I have spoken before about hedging or fencing the table (see here, for example). In our church, we ask people three basic questions:

1. Have you trusted Jesus personally?
2. Have you been baptised and joined the church in membership?
3. Are you on good terms with other members?

If you can say ‘yes’ to all three of these questions, then you may partake of communion.

As an aside, we are clear on our second question that membership of the church doesn’t necessarily mean our particular local church. If you are a baptised member of another church at which you would usually take communion, we are happy to welcome you to join with us too.

As a general rule, if somebody turns up one week and takes communion, I assume they have appropriately asked themselves these questions, affirmed them all and joined in appropriately. If someone turns up several weeks in a row, I begin to have questions. Specifically, if you are a baptised member of another church, what exactly are you doing here several weeks on the bounce and does your pastor know? There may be some legitimate reasons for that, but it may equally suggest you are not functioning as a member of another church and, therefore, affirmation of 2 and 3 are, for want of a better phrase, called into question. This begs the question: what are we to do if we think people are taking communion wrongly?

It is important to say that I do not think the church has the authority to wield the sword. Not that anybody would wield an actual sword! But we don’t have the authority or right to go forcibly ripping the elements out of people’s hands either (sword in hand or otherwise!) We have the authority to proclaim the word and to state clearly what we think is an appropriate, biblical practice. Hence, we hedge the table in the first instance.

If someone takes communion wrongly despite the clear position of the church being stated, this provides an opportunity for a pastoral conversation. It may well include some of those questions I raised above: What church are you a member of? How are you functioning as a member if you are here? Are you actually on good terms with the church you are a member of? Are you walking in fellowship with them and, if so, again, why are you here? Does your pastor know you are here and why? If you are looking to join us here, and your pastor has not been in touch to transfer your membership for entirely benign reasons, are you functionally in membership anywhere?

I may not ask all those questions. Some of them may seem more relevant than others. There is some space for an entirely legitimate explanation coming back that may cause us to recognise the three questions are being affirmed reasonably. But where that isn’t the case, we have a more direct discussion about the appropriateness of this person taking communion with us. If they are interested in becoming members so that they can join with us, we are quite ready to open up that discussion with them and discern the appropriateness of them partaking. But I would ask, until they have been affirmed by the church this way, that they refrain from taking communion.

If somebody continues to disregard the church, and keeps taking communion despite being instructed directly not to, this speaks to much deeper issues. These go beyond one person’s view of whether they should be a member or not, or whether they believe communion should be open or not, and speak to their view of church authority altogether and a spirit that is at odds with the Word. The authority to admit people to the table lies with the church and those who would disregard the church’s God-given authority in this matter are defying God’s authority and speak more clearly about the state of their hearts than they may appear to realise.