The Church that Stays Together

When I was a little boy I used to ride a Sunday school bus to church in the morning and then ride with some neighbors to the service at night. I would go basically to be with some friends I played with (and a girl I liked) and I would often sit in the back of our rather large auditorium and draw on the inside of these really old hymnals as the pastor would preach (sorry about those hymnals by the way, if you are from that church). I had this friend who eventually grew up and got involved in some devil worship or something like that (my skills of discernment started at an early age, as you can readily see), and we would just run around the church and fight and act up, until we made some adult mad. Not really sure why I have trouble getting my kids to behave "properly" in church now. The point of telling this story is to say that as a small kid I didn't care anything about church, but I kept coming because I made some friends (albeit not very good ones I will agree). I made a connection through relationships with other kids of like personalities or similar desires. People of every age still need to find a connection with the people who are part of the church, or the church will disintegrate.

This conclusion may seem to be a bit trite or overstated perhaps, but it is the truth that keeps showing up throughout so much of my reading lately. As I have been studying recently in the book of Acts, I have seen
this element so often demonstrated in the life of the early church. They were a group of believers that were not just committed to a set of beliefs or a system of doctrines; they were just as importantly committed to each other, and connected with each other's lives. Much of today's church is confined to a once-a-week (or twice if you're really religious) ritual of meeting together and focusing on things being taught and people worshipping and others entertaining us, and then experience a mass exodus when the last hymn is sung or the last amen is said. Unfortunately, many of us (myself included) forget that the church is more than a worship service or building or schedule; it is authentic relationships being expressed spontaneously in every part of our life and throughout every part of our schedule. Nevertheless, let me give some substance to my fluff before someone runs off and takes me out of context.

Acts chapter 2, verses 42-47. A lot of good stuff here, but I just want to take these thoughts as a whole, because this is a pretty detailed description of the early church. If you would allow me I would like to paraphrase the happenings in this text.These actions are probably good models for the church of today to emulate: (1) Devotion to the teaching of God's Word to the people of God, (2) Commitment to close association or participation with believers, (3)Regularity to eating the Lord's Supper together, (4)Collective prayer, (5) Unity of spirit and purpose, (6)Sensitive to meeting each other's needs, (7) Showing hospitality to one another by eating meals together in one's home, and (8) Praising God together. There is one thing that is outstanding about every one of these traits of the early church, and I believe that it is missing in a lot of churches today, the truth of togetherness. The church is not a family anymore. In the age of information, we have become an organization or even a business, but not what Christ ordained for us to be, the family of God.
We too often "have church" and then go off and live our own lives. But Jesus described the people of God as family. In Mark 3:33, 34, He asks, "Who are my mother and my brothers?' he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." This is evidently not only the family that prays together, but also the one that stays together (I know that is real clever, so you don't have to commend me). I am sure I will revisit this thought again, but for now that is all. Just wanted to vent some things that the Lord has been speaking to me about. Talk with you later.