#congregation

As I mentioned in my last post, the church I attend is large with a seating capacity of around 2,500 people. I’ve been going to church on and off my entire life, and before coming here about three years ago, the largest church I had ever attended had maybe 100 members. I absolutely love this church. One of the things I enjoy most is that there is always something going on. Case in point: our…

8:40 PM EDT May 19, 2026:

The Afghan Whigs - "Conjure Me" From the album Congregation (January 31, 1992)

Shabbat shalom! I am curious about others' communities and what they experience for shabbat. I know that I experience an array of environments, popping in and out of 4 to 6 congregations a month. My home congregation is in the middle of the city, and it has such a nice ambience indoors and outdoors. We meet in the sanctuary, do the blessings, and do a lot of singing. I love our hymns and their rhythms.

After prayer, the rabbi gives insight to the weekly parsha, and inputs congregational announcements and notices. Then we meet in the main hall for wine blessings and oneg. The room has lovely floor-to-ceiling windows that show the garden and sitting area outside, and it is full of chatting, moving people, who are greeting everyone, noshing, and catching up.

Pheidole spp. doing the thing with their heads

Praise God!

A psalm of praise.

1 Praise ye the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the firmament of His power! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the psaltery and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and organs! 5 Praise Him upon the loud cymbals; praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals! 6 Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD! Praise ye the LORD! — Psalm 150 | Third Millennium Bible (TMB) Third Millennium Bible, New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 1:14; Genesis 4:21; Exodus 15:2; Exodus 15:20; Deuteronomy 3:24; 2 Samuel 6:5; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 33:2; Psalm 41:13; Psalm 57:8; Psalm 106:2; 1 Corinthians 13:1

If seminaries followed Christ's vision for pastoral ministry, they would focus on training trainers as seen in Ephesians 4:11-12,

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ...

Christ's grand plan for his church is for pastors/teachers to focus on equipping every member to do the work of the ministry. Consider Jethro in Exodus 18:13-27,

The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.

Instead, we listen to modern church culture that screams, "The pastor is the preacher, caregiver, and CEO!" A church is a community of gifted people, not merely a community of people with a gifted pastor.