Meditations on God, His Word, and His World (under the grace found only because of Christ Crucified)
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Think Deeply: The Church
I want to think in community with you. A humble and deep question: As you read the New Testament, what is the one thing evangelical churches are missing today?
To me, the biggest thing that is missing is the sense of community among believers. I've been studying the distinctives of the church in Acts lately and the thing that sticks out to me is their devotion to one another and to fellowship.
The U.S. is full of Sunday Christians, people who attend church once a week and have nothing to do with the church (meaning the body of believers, not the building) the rest of the week. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Christianity has become more of a social distinction than a way of life. The privitization of our society has infiltrated the church.
The believers in the early church understood how vital fellowship and discipleship were to their faith. Their lives were so interconnected that they were willing to give up every bit of their extra time and resources for the sake of those in the church who were in need. And when circumstances dictated, they even gave out of their poverty.
That sense of community is non-existent in evangelical churches in the U.S.
Genuine worship. Sacramental worship with the Lord's table being practiced every Lord's day, public confessions of sins being made, and a true sense of God's Holiness presented in the worship through the peaching of the Word.
All these are essential to worship, and most are almost non-existent in Evangelical Protestant Churches today.
Membership. Not names on a roll, but a vital connection of parts--one with another and, of course joined to the head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If our union is not more than juxtaposition, our faithfulness is in jeopardy because all we've committed to is being part of a club and there is no life in that.
Sorry it has taken me a day or so to write my answer. I have been and continue to be sick.
I agree wholeheartedly with The Once Dead Poet above. When I read the book of Acts, I see community. Today, we hide behind our privacy fences and don't allow many people into our lives. I would encourage you all to study all the "one anothers" in the Bible.
6 comments:
To me, the biggest thing that is missing is the sense of community among believers. I've been studying the distinctives of the church in Acts lately and the thing that sticks out to me is their devotion to one another and to fellowship.
The U.S. is full of Sunday Christians, people who attend church once a week and have nothing to do with the church (meaning the body of believers, not the building) the rest of the week. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Christianity has become more of a social distinction than a way of life. The privitization of our society has infiltrated the church.
The believers in the early church understood how vital fellowship and discipleship were to their faith. Their lives were so interconnected that they were willing to give up every bit of their extra time and resources for the sake of those in the church who were in need. And when circumstances dictated, they even gave out of their poverty.
That sense of community is non-existent in evangelical churches in the U.S.
Genuine worship. Sacramental worship with the Lord's table being practiced every Lord's day, public confessions of sins being made, and a true sense of God's Holiness presented in the worship through the peaching of the Word.
All these are essential to worship, and most are almost non-existent in Evangelical Protestant Churches today.
Biblical preaching - "the whole counsel of God."
Membership. Not names on a roll, but a vital connection of parts--one with another and, of course joined to the head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If our union is not more than juxtaposition, our faithfulness is in jeopardy because all we've committed to is being part of a club and there is no life in that.
oops! I should've read what you all said before I answered the question! My comment would've been "Yeah! What they said!"
I'm glad to see that several are on the same page about church life.
God bless us, everyone!
Sorry it has taken me a day or so to write my answer. I have been and continue to be sick.
I agree wholeheartedly with The Once Dead Poet above. When I read the book of Acts, I see community. Today, we hide behind our privacy fences and don't allow many people into our lives. I would encourage you all to study all the "one anothers" in the Bible.
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