The early Christian community is described for us in the New Testament. The picture isn't always a nice one. After all the church is made up of sinners, even if redeemed sinners. But the book of Acts gives us a picture of the first post-Pentecost community of Christians. It is described for us in Acts 2.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47, NRSV
The mission of this nascent community is found in Matthew's account of the Gospel, in chapter 28.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:16-20, NRSV
These two passages together provide the basic biblical framework for the new community of faith as established by God. It is a community that is commissioned by Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
In addition to the biblical witness, we, as United Methodists, have our own tradition to draw upon. When we look at the growth of the early Methodist movement we see how the Holy Spirit was certainly involved. Indeed, in John Wesley's writings we have an example of an 18th century adaptation of the biblical model.
Tonight, I want to look at these two biblical texts and the corresponding Wesleyan experience as I consider three basic questions...
What was the mission of the early church?
How was the early church organized to fulfill that mission?
How can we faithfully embody the power of the first century church in the first century of a new millennium?
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So, let us turn our attention to the first of these questions, “What was the mission of the early church?”
Jesus gives the church its mission. It is recorded for us by Matthew.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
In our own Book of Discipline, the mission of our denomination is simply described this way, “The mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.” Does that sound familiar? It should. It is from the denominational mission statement that we draw our own statement of mission: “The mission of Mebane United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.” That statement is printed on every worship bulletin.
Now, when we consider our mission statement from its biblical roots we see that it is placed in a sacramental and a nurturing context. When we make disciples we are to baptize them and we are to teach them. Now, tonight isn't the time to consider the issues involved in baptism. Suffice it to say this: Christian community is a community that is formed of baptized disciples of Jesus Christ who deliberately gather to grow in their faith and discipleship.
Disciples must be nurtured and taught. Why? So they may obey what our Lord has commanded us. Again, the subject of what our Lord has command us to do it for other evenings. Indeed, that will be the overarching theme of the new worship and teaching services that I am proposing tonight.
So we have our mission statement. This is our purpose: to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
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Our second question is: “How was the early church organized to fulfill that mission?”
We see the first hint of that in our text from Acts 2.
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.
First, note that they gathered to worship in the temple. Remember that the early Christians thought of themselves as Jews. Jesus was a Jew and a Rabbi. He, himself, would teach at the temple steps. He, himself, worshiped at the temple. He observed and kept the religious customs of his Jewish heritage. It is logical that the early Christians would try to continue to do this.
But, notice that they also gathered in homes. This is the critical part of the message I am offering tonight. In fact, lets look at a different translation, the New Living Translation.
42 They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in 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 constantly and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds 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 group those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 NLT
We see several marks of the Christian community.
- apostolic teaching
- fellowship (koinonia)
- the Lord's Supper
- prayer
The met together constantly to do this and they met in at the temple and in homes. The early Christians had to meet in homes. They didn't have large dedicated meeting spaces. While there were 3000 converts on Pentecost we know that many of them came from other parts of the world. We can imagine that there would have been a few hundred left in Jerusalem – a number that the Lord was adding to each day. These small group gatherings were critical to developing disciples for Christ.
The fact is, either a worship service will cater to a churched population which assumes a degree of knowledge of traditions and matters of faith. Or, a worship service will be structured to meet the needs of people who are seeking answers to questions of faith and life. Most of our church services are designed with the first group in mind.
Most of Wesley's preaching services were designed with the non-believer in mind. It was after a person made a faith commitment that they were accepted into membership in a Methodist Society and placed in a class and band. The preaching services were open to all and were often held in open fields for lack of a better place to meet. Society meetings were open to members who were growing in faith and discipleship. A member in good standing was someone who was faithfully attending their class meetings and were paid up in their dues.
In early Methodism, classes were not what we would call Sunday School classes. Classes were small groups of people that met in people's homes. The classes served to provide encouragement and reproof to people who were seeking to grow in their relationship with God.
Members of the classes were actually broken up into smaller groups called bands. The band was a small number of people usually of about the same age, background and the same sex. The band was small to allow for a degree of intimacy and confidentiality. Members were expected to openly share their faults and weaknesses with the other band members. Of course, the strictest degree of confidentiality was expected within the band for this to be possible.
Now this was critical. It was this degree of intimacy in the context of confidentiality that allowed for an accountable discipleship. The notion of accountability is one we don't find very appealing because we see ourselves as free moral agents. We resent and resist any notion of accountability. Yet it was the sense of accountability that made early Methodism such a powerful Spirit-filled movement.
When you know you will have to meet with a small group of fellow Christians and open up your life to them you will find yourself being more careful about the things you do each week. Moreover, this was the group of people that became your supportive community. These were the people you studied with. These were the people you prayed for. These were the people you shared ministry with.
The small groups were instrumental not only in the early church, but also in early Methodism.
Now, a further note about the temple worship. These early Christians saw themselves as part of the Jewish community, but not all Jews saw themselves as part of the Christian community. We actually have a similar dynamic at work in our Sunday morning services. In our society people have differing notions of what it means to be a Christian. Frankly, to many people it simply means being born in a “Christian society.” To others, it is being born into a “Christian family” or growing up in church. For many people, Christian faith has never gone beyond an intellectual acceptance of the existence of God. Sunday morning needs to be a time that concentrates on these people and on others who may be seeking answers to their own questions of faith. Sunday morning must be a place that is friendly and welcoming to the stranger and the seeker. Sunday morning becomes a time when disciples of Jesus Christ come to serve those who have yet to take the mantle of discipleship upon their own shoulders.
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Finally, let us consider the question, “How can we faithfully embody the power of the first century church in the first century of a new millennium?”
Wesley was a student of what he called Primitive Christianity. By that he meant what we call the early church. He saw the basic organizational structure of Methodism as being formed and informed by the structure of the early church even if it wasn't a carbon copy of it. This is important. We cannot copy what has happened in an earlier generation. We cannot even copy what works in one community to another community. There are too many factors involved.
What we can do is follow Wesley's example of learning from the early church. We learn how the Holy Spirit organized the early Christians and apply those same principles to our situation.
What is important here is looking at the marks of the Christian community and determining the best way to implement a plan to make those normative in our congregational and personal lives. I believe the best way to accomplish this will be through an intentional ministry which makes small groups an important part of the ministry equation.
Now, I have worked with implementing small groups before with varying degrees of success – many attempts were unsuccessful. This congregation tried to implement a small group ministry just a few years ago – an attempt that proved unsuccessful. Why should this attempt be any different?
Here are a few of the differences I see.
- First, the joining of small groups is to be strongly encouraged, but not mandatory.
- Second, members choose their own groups and are not assigned to groups.
- Third, the small group ministry is closely tied to the concept of a believers' worship service.
- Fourth, it becomes part of a larger vision for Christian Life and Community.
I am not suggesting that this will be a perfect plan. I am not even suggesting that it is a complete plan. It will work imperfectly and require tweaking and adjusting. It will require diligence and faith. Finally, it will require that God is moving through us and choosing to work through this imperfect structure even as He works with us imperfect humans.
Conclusion
Imagine now, if you will...
A community of faithful disciples who gather to worship and praise God on Sunday evenings. Who gather to learn about the deeper things of the faith. These disciples voluntarily associate with small groups to continue that learning process. They also use their small groups as a place of spiritual nurture. The small group serves as a means of mission and ministry – an outward mission and a ministry within the group. These disciples come together on Sunday morning to serve those who are seeking answers. They come to serve those who need a relationship with our Lord. They come to make Sunday morning a time for the seeker and the sojourner to come and feel welcomed and safe for their own pilgrimage.