PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

ut the time is getting late. I think it would be good to takes some time to pray together before
we bring things to a close. Does anyone have any specific prayer requests they would like to
mention?" he asks.
In the next few minutes, several group members mention various situations they would
like to have the group pray about. The group leader notes one family is absent tonight because
the father was layed off and suggests the group pray for them. He waits for a group member to
begin the prayer. Several group members pray. For the next twenty minutes, various group
members pray aloud mentioning the various needs that had been raised earlier. Many also take
time to thank God for the cell group and how much being a part of the group means to them.
About half the prayers offered mention the pastor, other church leaders and the Sunday services.
As the group leader concludes his prayer, the group makes their way toward the kitchen.
Each week a different group member is responsible for the refreshment time. This week, the
snack consists of three varieties of cookies, coffee, tea and soft drinks. This group will meet
Sunday with several hundred other church members in the local high school auditorium for
church on Sunday, but for most gathered in this home, these Thursday night meetings are the
primary worship experiences of their week. The pastors of the Body Life Church they attend
each week not only think that's acceptable, they are constantly stressing the need for everyone in
the church to be part of a small group.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE BODY LIFE CHURCH?
Various churches define their mission in different ways. Most advocates of the Body Life
Church would define the purpose and mission of their church in the context of fellowship. The
focus of the cell group and corporate gatherings of believers is to enhance the quality of
fellowship among believers. Ray Stedman, author of Body Life, describes this approach to
ministry noting,
Perhaps the best term for it is commonality, the clustering of Christians together in a
shared intimacy that, rather mysteriously, forms a clear channel for the moving of the Spirit of
God in power . . . It is this shared intimacy with one another and the Lord which is the missing
note in today's church life. 1
Likewise, another leader in this movement writes,
Very little is said in the New Testament about evangelism in the church; that is, where
believers gather to be edified. This is of course a New Testament norm. Generally speaking,
unsaved people are to be reached by the church, not in the church. 1
When the New Testament talks about fellowship, often the reference is to the believer's
fellowship with God. This fellowship is foundational to a second dimension of fellowship
identified in the New Testament church, that which exists between believers. This aspect of
fellowship is identified by two Greek words translated "fellowship," the emphasis on the unity of
the church, and the evidence of fellowship cells in the early church.