We have a church here similar to what may have sprung up from the disciples at Soloman's Porch had the vast dispersion of the gospel already been established.
I have always thought that a church or church community should be something more akin to what almost began in 34AD on Soloman's Porch.
It was fairly clear that those disciples, all of them, Peter, James, John and the rest would have the community of Christians live that way except for one thing, it was not time. The time then was for the Gospel message to be commissioned throughout the world and so the Holy Spirit directed them to disperse for that purpose and so now the Gospel has been spread throughout the world in as much as a free traveling disciple can accomplish.
It is time for church communities to be set up around the world in the general framework of this church and i really cannot believe I have not heard of, or if told had not realized, it's eventual potential since Christian communities of various sorts were more prevalent then. Because it was more in its beginnings there was not a lot of evidence underneath it to make it standout or to have proven it's true foundation.
The church and community I'am speaking of is the Jesus Fellowship Church in the U.K. I really did not think a church like this existed in the world at all and I'm all but sure one does not exist within any distance I could attend anyway but maybe one does, I'm beginning to wonder. I had not too long ago checked this out in the U.S. and did not find any except the one that ministered back in the 70's known as Shiloh Ministries or as it was called Shiloh House. Here the model was very similar to the Holy Spirit's direction at Soloman's Porch and in fact it was itself designed by it's sponsors out of Calvary Chapel to be nearly identical in as much as possible to the original disciples community. At the time it had spread all over the nation and inner troubles had weakened it just as a right-wing conservative and church conservative movement was stepping up.
One thing that this church, the Jesus Fellowship Church is not up against is the strong capitalistic economic structure in the U.S. that essentially propagates an every man for himself environment quite anti-thematic to any notion of the disciples original idea on Soloman's Porch. The environment in the U.S. as it is now is one that watches over itself diligently with little leeway for dissent and has a firm command, at least for now, over so many churches and so many believers. Shiloh House in the U.S. rose up during a time of more open ideas socially and economically and so it could proliferate and thrive for a time but indoctrination to the will of the ideology in service to money has tightened it's grip here in ensuing years.
The truth is it doesn't matter what a nations's ideology is, what matters is what the church of Jesus should look like and function like.
I submit that the general time for the spreading of the gospel throughout the world by definition of distance is all but over except where specialized missions can accomplish and penetrate darker governments. The directive that was necessary at the time of Soloman's Porch appears to be essentially complete and the time is for the ideal church, the one created by Jesus's disciples is at hand. The church in it's effort to stretch out has achieved the great purpose of distance dispersion but now needs to strengthen it's vertical "dispersion".
If you the critic are working up your "facts" be sure, you nor I will find the perfect church and the Jesus Fellowship in the U.K. has it's trouble but you will find every church does.
I submit that the very fact that this church strongly emphasizes street preaching and witnessing and is growing is the kind of template the Holy Spirit has long waited for since Soloman's Porch. Seeing the progressing decline of the church in the U.S. and the alarming growth of a secular society makes it clear the template of the American church is failing it's purpose. Actually under the American church's presiding of the last 50 years the largest secular culture ever in history has emerged in the U.S. and abroad.
So what is lacking. True commitment as if money doesn't matter so much. It is putting your faith where your mouth is and make no mistake those that seek God and seek to serve him are looking for an environment where true commitment is honored and seriously encouraged. The church's compromise with regard to accumulation of money and materialism has been a serious discouragement to so many. This is why so many would be servants of God have drifted off and remain unorganized and weak in the U.S.
Look at the secular culture that has emerged.Do you think this is not true? You know it must be, you know it is.
At the core and foundation of this church that has prevailed so many years now is a communal community where real devoted celibacy(what Jesus's disciples essentially were) is held in high regard along with marriage and family. At the core is the disciple community of Soloman's Porch surrounded with accommodations for people and their varying lives where getting people saved is the prime directive high priority, not everyone going home to make more money then maybe, just maybe tell someone about Jesus once in a while.
I don't know about you but I always wanted to get real and I think millions of other people do too.
The time is at the door. The change is coming.
https://jesus.org.uk/ - take a look at this.
No comments :
Post a Comment