At LifeSpring Church we believe that everybody should be able to participate as fully as they would like. So we give people ample opportunity to volunteer to lead congregational prayers, read scripture, and provide the Lord’s Supper meditation, which we call the “table talk.”
When we started doing this over a year ago, you could see some awkwardness. We didn’t know each other that well at that point. Folks didn’t know what was expected of them. Most of us had grown up believing that such involvements should be reserved for an elite group of leaders.
But now our church community has grown comfortable with our egalitarian approach to worship and participation. Everyone feels included and appreciated. We are often blown away by the profundity of what is shared in communion mediations, or we’re moved by the skillful reading of a text. It’s a really neat process in which to participate.
Yesterday Sean told us about the changes he has experienced in the last two years of his life. He said that the Lord’s Supper is like a “pit stop” on the Amazing Race television show. It has served to slow him down and make him think about what is happening in his life and the Lord’s relationship to that. I was thankful for Sean’s transparency as well as for the eloquence of what he shared with us. He made the Lord’s sacrifice real for us.
I am glad that LifeSpring recognizes the strength of everyone sharing. By getting to hear what was on Sean’s heart, my life was improved. Now I can’t wait to hear what the next LifeSpringer shares.