Great emphasis has been put on the importance of families spending time at the dinner table together as it builds family unity and is an opportunity for all to grow. It really is no different in our spiritual family or the body of Christ. We are challenged to not forsake that coming together for worship as the body. We are also challenged to do everything we can to maintain unity, not union, in the body. I heard someone say you could tie the tails of two cats together and throw them over a clothes line and you would have union, but not unity. Everyone is aware that we are all different, different in age, different in tastes, different in understanding, different in many different ways and yet, we are challenged to yield to one another and maintain the unity of the body.
When we come to the "table" of worship, just like our tables there are different ages, different perspectives and different tastes around the same table. Not everyone necessarily prefers everything that is on the table, but usually there is something for everyone. Sometimes, Mom might prepare something for one or a group that weren't others favorites.
Because we are an intergenerational or multigenerational church, we have to make sure there is a place at the table for everyone. That is not always an easy task. We try to sing the old songs of the church, the fresh new songs of the church and everything in between so that no one is denied the opportunity to worship with something that is more comfortable or preferable to them. However, Biblically we should be challenged to yield one to another and try our best to join in learning either the old or the new. There have been studies that have been made just lately that affirm what the Bible has taught us all along. There is a study that was made at Fuller Seminary that resulted in a book called "Sticky Faith" that shows the importance of children and teenagers worshipping and fellowshipping with adults. It showed that where this happens, faith is more apt to stick as the young grow into adulthood. There is nowhere in the Bible where we are told to isolate or segregate the young from the old for worship. It is a family affair. We need to make sure there is a place at the table for all in our worship of Him! mjm
