And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
I like that; it speaks to the social and community nature of the church as God intended it to be. We've lost a good deal of that in the U.S. with our over-emphasis on personal salvation—but how can one be saved personally and not allow it to impact their social and relational life?
1 comment:
I certainly think that the theological doctrines (among them being soteriology) have a role to play in the fact that the American church has no community, but I think the greater force at work is simply the fragmentation and isolation of our society/culture at large. There are other more communally sensitive churches in the world who also have a focus on individual salvation, but the cultural element of caring for one's neighbor and sharing life together is already present as a staple of their society. In America, it would take a radical counter-cultural current to change the church to be less fragmented/isolated and more loving/communal. Gradually our culture is shifting to become more communal, so the church will eventually shift with the culture. However, in that case I would say it has far less to do with God and more to do with a church that is always marching two steps behind the culture. What is funny is that the church rarely marches to the beat of a different drum when it comes to defining meaning for itself, but we are the first to say that Jesus is the only way to find meaning in life.
Things are quite screwed up, and I think that's why the youth are exiting the church in droves.
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