From the Pastor - July 2010


"“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers.”".
    Acts 2:42

Lately I’ve been fascinated by the wonderful instructions left to us by the early Christian Church in the book of Acts. At first I was intrigued by how our Christian ancestors created community by pooling their finances and sharing with anyone who was in need (see Acts 4:32). I used to think of this as sort of an early socialist manifesto, more successful than the twentieth century attempts at utopian states because the citizens in Acts were motivated out of pure love of Jesus Christ. Their generosity was not forced from them at the point of a gun but, rather, came from a living encounter with the living God. I thought this might be a good Christian model for discussing economic justice issues such as tax policy and social programming. Now, however, I see that there is so much more in this book than just economics. Acts has a lot to teach us about how to BE the Church of Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:42-47 provides us with some very simple tips for evangelism. (Some of us may shudder a bit at the very use of the word evangelism, but if I didn’t scare you off with the word socialist in the above paragraph, please read on!) The early Christians did not attract converts and new members by preaching on street corners or passing out tracts door-to-door. Rather, they inspired the awe of their neighbors by how they created community. That is, their behavior toward each other actually attracted people to the faith.

Not only were they fantastically generous towards one another (v.44), they loved to worship with each other (v.46a). If we at Faith want to grow as a community, we have to make regular worship central to our weekly activities. It has disappointed me, I must admit, how our summer worship attendance has declined over the years. In ’07, we had a summer average of 71. In ’08, that number had dropped to 58 and fell last year to 49. If you really want to see your congregation grow, I encourage you to be in church just as often as you can. When we are refreshed by the Word of God and the sacraments, we become new people—people capable of inspiring awe by our powerful attitudes.

Similarly, the early Christians were constantly in fellowship with each other. They met in each others’ homes and were always sharing meals (v.46b). I think we will have a much easier time welcoming new members to Faith if we first practice getting to know each other. That is why I have been encouraging people to break out of their own social circles and get to know the folks around them in church on Sunday mornings. We have such a small worship space that there’s no excuse for us not to know and welcome everybody by name. I also encourage you to sign up for the progressive barbeque on July 17 and/or plan to meet with someone in our church family for the Sunday Night Concert on August 1st. The more we fellowship, dine, and share with our church family, the stronger a family we will be.

Acts 2 also teaches us that the early Church was characterized by a spirit of gratitude and praise. It’s very easy to talk about what is wrong with our congregation, but I think we need to start praising God for what is right around this place. We have a wonderful Sunday school, a great music program, an active women’s group, and some really terrific youngsters in our teen and confirmation programs. We may not have a lot of financial reserve, but neither do we have any debt. Our worship attendance is still higher than that of 70% of the ELCA churches in Philadelphia. Not only that, but we have our very own parking lot. I’d say we have a great deal for which to be thankful.

Now here’s the truly amazing thing. Verse 47 says, “And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” That is, when the early Christians were filled with worship, praise, and love for each other, God brought people to them. They didn’t have to go out looking for new members. I am always amazed by how many visitors God continually brings into this community of ours. If we can adopt the attitude of the early Church, we just might find that a lot of those visitors come back and stay.

The book of Acts depicts a community characterized by worship, study of God’s Word, joyful, positive thanksgiving, and a spirit of fellowship and togetherness. This is the culture of a thriving church. If we want Faith to continue to thrive, these are the characteristics we need to cultivate.

A lot of changes will be coming to our congregation very soon. The future will require increased generosity, volunteerism, vision, and commitment on behalf of all of us. Do you want your congregation to survive? Do you want your congregation to grow? If the answer to either of these questions is “yes,” what are you willing to do to further that goal?

Love in Christ,
Pastor Owen