Rethinking Church

I have always been fascinated studying church history by that part of our past known as the Restoration Movement.  In the early part of the 19^th century when the nation was still young a number of frontier evangelists from various religious backgrounds begin having the same sort of misgivings about the “religious establishment.”  Something of a revival was taking place on the frontier and it was a time of religious fervor for many.  Men like Thomas Campbell- a Presbyterian, Elias Smith- a Baptist, and James O’Kelly-  a Methodist, began questioning their church traditions and practices.  They began “rethiking church.”  Shortly Campbell’s son, Alexander and a fiery Presbyterian preacher from the frontier, Barton W. Stone began reminding everyone of the “oneness” of the church and sent out a call towards Christian unity that prompted many churches to drop their denominational ‘names’… and come together as “Christians, and Christians only.”  It was a time of great upheavel for many.  Many had to let go of long-held traditions and practices in order to recover the Biblical faith of the early church.  What is it with mankind that we have a tendency towards forming traditions outside of Biblical authority and a propensity to legislate commands where God has not? 

Today as we look out over the religious landscape of 21^st century America, I wonder if it is time once again for a new “restoration movement”… a new effort of to recover the authentic, simple and Biblical faith of the early church.  Is there a need to “Rethink Church” today?  I believe so!  While much has been done to recover the structures and the practices of the early church… it seems there is still much work to be done.  There is way too little effort towards striving for Christian unity today.  There are few congregations who model the giving and sharing together that characterized the early church.  And Mission?  Mission work has been delegated to the professional “missionaries” instead of being a responsibility of the whole body of Christ!  Indeed, it falls to every generation to “rethink church”… to go back to the Bible and ask the hard questions.  “Are we being faithful to the call of God in our generation?”  “Are we about the mission of God in this community as He would have us to be?”  “What ARE our purposes and why ARE we here?”

These are all good questions and I hope you’ll be with us each Sunday for the next several weeks as we “Rethink Church” together.