THE PAGANESS OF A "CHURCH SERVICE" (SANTAMARIA)

"Pastors who routinely tell their congregations that “we do everything by the Book” and still perform this ironclad liturgy are simply not correct. (In their defense, the lack of truthfulness is due to ignorance rather than overt deception.) You can scour your Bible from beginning to end, and you will never find anything that remotely resembles our order of worship. This is because the first-century Christians knew no such thing. In fact, the Protestant order of worship has about as much biblical support as the Roman Catholic Mass. Both have few points of contact with the New Testament. The meetings of the early church were marked by every-member functioning, spontaneity, freedom, vibrancy, and open participation (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 14:1-33 and Hebrews 10:25). The first-century church meeting was a fluid gathering, not a static ritual. And it was often unpredictable, unlike the contemporary church service." [Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (p. 50). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.] 

We are a people who center ourselves on the Scriptures.  But have we carefully analyzed our practices from the New Testament or from the way things have "always been done"?  Is preaching, for example, the center of a church gathered in the New Testament?  if so, where do we find this in the Bible?  Read these words:

For members of Jewish religious groups, such as at Qumran and among the Pharisees, life centered primarily on a written code, as embodied in the Torah. This lay at the basis of the blessings, readings, expositions, confessions, and prayers that formed the content of the synagogue services. For members of the Eastern religious groups, life centered primarily on a ritual cult, with dramatic rituals, processions, and mystical experiences. This cult provided the basic rationale for its activities. For members of Hellenistic voluntary associations, life centered primarily on formal obligations, entailing the regular payment of dues and a system of rewards and benefits. Though conducted under the patronage of a deity, this deity did not shape the character of what took place in a fundamental or transformative way. [Banks, Robert J.. Paul's Idea of Community (p. 93). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.] 

We must be willing to submit EVERYTHING we do, to the authority of apostolic practices!  Did Paul, being a Jew, base the way he behaved in a church gathering on the Synagogue?

...Paul did not derive his understanding or practice of community primarily from the synagogue, cults, or associations of the time. For him, something new had broken into human experience, and it was nothing less than the “firstfruits” of that community between God, people, and even the cosmos that will be ushered in at the Last Day. Paul’s view arose from his understanding of the gospel and the Spirit and had only secondary points of overlap with the synagogue, little in common with the cults, and a few formal similarities with the associations. He integrated elements of synagogue practice or echoed aspects of other types of meetings only insofar as they were compatible with the gospel and the Spirit. Paul’s approach was revolutionary in the ancient world. In view of subsequent developments—in which Catholicism increasingly followed the path of the cults in making a rite the center of its activities, and Protestantism followed the path of the synagogue in placing a book at the center of its services—it remains no less revolutionary today in most respects. [Banks, Robert J.. Paul's Idea of Community (p. 94). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.]

Baker understands how original the church was as compared to other gatherings of Pagans in his time, such as the Mystery Religions of Greece and later Rome.

Only Paul’s understanding of ekklēsia embraces all three ideas of community to which people gave their commitment in the ancient world at the time. This means that, psychologically speaking, Paul’s approach had a decided advantage over its first-century competitors, since it offered so much more than any of them and provided things that elsewhere could be found only by adhering to more than one religious group. Sociologically, the distinctive element in Paul’s conception was its combination of all three models of community. I am not suggesting that Paul systematically related each of these models or that he consciously viewed his idea as the fulfillment of contemporary strivings. I am merely proposing that his view was conceptually richer and more socially relevant than others in his day. By using the quite ordinary term for assembling (ekklēsia) and locating such gatherings in an everyday setting rather than in cultic places, Paul indicates that he does not wish to mark off his gatherings from the ordinary meetings in which people were engaged. He did not see his gatherings as more religious in character than any other activity in which Christians were involved. Their novelty was not the action of gathering itself, its specifically religious intention, or its household setting. Parallels existed to all of these. For example, private Hellenistic cults occasionally met in homes rather than in buildings constructed especially for the purpose. (This happened relatively rarely, and the homes concerned were turned into shrines and became the center of various cultic activities.) The earliest synagogues, probably originating in open-air meetings, in time became based in homes. By the first century, many of these were modified to include larger numbers of people, and special buildings were also being constructed customarily, often reflecting their household antecedents. It was the character of their gatherings and the source of their dynamic, rather than the household basis, that distinguished Paul’s communities from their first-century counterparts. [Banks, Robert J.. Paul's Idea of Community (pp. 40-41). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.] 

