The only church I can remember attending that did not have a stage was held every Sunday morning in a coffee shop which was closed on Sundays. I worked at this coffee shop Monday through Saturday, and worshipped there on Sunday mornings. There were probably 20-25 of us; several played instruments, this being Denton, home to the University of North Texas, a public university famous for its jazz program. Also there were always several words given. We could usually count on a word from one or more of the "leaders" of this group, two or three men of wisdom and Godliness, but in general anyone was welcome to give a word, which reinforced the sense that the church was us, and we (not the building) were the church.
It may be coincidental since this church had no stage, but this church also had no platform, and by that I mean that there was no agenda to follow; we were following only God because we loved Him. I think because we were desperate for Him, we didn't think to do anything but pursue Him. However, many (if not most) churches have stages; not all of them have platforms, but again many (if not most) do. Think of the platform, the agenda, as whatever the church is pursuing that is not strictly God. It could be perfect music, or a robust ministry to the poor, or a slew of wonderful programs for every age group in the body. It could be the gifts of the spirit, or the scripture, or friendships within the congregation. The platform of any given church is whatever receives the focus that should be given to God, or whatever is pursued without the direction of the Lord.
It may be coincidental that the stage tends to lend credence or support to the platform. It may not really mean anything that the words "stage" and "platform" refer to the same thing. But it is that very fact, that these two words are synonyms, that has planted the seed of this essay in my brain. I believe that the stage contributes to the platform, or at least allows the platform to remain in the same building as the Holy Spirit. I believe that one of the more difficult and important things we can do if our church has a platform is to go after God in spite of the platform. We will never be able to fully pursue the Lord because of the platform, if we remember that the platform is that which receives more attention than God Himself.
Before we examine the stage's role in our platforms more fully, let's talk about what the Platform is a little bit more. While programs, and good music, and nice facilities, and the gifts of the Spirit, and good teaching are all worthy pursuits for a church, if any of these become things we pursue without God's accompaniment, the become an agenda. They become something we do because we've always done it, or because we're comfortable with these things, or because we've invested in them. If what we're doing on any given day as a church body is not done because we're pursuing God and listening to His direction, than we probably have an agenda and we're probably doing church from our platform.
I tend to conflate the stage in a church with the platform in a church because we, as people of flesh, are swayed by things like stages. The stage is elevated above the larger audience; in fact, the presence of the stage creates the dynamic of audience and presenter. Whether the presenter is a band, a single musician, or a preacher or prophet, the dynamic is the same. The stage dweller stands above the audience and presents his material. The audience receives it. The one on stage is active, those in the audience are passive. This is not always the case, but this is the general dynamic a stage achieves. The problem with this dynamic is that the tendency to give into it becomes habitual, and the next thing you know the only people bringing anything to church are the ones on the stage. Everyone else is just taking.
That's not how church is meant to be. A good example of what church should be like is described by Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth. In chapter 14, Paul describes how to do church in an orderly way, and he especially addresses the gifts of tongues and of prophecy. While he is instructing the church members of how to go about their church in an orderly way, the expectation behind his instruction is that everyone will be involved. In fact, because everyone is involved, Paul feels the need to help them maintain order among the many contributors. He tells them that not everyone can speak in tongues; there should be interpreters. But aside from tongues, he is encouraging everyone to be involved, and to bring something, "a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation." Says Paul, "For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged..." He expects that everyone will contribute something to the body when the body gets together. He expects that we will all come to church to bring something, not just to receive.
When our church has a platform, the number of those bringing something shrinks, and the number simply receiving grows. When our church has a platform - regardless of whether there is a stage - we can't easily veer off of our schedule for the Holy Spirit. When we have an agenda, there is little room for God to move freely. We don't leave room in our programs for awkward moments. Our agendas are not sympathetic to the unpredictability of the Holy Spirit.
But we need the awkward moments to usher in the Holy Spirit, because what is an awkward moment but the moment when we've lost control. I've said it before, but holy order is not the same thing as fleshly order. Fleshly order creates holy chaos, in the sense that when we impose our agenda on the proceedings, we mess up our opportunity to walk in step with the Lord and be a part of what He wants to do. Holy order does not require chaos here on earth, but it requires a disruption of our agendas. It requires chaos in the sense that, once we cede control of the proceedings to the movement of the Holy Spirit, we will find spiritual or holy order, but we won't necessarily be able to stick to the schedule as outlined in the church program.
This is important, and we're talking about more than just doing church the right way. This is not about doing church. I won't even get out of bed anymore just to play church. If I'm going to make the effort to gather with other believers, I want to go after God. I want to move with the Holy Spirit, to go where He says go, to say what He says say, to pray what He says pray. If we can't allow the awkward moment to descend and wait it out as we stir up the Holy Spirit, we are going to miss out on all that makes coming together worthwhile. We'll miss out on the gifts of the spirit, we'll miss out on the deep worship, we'll miss out on His voice. We'll be just wasting time playing church.
I don't want a platform and I don't need a platform, because God has a platform that can't be beat, and it is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. We do not need an agenda to go after God; rather, the opposite is necessary: we need to drop our agendas and pursue God when we come together.
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