There is an ongoing
“revival” among American Christians, and it’s called “post-congregational
Christianity.” It is the fastest growing group of Christians in American,
currently numbering around 12 million. The adherents have completely dropped
out of local churches with the conviction that the local church is hindering
their relationship with Jesus and their spiritual growth. (You maybe know some
of them.) When I became a dedicated Jesus follower my commitment was to avoid
the local church so as to keep a “simple” devotion to Jesus.
And then I read these
words of Jesus: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail
against it.” Unless Jesus returned and
none of us were aware of it, he is still building his church, a triumphant,
overcoming church. But that begs the question, “What and where is the church
Jesus is building?” My post-congregational friends have dropped out of “the
institutional church,” and the more radical have left “the organized church.”
(Is it possible to be institutional and unorganized?) I’m convinced that many of them are still
participating in a local church with a non-traditional label. Some are belong
to “missional communities” or “house church networks,” still local churches no
matter how you define them. Others have successfully cut themselves off
completely from any expression of the Body of Christ (a dangerous decision in
my view).
I’m convinced that Jesus
is indeed building his church – I just want to find out where that is. The
local church is the instrument of God’s Kingdom carrying out the mission of
God’s rule in their specific time and place. Is it possible to identify the key
elements of a local expression of Christ’s Body? Are there a minimal number of
foundational elements that comprise a local church? If so, what are they?
The story of the First
Church in the Book of Acts contains the narrative of the working of the Holy
Spirit in and through the church to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom to
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. The story of the birth of
the church seems to give us foundational “seeds” from which everything else has
grown. Acts 2:42 describes this first community as “devoting themselves,” to
certain things. They had attached themselves to these things, had made clear
commitments that governed their daily lives. They lived in a state of readiness
with a deep, sincere desire to continue in these things. The story only refers
to four “seeds” that those early believers were “devoted” to. I suggest that
these are the elements that make up a church that Jesus is building.
The Apostles’ Teaching. It’s interesting that this would be the first commitment listed.
I would prefer that it be “pot lucks” or small groups or picnics. But these
first believers understood the need for teaching. The foundation of what they
believed and how they lived was based on God’s written revelation in Scripture.
They didn’t have “itching ears” but rejoiced at the opportunity to receive and respond
to instruction. And not just any teaching but the teaching of the apostles.
God’s delegated authority was clearly represented in the community. Some of the
impetus behind our modern post-congregational movement is a rejection of
authority; however, any expression of the Jesus community will be in a context
of God-given, Christ-honoring, Spirit-empowered spiritual authority.
Fellowship. This English word has
lost a lot of its power, but the Greek word koinonia
was one of the most important in the early church. It comes from the root koinos which simply means “common.” It
refers to a common life, a shared life, an intimate partnership. “Fellowship”
did not just happen at special times, but rather it summarized the daily lives
of those first Jesus followers. A devotion to real covenant relationships known
for certain “one another” qualities with real brothers and sisters (who are
unfortunately human) is necessary to have any expression of God’s Kingdom
community.
The Breaking of Bread. This unique expression referred in general to the essence of the
shared life, to “table fellowship.” It was used to refer to the “last supper”
Jesus shared with his disciples (see Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). In
fact, when the post-resurrection Jesus revealed himself to the two disciples in
Emmaus it occurred “when he broke the bread” (Luke 24:35). For the church,
“breaking bread” always referred to the heart of worship, to the sharing of
intimate fellowship with Jesus (Acts 2:46; 1 Corinthians 10:16). A local expression
of the church will always be a worshipping church with set times to fellowship
with Jesus around the table.
Prayer (literally, “the
prayers”). The first church was a praying church. They understood the need for
regular, united, corporate prayer. Even before the Day of Pentecost, “they all
joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:14). They had regular “times of
prayer” (Acts 3:1). Every new challenge was responded to with corporate prayer
(Acts 4:24). The job of the local elders was to give themselves “to prayer”
(Acts 6:4). Today’s church seems to have lost the regular practice of corporate
prayer, one of the only four things the first church was devoted to.
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