The Roman Catholic Church was the first "Christian" group that began to copy the practices of these mystery religions:

Gregory the Great (540–604), the first monk to be made pope, is the man responsible for shaping the medieval Mass. While Gregory is recognized as an extremely generous man and an able administrator and diplomat, Durant notes that Gregory was also an incredibly superstitious man whose thinking was influenced by magical paganistic concepts. He embodied the medieval mind, which was influenced by heathenism, magic, and Christianity. It is no accident that Durant calls Gregory “the first completely medieval man.” The medieval Mass reflected the mind of its originator. It was a blending of pagan and Judaistic rituals sprinkled with Catholic theology and Christian vocabulary. Durant points out that the Mass was deeply steeped in pagan magical thinking as well as Greek drama. He writes, “The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the church; the Greek language, having reigned for centuries over philosophy, became the vehicle of Christian literature and ritual; the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass.” [Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (pp. 51-52). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.]

The pulpit, and the "communion table" were not mentioned or found in any of the meetings Paul or Peter were involved in.  They were added later, under Pagan influence.  The pulpit which many consider to honor the preaching of the Word, has no basis in any apostolic practice:

Accordingly, in the contemporary Protestant worship service, the pulpit, rather than the altar table, is the central element.  (The altar table is where the Eucharist is placed in Catholic, Anglican, and Episcopal churches.) Luther gets the credit for making the sermon the climax of the Protestant service. Read his words: “A Christian congregation should never gather together without the preaching of God’s Word and prayer, no matter how briefly”. . . “the preaching and teaching of God’s Word is the most important part of Divine service.”  Luther’s belief in the centrality of preaching as the mark of the worship service has stuck till this day. Yet making preaching the center of the church gathering has no biblical precedent.  As one historian put it, “The pulpit is the throne of the Protestant pastor.” For this reason ordained Protestant ministers are routinely called “preachers.” [Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (pp. 53-54). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.]

The Reformers, who thought they were reforming the Catholic Church of Rome, kept many of its pagan practices:

One further practice that the Reformers retained from the Mass was the practice of the clergy walking to their allotted seats at the beginning of the service while the people stood singing. This practice started in the fourth century when the bishops walked into their magnificent basilica churches. It was a practice copied straight from the pagan imperial court ceremony. [Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (p. 60). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.]

Look at the order of the Reformers listed below and search if you can find this order in any apostolic church!

Prayer 
Confession 
Singing (Psalm) 
Prayer for enlightenment of the Spirit in the preaching 
Sermon 
Collection of alms 
General prayer 
Communion (at the appointed times) while Psalm is sung 
Benediction 

[Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (pp. 60-61). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.]

The Puritans modified Calvin's liturgical order, but not according to any apostolic practice!

Three hymns 

Scripture reading 

Choir music 

Unison prayers 

Pastoral prayer 

Sermon 

Offering Benediction

[Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (pp. 63-64). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.]

Even the entrance of the preacher during the singing is of pagan origin!

This so-called “entrance rite” included psalmody (Introit), the litany prayer (Kyrie), and a song of praise (Gloria). It was borrowed from the imperial court ceremony (Jungmann, Early Liturgy, 292, 296). As Constantine saw himself as God’s vicar on earth, God came to be viewed as the emperor of heaven. Thus the Mass turned into a ceremony performed before God and before His representative, the bishop—just like the ceremony performed before the emperor and his magistrate. The bishop, clad in his garments of a high magistrate, entered the church building in solemn procession preceded by candles. He was then seated on his special throne—the sella curulis of a Roman official. The fourth-century church had borrowed both the ritual and flavor of Roman officialdom in its worship (Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 184) .[Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (p. 84). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.]

Brethren these words should make us think about what we do in a "church service"! Our services should look more like a Quaker service.  Some may see this as heresy.  But whatever you may think look to the apostles for your defense, not tradition!  We are NOT espousing the doctrinal views of the Quakers!  But we are focused on the simplicity and spontaneity of worship as described by Paul in I Corinthians 14.  May you consider these things in your heart.