Longing for Historic Church

I just spent 5 days in the wonderful heat of Texas.  Already hot there, but still refreshing to experience a little bit of summer.  As we continue our steps back to the US this summer, I have found my thoughts reflecting often on what it means to be church.  I have seen for almost 4 years now what it means to be church in Germany, and now as we go back to a place we have been away from during those years, I find myself thinking often on church life in the US. Almost everywhere I have gone during the last 10 years, I have heard those who long for the glory of God to come again to the nations, speak in such fondness of the first church, the historic church, which was founded in Jerusalem.  We are all most likely familiar with Acts 2:42-47, where we get the first glimpses of it.  When I speak of the historic church and when I hear others speak of those pages, it seems to be done so with a reverence and care unlike other passages about the church seem to get.  Why is that? 

 They had what we all long for in church.  We want to live in those pages, do church the way they did and experience community to their depth.  They did not program this type of ministry, it is impossible to do so as it only happens when a body has a deep love for Christ and for one another and follows the Holy Spirit leading daily.  There is something in each Christ follower that either openly or secretly wants to live in this type of community.  That is why we read it with a gleam in our eye.

These words describe them:  devoted to truth and fellowship, lived in an environment of awe and authentic unity. They even sold their possessions and gave them to whoever had needs.  They met daily in a public setting and they also did life together in their neighborhoods.  They were characterized by joy and generosity, all the while praising God and finding connection with their lost community.  They were not seen as strange by those who were not believers, but enjoyed actual favor with them.  And oh, God added people to this first Christ Community through salvation daily.  That is why we read it with such longing. 

The great thing about what the "Historic Church" experienced, is that we can experience it today as well.  They did not stumble into this idea of doing church, you live it. You do church like this by loving God with all that you are and by loving our neighbors as ourselves.  You cannot program that, it is birthed in the heart where our passion for God and his church flow in freedom, both in us and from us.