Changing Lives Through Preaching and Worship

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The decisions we make about Communion have no small influence on others.
—Craig Brian Larson

Communion has been a theological battleground for centuries. For today's working pastors, however, many of the issues surrounding Communion seem more practical than theological. They're often questions about how to make the service as meaningful as possible for those who should and should not partake. Questions include:

• What spirit do we want to surround Communion? Celebration? Solemn reflection?
  
  
• Who can take Communion? What about the person who "does not discern the body and blood of Christ"?
  
  
• How do we train people in their understanding of Communion? How do we work with people who feel unworthy to come—though we think they should?
  
  

To get answers to these and other questions, I talked with respected pastors from a variety of theological traditions. Their varied answers provide a menu of choices to help better set the Lord's Table.

When I asked what spirit these pastors want to surround Communion, I found unanimous agreement on one thing: the need for variety.

"I don't find in the Bible a singular heart-set with which to approach Communion," says Bob Shank, pastor of South Coast Community Church in Newport Beach, California. "There are times when it's appropriate to take Communion contemplatively, with a deep sense of quiet reverence and awe. Other times it's appropriate for the family to be together around the table with a sense of release and joy, recognizing what Communion looks forward to and what it has done to paint our present differently. The one thing the Bible does say is we are never to do it frivolously."

Tim Keller, of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, sees the sacrament as an extension of the ministry ...

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