Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart
and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but
everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their
testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them
all. Acts 4:32-33 (NRSV)
In
the early stages of the birth and growth of Jesus’ church there was struggle,
trials and figuring-out what the mission would be. But there was also a communal sense of “bonded-ness”
where the group instinctively knew they had to stick together and work
together. And that brought great power
to the message of Christ as it was proclaimed in the first century.
It’s
hard to miss that so much more can be accomplished with teamwork and
cooperation than when people act independently.
However, it is even harder to understand, in light of the proven power
of unity, that people more often choose individualism over working
together.
Now,
it isn’t always that way. In extreme
situations we’ve all seen great community response and corporate effort. A neighbor’s house burns, the community
rushes to help. A woman is trapped under
a car and complete strangers will join the lift. Cancer stalks a child and you’ll see signs in
every store window about a fundraiser to meet the needs. Cooperation happens!
But the Church does have some Laundry
One
of the persistent and pervasive problems churches have is “individualism” – a conscious
(or sub-conscious) choosing of personal preferences over
mission.
Plainly-said:
we want what we want; selfishness!
Whether it’s worship style, music or color of the carpet, disagreement
and disunity is ever close!
This
is so opposite of how Jesus established the church. With cooperation and prayerful dependence on
God’s strength, the church was growing and there wasn’t a need the church didn’t
meet. But, it wasn’t long before
selfishness crept-in. In the very next
chapter (Acts 5) Ananias and Sapphira lied to church leaders,
boasting about their supposed generosity.
You
expect that sort of thing in politics and big business - scandals, lawsuits,
stealing and backstabbing. Sadly though,
it also happens in the church. And it
cripples the mission of the church to make known the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
With
as many factions as there are in church organizations throughout the world
today, denominations divided, para-church groups, lobbying splinter groups
within mainline machinery and schism after schism, it’s hard to read about believers
who …were
of one heart and soul. It’s hard
to read it and still keep a straight face while we call ourselves the church.
There is Hope for the Church’s
Future
Nonetheless,
I still have great confidence in the church.
If in times of tragedy and crisis, we still see a large percentage of
people coming to the aid of others, I believe the church can still, and will
“be the church” in this 21st century crisis of faith.
In
church Sunday we sang “The Church’s One Foundation”:
Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder, by heresies
distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping; their
cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.
The
old ship of Zion, the church, has always had to deal with the fact that we are
humans – frail, sinful and selfish. But
in the final analysis, it is not our humanity which rules the church. The church is Christ’s, and the prayers of the
night, weeping and mourning, are always that which lead to the bright morning sun
of song and laughter.
Pray for the church! The Father is listening.
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