Everything in common

Acts 2:44-47 (TNIV) -

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

My thoughts -

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Sounds pretty good. So does the "enjoying the favor of all people" bit. How do we get in on this action? We won't have to "sell property and possessions" to do it, will we?

Maybe this model is crazy and outdated by a couple thousand years but the lack of stuff didn't hurt the church in this passage.

Would we have more credibility if we had less stuff? I've posed these questions to myself often of late. We have an awful lot of stuff. It's nice stuff, too. Beautiful buildings, stained glass, grand pianos, organs, projectors, sound systems, computer systems, guitars, drums, multi-purpose rooms, TVs, DVD players, and so much more. We have youth pastors and senior pastors and children's pastors and music ministers. Could we still be the church without these? Could we still reach people for Jesus if we couldn't financially support our programs and staff positions.

Would we have a more prophetic voice about caring for the needs of the poor if we spent less on our buildings and programs and more on caring for the poor?

I hear all the time that attendance and giving is down pretty much everywhere. Is there a new reality we're going to have to face? I hear the church is dying. Do we need a new way of being the church?

Do we need a really old way of being the church?

I don't have the answers. We're humming along okay for now, at least where I am. At least as far as I know. But most of what we do at church, while good, is not essential. We don't need multiple services in various styles to reach people. We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our communities. I am certain that, if we do our mission to the best of our ability with God's help we will continue to reach people. Even if that means we have to do it with less stuff. Even, and especially if that's what it means.