Acts 2 - amazing growth

I may have spoke of this before. But the commentator marveled at the instant church.

A church of 120 who had been with Jesus for a while multiplied almost 30 times at Peter's first sermon. Obviously all of this was through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Just think of that kind of growth in you church! How would you handle it?

The vast majority of the 3,000 converts wanted to join them. If you do evangelism you are responsible for the discipleship of who are saved. The next verses after 42 describe how they did it.

Verse 42 speaks to how they did it. "The apostles doctrine and fellowship" must have involved regular group teachings and personal, one on one or small group, sharing. They also got together to pray and had an early, simple version of a communion service to remember Jesus and his saving work. That is what Jesus told them to do after all.

The ideas of priestly privilege and the concept that only the initiated should receive had not been developed yet. It was a simple thing, a remembrance.

Verses 44-45 scare those who want to take this as a literal blueprint for how Christians should live now: Those who were converted lived together and shared all their things in common. Many (or all) sold what they had to give to their new brothers. This was a full time, seven day a week commitment, not just an hour or two on Sunday. But judging from the advice Paul gives in his letters, this was not the standard for every church, just the first one.

But many groups throughout the years have tried this original church plan, with limited success. The holy orders of the Catholic church have been the longest lasting attempts to live like this. They immediately realized that there must be rules. People are sinful. After the first blush of excitement is over there will be problems. There is also the temptation to retreat from the world. Most orders understand the importance of keeping contact with the world. The wisely understood this problem too.

US attempts to form Christian communities often started with a sort of utopian model. They often failed when people got illusioned. There are still some communities that attempt to embrace a simpler lifestyle and a more vibrant relationship with God. All these, I think, are based on this Acts 2 model of the church. But this is not the only church model that the Bible shows.