Let's overturn these tables

The phrase “one another” appears 64 times in the New Testament.

The 45 occurrences in the letters mostly refer to the sense of sisterhood and brotherhood the apostles wanted to instil in the churches.

How can we achieve this in the church today?

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Sharing together in the early church

The early church was an enthusiastic, sometimes chaotic, collection of new converts, still working out what it meant to live and share in the kingdom of God.

When the apostles wrote to them about life together, they often strssed how they should relate to each other:

• “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18-19)
• “each and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit” (Colossians 3:16)
• “encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace: (2 Corinthians 13:11)
• “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other” (Ephesians 4:32)
• “spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together …. but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
• “let us stop passing judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13)

It seems that this sense of being part of God’s family, caring for “one another” and sharing in fellowship together was the number one priority for the churches. Certainly these ideas feature more predominantly in the letters and Acts than do ideas about worship or teaching, important as these are.

And worship and teaching were also seen as opportunities for serving “one another” via the gifts each person had been given. Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 especially makes this point.

So if we take notice of the New Testament example and teaching, we will want to have the same values today.

But how is this best achieved?

Valuing “one another” in the church today

A typical congregation in first world countries (and probably elsewhere) today would have the following regular elements:

1. One or more weekend services, where worship, preaching, prayer, Bible reading and announcements are likely to be the main elements of the gathering.
2. Time after the service for conversation and perhaps refreshments.
3. Midweek meetings in smaller groups, often in homes, for prayer, Bible study and/or fellowship.
4. Outreach or community service activities.
5. Management and organisational meetings.

Experience suggests that caring for “one another” is not the main element in many of these.

So if we value the “one another” ministry as the early church did, we will want to find and provide opportunities for people to share their gifts and insights, especially in the weekend service (which most people attend) and the midweek groups (which especially suit this purpose).

But how can we do this?

Church in a Circle

The Church in a Circle blog was a practical, creative and inspirational source of good ideas about sharing together in church gatherings of all sizes. It built on the idea that sitting in rows looking at the back of our brothers’ and sisters’ heads is not as conducive to fellowship as is sitting in a circle or moving around.

The writer of the blog knew that it is one thing to have an aspiration, but more difficult to apply it in practice. So the blog gives all sorts of practical ideas and incentives to try something different.

Unfortunately, the blog was hacked and taken down, never to re-appear. But courtesy of the blog owner and The Wayback Machine, I have transferred more than dozen of the Church in a Circle pages to this blog, so they can be available again.

Try something new

So I’m hoping you may find some of these pages helpful. Here is a sample:

• Open Space – harnessing the power of circles. We can learn new and better ways to achieve our goal of making disciples.
• 10 principles which could transform your church practices – permanently. Short outlines of a bunch of good ideas.
• If form follows function, perhaps we need to redesign our churches. Food for thought. Are we working against ourselves?
• 10 reasons to stop sermons and use other learning tools. Communication is more than just speaking.
• Efficient or effective? Rows vs circles in church. The easiest way isn’t always the best way to achieve a goal.
• Hidden messages in pulpits and pews. What we do can communicate more than we might imagine.

Check it out

I encourage you to check out some of the ideas in Church in a Circle. There’s plenty there to consider and be inspired by. And as I see people reading thse pages more, I will be adding to them.

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