Then and Now...

I recently read an article written by a pastor in Oklahoma. I found it especially insightful...


What God did back then, He still longs to do today
by Keith Wiginton II, First Baptist Church, Hobart, OK

I heard Rick Warren say once, "People keep asking me if I am taking the church forward. Actually, I am about taking it back¬wards ... back to the first 300 years of Christianity." He went on to say that the church's desire should be to replicate one of the most growth and influential periods it has ever seen.

What is it about the first 300 years of the church that made it so powerful? Here is a list of some of the things I came up with:

Passion for Jesus—the early church was not centered around certain types of ministries, but rather a Man; they were freakishly obsessed with Jesus. He was real to them.

They were non-religions—Paul fought hard to keep the reli¬gious idiots away from people who were falling in love with Christ ... and the focus was on what Jesus had done to pay for sin and not people's effort to do so.

Strong community—No one in the early church thought "their faith" was a private matter ... they encouraged one another, sup¬ported one another, loved one another and provided for one an-other. They knew the calling to walk with Christ was also a calling to walk with others. (When Jesus was on Earth, He didn't walk alone).

Urgency- They were serious about seeing people come to Christ . . . there was an urgency about them. They didn't care about Roberts Rules of Order or boycotting pagan activities . . . their focus was on reaching the lost.

Anticipation—There was always a sense that God was about to do something big.

A recognition and respect of leadership—Leaders in the early church were respected and honored . . . but not worshipped. Hebrews 13:7 and 13:17 point to both the responsibility that leaders bear and the instructions on how to treat them.

Involvement- Everyone was involved in ministry . . . there were no "paid professionals."

Willingness to be persecuted-They were willing to lose their lives for the Gospel. They were willing to be killed . . . and were willing to be criticized.

They saw things happen—They begged God for things ... they believed His vision was larger than repaying a parking lot and sending off second hand clothes to a third world country. They took action, and God honored their vision.

They taught truth—At the end of the day, all that matters is what we do with the truth of God's Word. They knew this, and that was their focus.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying we should forget about all of the technology that God has given us to advance His message and just go back to meeting in caves. Paul said in Ephesians 2:19-21 that Jesus is the cornerstone . . . can you imagine what would happen if a church truly captured the passions and desires of the early church and combined them with the abilities and opportu¬nities that God has given us in our modern world? Wow . . . the world could be radically impacted.