There’s an intriguing paragraph tucked in at the end of Acts 2. It gives a brief description of the first church in Jerusalem. I wish it were longer, but I suspect God kept it short because he didn’t want everyone to try to make an exact replica out of it. But the principles listed there are important.
It starts with this statement: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
This verb “devoted themselves” carries the literal meaning of “being glued to something.” So the very first thing we are told about the apostolic church is that its members were glued to the teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayer meeting.
Jesus said that a house built upon the rock would surely stand. Every so often, we need to inspect our foundations to see whether they have strayed from the principles God laid down.
Our culture is all too often superficial and image-based. I believe that’s a direct reflection of the disintegration of the family unit. The church is or should be the best family on earth. It should be the place where genuine relationships of godliness, integrity and mutual commitment are found. And in a fractured society, that is a very strong drawing card.
None of us is perfect, and hence no church is perfect. If you ever found a perfect church, you’d ruin it the minute you walked in the door. But in a church that is truly glued together, there is grace to walk with one another in our mutual weaknesses in order to find his perfect strength.
Don’t look for a perfect church, look for a healthy church. A healthy church is where the Word is preached, the Spirit is present, fellowship is experienced and prayer is a reality.
Don’t get unstuck!
