While the Bible makes it clear that there are several things a church should do (such as worship, prayer, fellowship, preaching, baptism, and communion), it allows incredible freedom in how some of these things can be done.
For instance, the Bible does not say that communion must be taken in a church building with dim lighting and soft, peaceful music. It does say however, that we must examine ourselves and take it in reverence and remembrance. Because we are currently meeting in a brand new auditorium, we were forced to be creative about how we take communion since food and drink are not allowed. It was a cool change this past Sunday to try a “self-serve” approach as we gathered to celebrate communion together in the school atrium at the close of the service. I was expecting it to be really awkward, but it turned out to be incredibly refreshing.
I think God did not prescribe certain ways of doing church so that we wouldn’t become devoted to a certain time period or style, but rather to him. God knew that one day his followers would worship in various places, times, and cultures and he has given us a lot of room for creativity while still remaining faithful to Scripture.
