By Ed Vasicek on
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Poll Results

How often does your church usually celebrate the Lord’s Supper? (please comment about frequency, making it meaningful)

We do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper (communion) Votes: 0
We do so annually Votes: 1
We do so bi-annually Votes: 2
We do so quarterly Votes: 6
We do so every other month Votes: 4
We do so monthly Votes: 18
We do so twice a month or every other week Votes: 0
We do so weekly Votes: 5
We do so more than once a week Votes: 0

(Migrated poll)

N/A
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 0
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Discussion

Tue, 04/03/12
We celebrate communion every other month in a typically Baptist-like way. We pass trays of tiny communion bread and cups of grape juice. We also celebrate communion on Good Friday, but then people come forward when they are ready to the table and help themselves. This seems particularly meaningful and contemplative.

I would prefer that we used matzo rather than those tiny little “breads.”

Sometimes I or an elder share a devotional thought beforehand.

I like every other month because it makes communion more special, IMO, than would a weekly or even monthly celebration. What do you think? How do you see it? How can your church improve in this way?

"The Midrash Detective"

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Tue, 04/03/12
Fundamentally (always a good word to start replies with on this site), I don’t think that communion is more or less “special” based on frequency. It’s more or less special based on theology. If you believe that the Eucharist is a unique event in which God dispenses grace to you in the form of receiving and participating in Christ himself, it’s special. If you believe that it’s a little ceremony we go through in which WE are the agents of the action, and Christ is simply the OBJECT of our MEMORY, it’s not special. It’s just not. I don’t know, maybe it is for some people, but I’ve never met a Baptist/Zwinglian who seemed to me to derive deep spiritual nourishment from the sacrament.

The last church of which I was a full member practiced it every week, and it was so special; tears and praises special, every week.

My Blog: http://dearreaderblog.com

Cor meum tibi offero Domine prompte et sincere. ~ John Calvin

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Tue, 04/03/12
Specialness… Kind of depends on whether you’re talking about “a feeling that something really special is happening” or the actual reality that something special is happening.

    In both cases, I can’t see how taking the Baptist/Zwinglian view or not correlates to specialness.

  • In the sacramental view, it’s special because it’s a means of grace.

  • In the Zwinglian view, it’s special because of Whom it has as it’s focus and the impact and meaning (we are “showing” something) of that focus. (And by the way, this view does not exclude activity of the Spirit during the event—any more than it excludes His activity during preaching… so it is not really a “we do it all and Christ is only the object” view. Not exactly.)

In both cases, doing exactly the same thing frequently has a certain built in tendency to lose any feeling of specialness. There are ways to resist that. But I’m not sure how important it is to resist that. It’s not about getting a feeling.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

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Tue, 04/03/12
Ed V said:
I would prefer that we used matzo rather than those tiny little “breads.”
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/march/communion-meals-paltry.h…
In the churches where mini-saltines are served, my clumsy fingers struggle to find and keep purchase of a single morsel. As I crush it in a single chew while the pastor reads, “This is my body, broken for you,” I cannot help wondering if Christ has broken a fingernail on my behalf. At the common cup where I take a single anxious swallow, or in the jigger of juice I down in two gulps, I strain to see the blood that flowed from his face and side, the blood that covers the flood of my sins. I know this should be enough, because I deserve none of it—not a fingernail of bread, not a tongue-tip of the blood that Christ spent for me! But the body talks; its messages are real, and I cannot help listening: We have overspiritualized the Lord’s Supper. We’ve turned an actual meal into a pantomime of a meal, and the church is hungry because of it.

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Jim's Doctrinal Statement

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Tue, 04/03/12
Our Church plant celebrates communion every week. We are more Zwinglian in our beliefs and even though we do it more frequently, it has not become dull and lifeless. In fact it has done the opposite. It has kept our focus on Christ because of his atoning sacrifice.

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Wed, 04/04/12
I used to celebrate communion quarterly. However, I never liked tacking bread, juice and a couple songs on to the end of a service. So, communion services were always dedicated to communion. The message, the music, finally the observation of the memorial all pertained to same central theme. We also varied the timing, sometimes Sunday morning, sometimes Sunday evening, occasionally on Wednesday night.

