Q & A - Church Order
Questions 234 (COD Page 903)
Please explain just how we are to...how we deacons can keep the people just in the sanctuary before or after...Please explain. [Brother Billy Paul reads the question, “How do the deacons keep the people quiet in the sanctuary before and after church?”–Ed.] Oh, all right.
147 I would suggest this, brethren. Now, there’s a great thing. Wish we had more time to put on it, for it’s–it’s...it–it means something to us, see. Now, the church is not a...
148 If you wants to...If you want to run this tape down some night and play it before the meetings, that the people will understand it, let this be played; just this part of the tape but no more, just this. Any part of this that you want played for a certain thing, just keep running it till you find it, and then play it. See, ’cause it’s questions.
149 Now, deacons of the church, and as I–as I said, are the police of the church. But the church is not a general meetinghouse for–for fellowship and friendship and frolic. The church is a sanctuary of God! We come here...Now, if we want to meet one another, let me come to your house, you come to my house, or you go to one another’s house and meet one another. But just to frolic around through the church, and talking and things like that, it’s not right, brethren; we come here, we get the whole thing off of our mind. If we would come here...
150 Look the way we used to do it years ago. Sister Gertie was the pianist. When I pastored here, I–I had to be pastor, deacon, trustee, everything else at once, see, but I–I had to do it. Now you don’t have to do it that way, see, because you got men to carry this out. But when the...I had ushers, Brother Seward and all of them at the door. They had books piled around there at the door, setting in a chair, or something, another. And when someone come in, you showed them a place to hang your coat or helped them to their seat, give them a songbook and asked them to “be in prayer.” And then everybody set in their seat and silently prayed until starting time. See? And then at starting time, Sister Gertie, the pianist, got up there and started the music before...when the people are–are coming together.
151 I would suggest to have your organist to get up there with some real nice music. If she can’t be here, put it on tape and then play it, or something another. And have music, real sweet sacred music going on. So...And ask people...And if people goes to talking and carrying on like that, let one of the deacons get up at the microphone up there at the desk and say, “sh, sh, sh,” like that. Say, “At the tabernacle here, we–we want you to come to worship. Let’s not make noise now, listen to the music. Get your seat, set down, be reverent see, pray or read the Bible. This, in the sanctuary here, is where the Lord dwells. And we want everybody to be real reverent and worship, not to be running around, talking before the services. Congregate yourselves, and you come here to talk to the Lord. See? Either be in silent prayer, see, or read your Bible.”
152 When I went into the Marble church up there at the...Norman Vincent Peale, you’ve heard of him, you see. And I went into...Great psychologist, teacher, you know. And I went into his church, I just thought, there, “I wished my tabernacle would do that again.” Them deacons stand right there at the door just soon as you come in. They, of course, they hand you a Sunday school slip, taken you right down. He had to empty it three times, you know, it only hold about four or five hundred, you know; and New York’s a big place, and he’s a popular man. And I think they had to have one class at ten o’clock and one at eleven, same sermon right over again, same service exactly, same sheet of paper. But when they dismissed, and they had (I believe) five minutes for the church to be exactly...Nobody else could come in till they got out, then the deacons opened the way and the other church filled up. They had these old box seats, you know, they go in like that, and set down in the pews where you open the door. Old fashion, it’s been standing there for–for right at two hundred years, I guess, the old Marble church has.
153 And you could have heard a pin drop anywhere in that church, and everybody in prayer for at least thirty minutes before the first note was ever hit on the organ, the prelude. See? And just everybody in prayer. I thought, “How wonderful it is!” Then when that minister...That prelude, about...I think they played one prelude for about three to five minutes, How Great Thou Art, or something like that, on like that. And then when they did, everybody stopped praying, was listening to the prelude. See, it give a change, from prayer to the prelude. And then when they played that, then the choir leader directed the choir. Then they had a congregational song and the choir. And then they were ready for their Sunday school class. See? And then–and then when it was over, there was nothing went on except Divine worship, all the time, and that’s what we come there for.
154 And I think it would be a good thing if our church...And I’m just saying this, we, already, we’ll do it. See? Let’s do it. If somebody does anything, and saying, that, “I think it’d be a good thing.” If it’s a good thing, then let’s do it. See? We don’t want to put off any good thing, we’ll do it, anyhow. See? And just go ahead and–and stand up there and–and if they start on a morning, or something like that, people visiting, just let someone, or one of the–one of the deacons, or somebody walk up there and say, “It’s been made a rule in the tabernacle here...”
155 I don’t know if they do it, they may–may. I’m never here, you see, I don’t know. I’m never here before services.
156 And when they come in and they start talking, let somebody get up there and say, “Sh, sh, sh, just a moment.” See? Let the–let the...Get a little sister, get her up there and get her playing that music. If you don’t, put it on tape and get it out there, see, of the organ music. And say, “Now we’re...There’s a new rule in the tabernacle. When people enter here, we’re not to whisper, talk, but to worship. See? Now, just a few minutes the service will be starting. Until then, just either read your Bible or bow your head and silently pray.” And a few times like that, they’ll all learn. See? See?
157 You hear somebody talking, then if it gets down for a, after a few times like that, after a while you hit a place where somebody, say, see somebody talking, nobody else talking, you see, well, then one of the deacons walk up and say, “We–we want you to worship during time of the service.” You see? See? See, it’s not a house of talk, it’s a house of worship. Understand?
I think that was it. Please explain...Yeah. Let’s see. Yeah.
Please explain how to...the deacons should...in the sanctuary. Yeah, that’s all. That’s right. That’s it.
All right, now, here’s the last one.