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As to the nuts-and-bolts "How-To" of meetings, we should be more receptive to new ideas and new ways of doing things. The point is that our meetings should enhance our experience of fellowship with God and with each other; therefore, we should not be overly obsessed with details, as if a properly orchestrated meeting is an absolute necessity. Within broad biblical guidelines, we can adapt our meetings according to the leading of the Spirit or the particular emphasis for that meeting. For example, one Sunday the Spirit may lead us to pray more and sing less (this is perhaps better than having a separate prayer meeting and having only ten percent of the congregation out). On another Sunday, perhaps the teaching may go on longer, say for 40 minutes.
We can steal ideas from the Emerging Church and alt.worship folks where appropriate without having to feel we're part of that movement. Want to experiment with candles and ambient lighting effects? Utilize more art and multimedia? Want some quiet time for contemplation with Coltrane playing softly in the background? Let's be creative without being contrived! Variety, anyone? (for some ideas, see The Prodigal Project by Mike Riddell et. al.) If such an eclectic approach makes us eccentric, so be it!
Place and space can enhance or inhibit the practice of community. An awareness of the significance of proxemics should cause us to re-think the layout of our meeting place. Spatial dynamics can affect the communication process: pews are prisons, an impediment to intimate participation and interpersonal relationships and should be replaced with chairs arranged in a circle. This arrangement more accurately reflects the family image of the Church, and the body as One in Christ. By placing a table (with a loaf of bread and a jug of wine or grape juice) in the center of the circle, the symbolism is further enhanced: Christ is the center of our meeting. The portability of this arrangement reminds us of our eschatological character as a Church: we are heavenly citizens living as pilgrims on earth, sojourners on the way to the Father's house (John 14:2), with Christ "tabernacled" in our midst through the Spirit.
This naturally leads to a discussion of the Lord's Supper, and its significance in the gathered community. That an act expressing unity has been the cause of so much debate and division is tragic and scandalous. It is my humble opinion that a lot of the argument over the nature of the Lord's Supper (e.g. the Real Presence) and the liturgical aspects (e.g. the sacramental power of the priest) is misguided and owes more to speculation than plain biblical exegesis.