The Order of the Worship Gathering

1 Corinthians 14:26-33 has the order of the church gathering. There is no leader and it is centered around the Lord's supper. One man will get up and offer a song or a Bible reading with explanation, each one as they pray are led by the Lord. If one speaks another can get up and evaluate what is said, others can correct wrong doctrine or expound further on what others say, using the Word.

The Brethren still do this. They have a man who is chosen to speak for the Bible lesson after the worship of the Lord's Supper. It may be a different man every week or the same man who has a series of messages. No one is paid and no one is in charge. However there are elders who make decisions together but they must all agree before anything is implemented.

I actually heard a young pastor say he needs to protect his pulpit. First of all, there were no pulpits in the first century church and one man would never be allowed to dictate what is being said or who is saying it.

This is the mentality of the modern church, they feel they must have a leader who "keeps things under control."

In the Brethren it is recognized that no one man is in control, the elders, plural make decisions and only after prayer and full agreement.

The "prophesying" as mentioned in verse 3 is not future telling but rather expounding on the Word that is already in the Bible.

This is the Biblical model of the church gathering, it is being violated times thousands every week around this country. There is much error in the body because the pastor is not corrected openly in the gathering, so many leave the service believing everything one man says and thinks because he has been trained by men in seminary, he is the authority.

There are no "trained" men in the first century church, they have been led by the Holy Spirit as they read the Word. The training in Bible school and seminary never existed in Bible times and teach many wrong things as the men who go to them believe what they hear and take it back to their churches. This is man's idea of how to help God out, because they didn't trust the Holy Spirit to do it well.

Seminary at this time in history is corrupting, it leads people to believe you cannot know truth unless you go to one of these institutions. The fact is, this is nothing more than the mentality I ran into as a Catholic. Only those who have been "educated" by other men can know, everyone else has to just believe them.

One way to control people is to proclaim you are the only one who can know and then intimidate them if they attempt to challenge or correct you. This mentality is not of God and should be avoided.

In the comments section I will place the scripture that pertains to this post.

1 Corinthians 14:26-33
"26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret;
28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.
30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;
32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;
33 for God is not a God of confusion but of [a]peace, as in all the churches of the saints."