Someone observed that there are two groups of people in the world: those who divide everyone into two groups and those who don't. As pastors and leaders of churches, we tend to fall into that first category because we realize Jesus made himself the dividing line for the world. How we respond to the gospel identifies us as either saved or lost, in or outside of God's kingdom, belonging to or alienated from God and his family.
Some churches intentionally speak to Christians in the weekend service and mostly ignore anyone else. The church gathering is for Christians, for insiders, who have learned the language and culture, and are motivated to worship and serve God. Other churches use weekend services evangelistically to reach people who have yet to believe in Christ; but in so doing, they neglect believers seeking to learn and grow, and are hungry to be challenged.
As illustrated in the Bible, the tension between primarily addressing believers or primarily addressing unbelievers in church gatherings is not new. In Corinth, believers were enamored with the exercise of dramatic, supernatural gifts of the Spirit—specifically the gift of tongues. The apostle Paul felt a need to weigh in and corral the Corinthians' behavior when they gathered together. He redirected their attention to prophecy (speaking God's Word), rather than the unrestricted use of tongues. His reason is insightful: Unbelievers who are present in the assembly will not understand speaking in tongues and will be confused and conclude Christians are crazy. But if those unbelievers hear God's Word spoken clearly and directly, the secrets of their hearts will be disclosed and they'll conclude that God is among these people (1 Cor. 14:23-25).
Don't miss the assumption: There are at least two groups in that assembly, and the presence and needs of the second group (the unbelievers) should modify the behavior and practice of the first group (the believers). Read More
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