Imitating the Early Church

One of the common cries of my generation is that we need to get back to the "real" church, by which they refer to the first century church. The idea is that those who may have actually known the incarnate Jesus must also have designed church in a manner closest to what Jesus wanted. However, one of the most surprising elements of the four Gospels is the relative lack of ecclesiological material (subject matter concerning the ekklesia, or "church" in English). One would expect Jesus to have lined out a leadership structure or to have described the ideal worship service. But He didn't.

To be fair, we know that the Gospel writers were selective in the material they chose to include. Matthew, for example, chose to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy by including more explanation of Hebrew scripture. Luke apparently cared deeply about the plight of the poor, so He included more of Jesus' teaching about giving generously. In spite of the Gospel writers' selectivity, I imagine most scholars would agree that between the four Gospels, we have a relatively complete picture of Jesus' activities and teachings. So, my conclusion must be that Jesus simply did not discuss with his disciples what the Church would become, possibly because they didn't have even an elementary understanding of what Jesus was doing until after the Resurrection.

Thus, in a way, the early church was on their own to figure out the logistics of being The Church. They certainly had the Spirit's direction. The Church also knew that Jesus' principles of community and servanthood were vital. But they had practically no specifics for Church life. Consequently, we have the New Testament epistles, where the apostles addressed problems and abuses within churches. In Acts, we see the office of deacon develop to solve a specific issue within Church life. In 1 Corinthians, Paul spends several chapters correcting improper worship procedures. So, the early church obviously didn't have everything perfectly figured out.

I often hear people work from the assumption that the early Christians had the ideal model for Church life, and their model was slowly corrupted over the centuries. People who think that way would say that today's church is distant from the "real" church. Their conclusion, then, is that "house churches" are the only Biblical model for community, and the "institutional church" is a corrupt, godless entity. They might also argue that anything uniquely modern within the church, such as multimedia, interactive events for children, or modern worship services miss the mark of the early church and are, therefore, inferior. However, the assumption that the early church is THE model to follow is simply misguided.

I don't wish to downplay the early church's importance. But, we must recognize that the early Christians were simply doing the best they could. They did not have the option to either own church buildings or meet homes. The churches did not choose between the two, and pick a "house church" format as the ideal. No, they met in homes because they didn't have the finances to own a building, nor the governmental approval to do so. The early church was not simplistic because they thought programs and ministries cluttered The Church's purpose. No, they simply did not have media of any kind or large enough congregations to form ministries based upon demographic. Furthermore, there were elements of the early worship service, such as the holy kiss (where church members would spend time showing affection to one another by kissing members of the same sex), that have not been emulated by any current churches who supposedly follow the early church's model for worship.

I conclude by suggesting that instead of trying to strip away all modern practices in today's church, we should seek to best implement Jesus' teachings on community and servanthood in our current society. Doing so requires thought, hard work, a thorough understanding of scripture, and a massive dose of creativity. We must not demonize The Church for growing and adjusting with changing times and worldviews. In fact, The Church would have likely vanished like the morning dew if it had remained stagnant, stubbornly clinging to the year 40 or 50 A.D. We, The Church, MUST change and grow while always holding true to faith in our Savior and the truths that He taught within our Holy Scriptures.

Well, I honestly intended to write two paragraphs... oops.

-Matt