Church,  Ecclesiology

The Monday Muse: The Church as Community

I love reading the book of Acts. It always makes me reconsider the current church landscape. How should the church function? What should it look like? We should all hold the understanding that the church is a body of people and not a building. Sometimes we forget this truth. It is easy to do in the midst of our CEO-driven churches. I fear that many churches function more like businesses than than gathering of God worshipers. I know that is an oversimplification. There is certainly a business element to any group who owns real estate and must manage funds. This is true, of course, if you believe that the church is best served in this form.

In Acts 2 and 4, the church is referred to as a community of believers. They pull together all of their possessions and resources. They share everything. They live in community. It is a challenging notion whether in a literal sense or in principle. But that’s just it…is it principle or a more literal example?

What seems to be the best and most faithful expression of the community of believers?

I will be very interested to hear your thoughts on this topic. I am constantly wrestling with different ideas but never quite settle things. So let’s try to work this out together. Game on.

One Comment

  • Mindy

    I do believe the church in the USA and Western Europe has lost touch with what it means to be in fellowship with each other, as we see played out in Acts.

    To me, the communal possession we see in the book of Acts is what was needed for the days in which they were living. They were figuring out what it meant to live as a Christ-follower and a Jew, alongside the persecution from the religious leaders and the Roman rule of the land.

    We don’t have the same pressures from our heritage and government as they did. Most of us are not in dire need of financial assistance or housing. But…I do think we should be more involved with the needs of the congregation. So many of our fellow members have needs that we don’t take the time to meet.

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