What [the] Rev. Cott’s church did is all admirable, I salute them for it, and certainly the more of it the church does the better. But she and the sponsors of this weekend”“World Vision, Zondervan, and Outreach Media Group”“all seem to have forgotten the central purpose of the Church of Christ, which is worship. All of the things we do in outreach to the world flows from our worship of the Triune God. Everything we do to serve others comes about because we first serve the God who has called us to respond to Him in service. Everything that River of Life did it could do in at another time. Canceling worship for the sake of these perfectly fine projects is, essentially, a publicity stunt, so I guess it’s no surprise that there are two media companies sponsoring it. But whatever the reason for it, it’s wrong, and it’s a misplacement of priorities. Remember”“Jesus said you could (and even should) do acts of mercy on the Sabbath. He didn’t say you had to plan to do them instead of worshiping.
I don’t understand why he is making a big deal about this. It’s not as though these groups are advocating churches cancel regular worship in favor of acts of mercies. It seems to me the “central purpose” of the Church is not worship, but rather to be God’s people. That involves much more than liturgical Sunday worship. Can those acts of service not be a fragrant offering to the Lord? If taking time away from ONE day of worship is what it takes to draw attention the overwhelming need in the world, then by all means let’s all do that when necessary.
I had heard all my life as an Anglican that the purpose of the Church is primarily to offer itself to the Triune God through prayer and service. The message really didn’t seep through until one bitterly cold, dark weekday in an English cathedral when I watched a crucifer, two vergers, one of the greatest choirs in the world (eight choristers, six adults, the director, and an organist in the loft), the Precentor, a chaplain, two canons, the Dean, and two bishops process into the choir for Evensong, which was stunning, then process out leaving a congregation of four people behind them.
One of those people (I gather an American clergyman) confronted the diocesan bishop and demanded that he justify the “waste” of resources in that way. The bishop, Chair of the International Anglican Theological Commission, was rendered speechless. It seemed obvious to him that worship is what a cathedral is for. All the other things a church does stem from that. I believe he quoted the famous story in an American newspaper during the 19th century, “Yesterday in First Church, the minister led one of the finest pastoral prayers ever addressed to a Boston audience.” His point was that Anglicans do not hold services to edify the congregation, but to glorify God. Those in church act as the representatives of the whole community to offer its bounden duty in accordance with the First Great Commandment, in order to go perform its duty under the Second.