At our Vintage Faith Church morning worship gathering that we just started 2 weeks ago, we had a time of doing the normal say hello to those around you (which is usually always awkward, but we say upfront it is awkward and encourage people to say hello anyway in our best attempt of welcoming people). As the person was giving the announcements and as he was telling everyone to greet each other, he jokingly said "feel free to greet each other with a holy kiss". We were just discussing that in one of our leadership meetings - and looking at what the "holy kiss" was in the Bible.
I had read an article in Christianity Today (click to read article) which spoke of the holy kiss as practiced as the church gathered in the early church.
So often there is great criticism of the emerging church when we may be adding some different expressions of worship. I have been criticized of not staying true to the Scriptures when we add prayer stations or art in worship. The criticism is that I am allowing culture to shape worship, rather than staying "true to the Bible" as it is said. So I was discussing earlier that week how multiple times in the Bible, the "holy kiss" was actually practiced and encouraged in the Scriptures to be part of church worship as a form of greeting. (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14).
So, when critics ask me why I am drifting from Scripture and conforming to culture, I now ask them "Do you kiss one another in your church worship gatherings? If you aren't greeting one another with a kiss - then you have conformed to culture and changed your worship from the original practice in the early church and what was said to do multiple times in the Bible." That question usually has now silenced most of the criticism.
Back to what happened that morning, the announcement and then the greeting time in our morning gathering began and Ron the conga player was standing near me and he joked about the announcement of the "holy kiss". I said, "here it comes!" and gave him a nice peck on his cheek - of which he recieved and then recoiled back not knowing how to respond. After the greeting time, I then proudly announced to everyone there as I began the message, that I had my first holy kiss.
So, my very first "holy kiss" has now occurred. Not sure I will ever practice this early church act of worship again. But now I can say I have had an authentic early church worship experience. I notice Ron now sits several rows away from me, in fear of receiving another holy kiss.
