What should church be like?
In Part 2 we cautioned against assuming that all churches are like the one you grew up in. In Part 3 we did a big-picture overview of the whole biblical story and saw that God's main goal is to create a spiritual family/community. But we still haven't actually painted a picture of what a church community should look and feel like.
The reason that's an important question is that many people would question if Church is worth defending, preserving, or restoring. Why preserve a place that many feel is boring and irrelevant at best, or toxic and abusive at worst?
What I propose is going back to the bible to find out the original vision for what church should be like. What is the goal that churches should be aiming at? There are two parts of the bible that I believe are particularly enlightening regarding this question: (1) the description of the very first church in Acts 2 and (2) the "one another" passages.
The Acts 2 Church
Acts 2:42-47 says:
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
So much could be said about this passage but let me just briefly touch on some highlights.
The original church devoted themselves to "the apostles teaching," which eventually got written down as our New Testament. That may sound obvious but you'd be surprised at how many Christian churches prioritize ideas from politics, culture, or philosophy over the bible itself.
They devoted themselves to "fellowship". To actually spend time with each other and get to know each other. A bit further down in verse 46 it says they met "each day." I have become convinced that one of the main reasons church feels underwhelming to people is because they are not prioritizing it enough. The more you put into relationships with other people the more you get out. Your church community can be a place where you find deep and satisfying spiritual family where people enjoy being together and support one another.
They devoted themselves to prayer. Did/does your church spend much time praying together? Or is prayer just something that we do for 30 seconds to transition from one part of the Sunday service to another? If church is just a another club we join or a dry and empty ritual we go through then we miss the point. A church community is where we get in touch with the Creator Himself and discern how he is at work in the world around us.
They shared everything they had and sold their property and possessions to give to those in need. This is one of those radical parts of the bible that we like to skim over and pretend doesn't exist. But what would happen if we took care of the underprivileged in our communities with even just a fraction of this intentionality? Even more fundamentally, what would happen if we all were a bit more open about the struggles and challenges we faced? To take care of one another's needs we have to first be aware of them.
This description of the first church is idealistic, even in the bible! Numerous other places in the bible describe ways that the church got terribly off track. But if we kept these principles as our target, imagine what good it would do! This is a vision of church that captures my imagination. It motivates me to participate in a church community in hopes of that community becoming more like the one described in Acts 2.
The "One Anothers"
A profound amount of the New Testament is devoted to how we should treat "one another." When the New Testament talks about treating "one another" a certain way, it's talking about our relationships with other followers of Jesus in our church community.
Oftentimes we read verses like these and jump in our minds to how we might treat our family, friends, coworkers (etc.) in that way. And to be clear, it is a great thing to transfer these New Testament principles to how you treat people in all the various spheres of your life! But we must remember that those are not the contexts these verses primarily have in mind. These verses are primarily talking about how to treat the people you see on Sunday mornings, at your small group, and so on.
Here's a list:
1. “…Be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50)
2. “…Wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14)
3. “…Love one another…” (John 13:34)
4. “…Love one another…” (John 13:34)
5. “…Love one another…” (John 13:35)
6. “…Love one another…” (John 15:12)
7. “…Love one another” (John 15:17)
8. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…” (Romans 12:10)
9. “…Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)
10. “Live in harmony with one another…” (Romans 12:16)
11. “…Love one another…” (Romans 13:8)
12. “…Stop passing judgment on one another.” (Romans 14:13)
13. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…” (Romans 15:7)
14. “…Instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14)
15. “Greet one another with a holy kiss…” (Romans 16:16)
16. “…When you come together to eat, wait for each other.” (I Cor. 11:33)
17. “…Have equal concern for each other.” (I Corinthians 12:25)
18. “…Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (I Corinthians 16:20)
19. “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (II Corinthians 13:12)
20. “…Serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
21. “If you keep on biting and devouring each other…you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:15)
22. “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:26)
23. “Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2)
24. “…Be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
25. “Be kind and compassionate to one another…” (Ephesians 4:32)
26. “…Forgiving each other…” (Ephesians 4:32)
27. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” (Ephesians 5:19)
28. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)
29. “…In humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)
30. “Do not lie to each other…” (Colossians 3:9)
31. “Bear with each other…” (Colossians 3:13)
32. “…Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.” (Colossians 3:13)
33. “Teach…[one another]” (Colossians 3:16)
34. “…Admonish one another (Colossians 3:16)
35. “…Make your love increase and overflow for each other.” (I Thessalonians 3:12)
36. “…Love each other.” (I Thessalonians 4:9)
37. “…Encourage each other…”(I Thessalonians 4:18)
38. “…Encourage each other…” I Thessalonians 5:11)
39. “…Build each other up…” (I Thessalonians 5:11)
40. “Encourage one another daily…” Hebrews 3:13)
41. “…Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
42. “…Encourage one another.” (Hebrews 10:25)
43. “…Do not slander one another.” (James 4:11)
44. “Don’t grumble against each other…” (James 5:9)
45. “Confess your sins to each other…” (James 5:16)
46. “…Pray for each other.” (James 5:16)
47. “…Love one another deeply, from the heart.” (I Peter 3:8)
48. “…Live in harmony with one another…” (I Peter 3:8)
49. “…Love each other deeply…” (I Peter 4:8)
50. “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9)
51. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…” (I Peter 4:10)
52. “…Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…”(I Peter 5:5)
53. “Greet one another with a kiss of love.” (I Peter 5:14)
54. “…Love one another.” (I John 3:11)
55. “…Love one another.” (I John 3:23)
56. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:7)
57. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:11)
58. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:12)
59. “…Love one another.” (II John 5)
Again, just like the Acts 2 passages, these are the goal. Clearly in reality we don't successfully embody these in our churches on a regular basis. But imagine if we did! Imagine if our churches embodied these principles even just 10% more than we do now!
Be devoted to one another. Honour one another above yourself. Stop passing judgment on one another. Carry each other's burdens. And on and on. Every one of these principles is incredibly radical in our culture but would be hugely healthy for us. Living in a community that embodies these principles even remotely is something I want to be a part of. To me, it is a vision worth fighting for. Despite the failures of the Church, despite the ways we get distracted or off-track, I do not want to stop hoping and praying and working towards making this vision a reality.