I first spotted it when a friend invited herself to check out this whole "church thing". Only upon arrival did I realise this was 'communion sunday'. On first view, a ceremony that includes drinking "blood" could seem a little cult-ish. So right then I invented an impromptu 30-second 'beginner's guide to communion'. As I did so, I realised my friend would be faced with 2 options:
1. Don't take part
Though we say participation isn't compulsory, there's a social pressure to take part. Abstaining from something that everyone else in the room is doing has the look of a boycott - a slap in the face to everyone else's religious beliefs.
2. Take part
It's a ceremony that proclaims a desire to be connected to Jesus. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood shall remain in me and I in him" (Jesus). Clearly for the first time visitor, who has not yet commited to Jesus, this is complete hypocrisy.
"Social faux-pas or religious hypocrisy - take your choice" is our message.
I struggled with this for a while before finding an answer in the bible. Acts 2'46 describes the actions of the members of the early church.
They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper
How about that? The Lord's supper in homes? Presumably more than 3-min bitesize church communion - and it doesn't put church visitors in a nasty Catch-22 situation.
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