Why is it that my voice always seems to be loudest when I am saying the dumbest things?

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Wed, 04/04/12
Quarterly works best for us. Each time we observe the Lord’s Supper we rotate through different extended accounts of the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Messiah (4 Gospels, Acts, or Psalms) to read through during the service, along with singing psalms/hymns/spiritual songs related to the particular Scriptural text. We normally make comments on the Scriptures throughout the service, but we do not have a regular sermon that day.

Discipling God's image-bearers to the glory of God.

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Wed, 04/04/12
Charlie said:
If you believe that it’s a little ceremony we go through in which WE are the agents of the action, and Christ is simply the OBJECT of our MEMORY, it’s not special.
Charlie, you are speaking for yourself. It is special to me, and I believe that it is simply a memorial. There is great spiritual import in having our memory stirred, in putting on a miniature drama to proclaim what Christ did:

2 Peter 3:1
I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder…
There is great benefit in remembering, contemplating, and renewing our commitment.

Jesus Himself said, as quoted in I Cor. 11

Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim

"The Midrash Detective"

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Wed, 04/04/12
We’ve turned an actual meal into a pantomime of a meal, and the church is hungry because of it
.

That’s a little much. The church is not hungry because of it. There is a famine of the Word, not of communion. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

"The Midrash Detective"

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Wed, 04/04/12
The Lord’s Supper is very special (we observe the first Sunday of every month). We are repeating an object lesson that the Lord Jesus Christ first used on the very night He was arrested and then went to the cross. The object lesson at that time pointed forward toward the cross, now as we re-observe that same object lesson, we look back to the cross. As we remember, let us not only remember what Christ did, but that He gave us a wonderful illustration that involved bread and the fruit of the vine to help us focus on what He did as He broke His body and shed His blood. Most of us find object lessons in children’s church or other venues stirring, so why shouldn’t the Lord’s Supper be stirring?
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Wed, 04/04/12
Or there about. We practice closed communion so we try to take it during a pm service when visitors are at a minimum. We don’t all scoot to one side, we just explain our convictions and I pass the plates to the congregation. Some folks visited for the first time one night and were totally put out with being told that they were welcome to stay but communion would only be served to the members of our church.

This year we are having the service Saturday night before Easter. I hope that it is more meaningful than just another Sunday service. I have always devoted the whole service to the meal, 2 hymns and a short devotion on the meaning of these elements with a time for prayer. I have started baking my own unleavened bread so that we can break it in the service together. I have one plate with a whole piece that I break while we are assembled, and another plate with pieces already broken in it. I think these broken pieces do a better job of illustrating His sacrifice than a square or a circle, each piece is unique like us.
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Thu, 04/05/12
Growing up, my church did the usual Baptist schedule of once a month. Where I’m going now, we celebrate it every week as a reminder that the Gospel is the one thing that can bring us all together. We have people from all over the world; from every financial and educational station in life; and with every sort of “sin history” you can rattle off…and yet we are all reminded every week that we are all brothers and sisters - family - in Christ.
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Thu, 04/05/12
Grace Brethren normally celebrate Threefold Communion twice a year. Some GB churches celebrate it three times per year, and I personally don’t know of any that celebrate it four or more times, though there may be a few that do. I really don’t know why the GB churches settled on twice per year. Perhaps it goes back to Alexander Mack in Germany or Germantown, Philadelphia PA. I’d like to celebrate it quarterly. We have a rather unique form of communion bread. A woman makes a plain pie crust, cuts it into rectangles, and scores each rectangle with a fork so it may be easily broken. It works very nicely and tastes much better than most other forms of communion bread.

