Community and the Centrality of Christ...
After taking a couple days to look at fatherlessness (which is about a lack of community) I wanted to come back to this discussion of community as the church. When we talk about church, we most likely mean the building our congregation worships in. I know when my kids talk about "going to church," it means driving over to the church building proper. However, the conception the early believers had was far different! They didn't have a building, they didn't have paid staff, they didn't have respect or tax exempt status, and yet that was when everything was "on fire" (yes, I did just use that pun, try not to kill me for it!) as the Spirit had just come down and they were " adding to their number daily ." What made the church grow then versus now? Was it better cultural relevancy? Was it their social justice pursuits in aiding those " who had need "? Was it passionate people? Was it great coffee? Or is there something we overloo...