside from a natural disaster.

KCC has also been very ecumenical, having hosted a series of talks with St. Anastasia and Fr. John Riccardo in Troy. Steve Andrews, senior pastor of KCC, is a dedicated, gracious and humble individual, and I wish other evangelical pastors would follow his lead with respect to Catholicism.