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Fri, 04/06/12
[jimfrank] Grace Brethren normally celebrate Threefold Communion twice a year. Some GB churches celebrate it three times per year, and I personally don’t know of any that celebrate it four or more times, though there may be a few that do. I really don’t know why the GB churches settled on twice per year. Perhaps it goes back to Alexander Mack in Germany or Germantown, Philadelphia PA. I’d like to celebrate it quarterly. We have a rather unique form of communion bread. A woman makes a plain pie crust, cuts it into rectangles, and scores each rectangle with a fork so it may be easily broken. It works very nicely and tastes much better than most other forms of communion bread.
Jim, I never heard of that kind of Communion Bread. Being a Jewish Roots guy, I prefer to use Matzo (although our church does not do so; when I take communion to shut-ins, though,I use Matzo). I do think it is important to use unleavened bread, though, or some of the symbolism is lost (Jesus is our sinless Savior, unleavened).

As far as why the Grace Brethren celebrate communion so rarely, I think the 3-fold communion could be the answer. If you did so weekly or even monthly, it would consume a lot of time (and trouble). The church that reached me (Cicero Bible Church) had communion monthly; so did the first church I pastored (Victory Bible Church). When I came to HPC, my predecessor had not offered communion for years — he thought the church had too much turmoil and believed God would bring judgment on it. I came after things improved. I thought his view was exaggerated, but, the more I learned, the more I respected him for it. Now communion is board regulated, not pastor-regulated. The tradition here was once or twice a year, I suggested quarterly and that went well, now we do every even month. IMO, from a personal viewpoint, that is perfect. Despite those who disagree with me above, I think it is more special if it is not as frequent. It is more meaningful to me, that’s all I can say. Sorry if you disagree.

"The Midrash Detective"

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Fri, 04/06/12
Interesting Jim. You take communion to shut ins? Always wondered how this satisfied “when you come together as a church.” (1 Cor 11:18) Perhaps fodder for another thread.

Why is it that my voice always seems to be loudest when I am saying the dumbest things?

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Sat, 04/07/12
[Chip Van Emmerik] Interesting Jim. You take communion to shut ins? Always wondered how this satisfied “when you come together as a church.” (1 Cor 11:18) Perhaps fodder for another thread.
It’s me, Ed, that takes communion to the shut-ins. Don’t blame my buddy Jim!

I believe that wherever two or three gather in his Name, he is in the midst and that this is a meeting of the church, albeit not the whole church (those are pretty rare). I actually met with two men in assisted living, and we read from I Corinthians 11, had a time of silent prayer/confession/reflection, and partook of the elements. I know of no verse that forbids this. I do not think I have to “satisfy” anything, as long as I do not violate the Word and am proactively doing what it says. Maybe that’s why the whole “regulative principle” is one I reject?

"The Midrash Detective"

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Sat, 05/05/12
It seems to me that part of any ministry to shut-ins would necessitate communion as well as visits. I can’t imagine any good reason to deny that to someone who is unable (for whatever reason) to make it to church. If a person was hospitalized for a long time - say if they had been in a serious accident and would be in the hospital for a month - why not take communion over when you and a elder/deacon visited them?

Just thinking aloud here.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

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Sat, 05/05/12
Jay,

Four times in 1 Corinthians 11 (verses 17, 20, 33, 34) while addressing the Lord’s Table, Paul uses the qualifying statement, “when you come together.” If the church is gathered, and some are absent from the gathering for one reason or another, we have still come together. However, if the pastor and/or a few others visit a shut-in without the rest of the body, we have not come together as a body for the meeting.

Why is it that my voice always seems to be loudest when I am saying the dumbest things?

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Sun, 05/06/12
Though I have not thought about the matter to a large degree an immediate question does come to mind.

When our Lord inaugurated His Supper, certainly those that had come together were not all the believers who were following Jesus. It seems that the generally assembly of the believers is not the only occasion where the Lord’s Supper may be celebrated but as well and as exampled by Jesus, there may be private or special commencements not involving a general assembly.

My blog: http://thepedestrianchristian.blogspot.com/

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Mon, 05/07/12
Alex,

Would you agree that the first Lord’s Supper was a transitional event tied to the Passover, and, as such, may not be normative just as much of the book of Acts describes the transitional church without being the expected norm today? After all, it is clearly a church ordinance, but the church had not yet officially begun at the time of the first Lord’s Supper.

If you are not going to take the phrase in 1 Cor. 11 to identify the church body gathered together, particularly in a letter written to the church body primarily about the function of the church body, how would you explain the meaning of the phrase?

