A way of living

At the beginning of the book of Acts St Luke describes the life of the earliest Christian community; indeed such an early gathering of Christ’s followers that the word ‘Christian’ had not been invented – that came a few years later in Antioch. Their way of being as a community seems alien to most of us in 21^st century Britain, though would make more sense to those who live in intentional communities, whether monastic or part of the ‘new monastic’ movement of people who choose to share homes, household tasks and incomes with other people of faith.

It seems to me that there are some underlying principles of community that still apply to all Christians, even those of us in dispersed traditions coming together only on Sunday mornings. Those principles may be applied in a different way today, but if they are equally valued and upheld, we can build a Christian community as vibrant today as the ones that emerged in Jerusalem in the first century.

The first principle is sharing. It is a deep sharing that ensures first that every community member has basic needs met. Those who like to consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a way of understanding people will see the value of this: before being able to engage in ‘extra’ activities, each person needs to have basic meets met: if we have enough to eat and to drink, and a safe, sheltered place to sleep at night, then we will be able to focus on things beyond that. So our sharing starts there. It may seem most obvious to urban churches, where a ministry to the homeless is a visible need, but it should be part of the ministry of every church, as we ensure that all are provided for. We can not, sadly, always rely on the welfare state to do for us what the church has had to do for most of its existence.

Having ensured those basic needs are met, our sharing goes on to the next most important things in the life of a follower of Christ – and here my hierarchy of need may go in a quite different way from Maslow’s. We are called and indeed created to respond to the Lord God Almighty in worship, and that is something that is best done in community. Yes, we can worship alone, and sometimes solo worship is very valuable (especially for introverted types), but it is a community calling. The early church shared in worship and so should we. That includes encouraging the many people who insist that ‘they are really Christians but don’t need to come to church’ that actually it isn’t just about what they think they need. It isn’t about pleasing themselves, but about pleasing the Lord, and the Lord calls us to come and worship together. Whenever we worship – Sunday mornings, Tuesday mornings, Wednesday afternoons – whenever it is, it is best done in company, so that the jy and awe we share and express can be magnified, and each of us can be strengthened by those around us.

Sharing socially is important too. When the early Christians broke bread together, it wasn’t only about a religious act. It was about building those bonds of friendship, trust and support that are the bricks and mortar of community. In communities that share a common roof, programmed times to relax together are an important part of ensuring that their community life flourishes. It is just as important for church members to make the effort to spend time together socially; these times might be organised by the church or organised by groups of friends. As we do this, we need to be thinking about those who come to church and making sure that all are included somewhere along the line – it is very easy to get into a routine of meeting with particular friends. As the bonds between those friends strengthen, it gets harder to invite new people into them and you end up with ‘cliques’ or unenterable groups. Fellowship matters and open fellowship that looks to ensure that all are welcomes matters even more.

The second principle that applied in the early church was of remembering. The church met intentionally to remember what Jesus said and what He did. The stories were shared and eventually written down to make sure they were not forgotten. They were told and retold so that each new person entering the community was able to hear, learn and understand all that Jesus did for them. Children needed to hear and learn the stories and so did new adults joining the group. Today the principles still applies, which is why the readings from scripture are the one constant in all acts of Christian worship. We must retell the stories and ensure that we all know them and pass them on. As soon as we stop sharing the story and remembering all that Jesus said and did, the Christian community comes to an end. That is why activities that pass on the stories to children and adults alike are so important. It is why groups like Explorers matter, and courses like Pilgrim which introduce the stories of Jesus to a new audience matter.

The act of remembering leads to the third principle, which is living as a disciple. A disciple is a learner, a follower learning from a particular teacher. You can’t be a general disciple. You must be the disciple of a named teacher – in the case of a Christian, Jesus Christ, the son of the Living God. The early Christians listened to what Jesus said, looked at what he did, and strove to live like him, and to live out his teachings in their lives. While the way of life of a first century Middle Eastern Christian may be very different from that of a 21^st century English one, the underlying principle is no different. We are called to live as disciples, and to allow the things that we learn from Christ to affect everything about the way we live, from what we buy, and what we wear, to how we spend our time and how we treat other people. Inevitably, living in this way will sometimes make us stand out as different from other people around us, as having a different motivation of our actions from those who follow the prevailing culture, but if we share in being disciples then none of us will have to face the potential criticism of society alone.

Those three principles – sharing, remembering Jesus together, and living as disciples, apply as much today as they did when Peter led the community. Every Christian community finds its own ways at different times of living them out. In my own benefice we’re preparing to launch a new vision statement with five priorities for mission in the coming year. Those priorities rest on the basis of those three first principles: growing in number, especially of children, younger people and families, improving our worship and discipleship and engaging with social media so that we can be properly in touch with each other and the wider world in the age in which we live. Hopefully the effect will be the same today as it was centuries ago: that others will see how we live and want to join in with the best party in town.