Basic 1st Century Church ?

Back to Basics

We read a lot about “good Bible-based” churches, or “teaching” churches, or “good worshipping” churches. We read all about “Black” churches or “white” churches or “Asian” churches or “Hispanic” churches,

May I ask where in the Bible is justification for all of this separation of tasks and of races? I can understand a church being predominantly black or white or Asian or African, but many of those churches are closed to any but their “own”. I was in the USA two years ago and we went to a good church. It was in a predominantly white neighbourhood but of the 1500 or so souls who rolled up on Sunday morning, I counted just three non-white people. The neighbourhood was more mixed than that. We noticed another smaller church nearby. I was told that all the black folk went there.

Although there are many problems facing America right now, it does seem to me that racism and greed govern just about most things including church.

Yet what is the Biblical example of church. It is that ALL the believers gather together – not just the Jews but Greeks, Romans and all other races together. There is no mention of a Jewish church or a gentile church or any other church. It was just ONE church.

There was Bible teaching AND prophesy AND evangelism AND healing AND fellowship AND a meal ALL together. Not just teaching or healing or evangelism. Even today there are only a very small number of meetings dedicated to prophecy – it is still regarded as too “spooky” for most folk, especially when God starts revealing things through the prophets.

First Century church was a family affair and it wasn’t limited to two hours on a Sunday morning either. It was much more an all day event with a meal or perhaps meals for all present. It contained teaching, it contained healing, it contained prophecy, it contained evangelism, it contained prayer for needs and gifts to the needy. They looked after their own widows and orphans. They didn’t look at the size of your offering before deciding what help they might be able to offer. Nobody starved to death in the early church. Nobody went without prayer for their needs and the needs of their family, neighbours, and friends.

Perhaps we have lost sight of the Biblical ideals of Christianity because we do seem to retain an awful lot of things for ourselves. We do seem to take a judgemental position before offering help. I am not talking about our “missions-driven giving” as we do that quite well. I am talking much closer to home – our own doorstep actually. There is as much real need and suffering in our own back yard as there is elsewhere. Don’t scoff at that – if you don’t know of any then you are not looking.

Yet most 21^st century churches like to pretend it’s not there; not in my back yard so as to speak. Most of us prefer our all white, our all black, or our all whatever membership with many folk driving miles to get to the church they want rather than supporting their neighbourhood church.

Is it time to re-think our local tactics and bring them more into line with Biblical principles again?