Why is it that my voice always seems to be loudest when I am saying the dumbest things?

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Tue, 05/08/12
[Chip Van Emmerik]

Four times in 1 Corinthians 11 (verses 17, 20, 33, 34) while addressing the Lord’s Table, Paul uses the qualifying statement, “when you come together.” If the church is gathered, and some are absent from the gathering for one reason or another, we have still come together. However, if the pastor and/or a few others visit a shut-in without the rest of the body, we have not come together as a body for the meeting.
Let me ask you this. Is a church only a church when a quorum (however that is defined) is present? If let’s say, only 10% of a church makes it to a service when there is a big storm of some kind, and has a worship service and the Lord’s supper, is that then NOT the church?

If a church has a baptismal service at an outdoor location, but it’s fairly far away, and nowhere near all of the people come, is it NOT the church?

I have a hard time seeing how the pastor couldn’t ask for a bunch of people from the church (as many as are allowed) to come to a hospital room of someone who is there long-term, and celebrate a service and the Lord’s supper with them.

The gospels and Acts certainly may be transitional, but it would be hard to point to something there as a wrong practice just because it occurred at that time. The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized far from any church (though I’m sure there were witnesses), even though the church had already started by then. I can think of a lot of good reasons to not do baptisms in that manner today, but I can’t think of any reason to call one wrong if done in that way.

Finally, the Jerusalem church was very large at its beginning (at least 5000 within a couple weeks), and the scriptures clearly mention them breaking bread from house to house. I rather doubt any one house held that many, and we see no record of them renting the local colosseum so that all 5000 could meet every time in one location. Were those local meetings not the church?

Dave Barnhart

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Tue, 05/08/12
If the power of Jesus is with a group of two or three who are gathered together (Matthew 18:20), how is it not present when two or three are gathered together for worship via prayer, singing, or observance of the Lord’s Table?

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

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Tue, 05/08/12
It wasn’t a church at all.

Jesus told the twelve to do this in remembrance of Him. Then, when the church is formed in the early days following Pentecost, the apostles make everyone aware that this is a church institution.

Otherwise, it might still be an annual event at Passover.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

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Tue, 05/08/12
Our church takes it weekly. It can be wonderful to remember the Lords sacrifice that way every week. The danger is that it can become routine and can lose its significance. That has happened to me in the past. I usually read Isaiah 53 before the Lords Supper to help me get focused on his sacrifice.

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ~ Eph. 5:15-17

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Tue, 05/08/12
Seems like anything we do over and over exactly the same way tends to numb us. There are ways to beat that though. I’ve seen weekly done very well.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

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Tue, 05/08/12
Consider the other sacrament or ordinance, namely baptism. Was it practiced strictly and only with the body coming together after the church began (I will assume the view of the church beginning later than the Gospels for the sake of the argument)? If so, are there corollaries that rule both which would require one to consider a more broad range of when the Lord’s Supper is observed? In other words, if, as an ordinance/sacrament baptism may be administered in other settings, does this impact the Lord’s Supper which is also an an ordinance/sacrament of the church?

My blog: http://thepedestrianchristian.blogspot.com/

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Wed, 05/09/12
I understand your point, Alex, however, there is one key difference. There are no commands to hold baptisms when the church has gathered and there are examples (albeit transitional) of holding baptisms outside of church gatherings. I don’t the issue is that they are ordinances, but that one seems to be commanded in the wording of 1 Cor. 11.

Why is it that my voice always seems to be loudest when I am saying the dumbest things?

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Wed, 05/09/12
[Chip Van Emmerik] I understand your point, Alex, however, there is one key difference. There are no commands to hold baptisms when the church has gathered and there are examples (albeit transitional) of holding baptisms outside of church gatherings. I don’t the issue is that they are ordinances, but that one seems to be commanded in the wording of 1 Cor. 11.
I think there is a big difference between celebrated communion when the church is gathered and ONLY doing so. We begin with a position of freedom (I Corinthians 10:23) and then limit it — not the other way around.

"The Midrash Detective"

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