The Acts 2:42 Model
Most of us are familiar with the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Sweety). And yes, I totally agree that it is overly cheesy, and it is probably never going to make it to anyone’s top ten favorite mantras. But truth be told, it is actually really good advice, especially in this ever increasingly complicated world.
But let’s be honest, having or maintaining a simple life has become just about impossible, hasn’t it? In fact, was does a simple life even look like anymore? Living out in some remote locale with a “Little House on the Prairie” vibe? Probably not, even that ends up having its own special set of complications unless you can figure out a way to feed yourself, clothe yourself and raise a family in some sort of “off-the-grid” way that doesn’t take all of the enjoyment out of life.
The reality is regardless of where or how we end up living, life is still going to throw its share of challenges at us. Despite all our best wishes, this world seems bent of finding all kinds of creative ways to exact its toll on us. Even the most well-off among us will never be able to fully insulate ourselves from the complications of living in a fallen world.
So, whether it is staying on top of our ever-changing, always evolving technologies, to the ever-increasing responsibilities that accompany the lifestyles we are trying to create or maintain and the constant keeping up with the Joneses that comes with it, there never truly seems to be an end to the furious flurry of things for us to steward and manage. Even when it comes to the way and manner, we do church and what is expected in our spiritual gatherings, it seems things here have become more and more complicated too, haven’t they?
Gone are the days when a single singer and a piano could lead a congregation. Nowadays, we need the fully equipped worship team with all the lighting and special effects to move the crowd. And no longer can we have just one service, now we need multiple services with different worship styles and tempos to cater to the wants and desires of the people.
And don’t get me started on all the denominations and their off-shoots that we have started to carter to all the thousands upon thousands of interpretations of what the “family of God” is supposed to do and look like when they come together. At times it honestly makes my head spin and my heart scream. Could it be that we have actually overcomplicated ourselves into a black hole of insatiable longings where everyone is forever shopping around for the newest-latest version of Christianity they want to follow?
Listen, I am not saying that one way of doing things is better than another. And I am certainly not trying to impose myself or my beliefs on anyone else, but have you have you ever just stopped and wondered what God might think about all of this? Have you ever considered the possibility that maybe He never intended for things to go so complicated. Afterall, He is the God who brings order into chaos (Genesis 1: 2 – 3).
So, I thought it might be for us a good idea for us to carve out a little time and revisit what the Word of God has to say about how we are to do things when we gather as a spiritual family. And I specifically want to look at the model given to us in in Acts 2:42.
Now, you may or may not already be familiar with this particular passage, but I think it probably gives us one of the most practical glimpses into the simplicity of the first church gatherings we can find. Here in this scripture, we read that “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
It doesn’t take a Biblical scholar to see that there was not a whole lot of fluff to what they did back then. And I fully realize that in reading this, that their gatherings were notably a little more sparce than what we have grown accustomed to these days. Literally, the framework of their gatherings just had four basic easily reproducible components to it. And they could do this anywhere and with anyone. It didn’t matter if it was just with one other person or with one hundred. The model worked in every circumstance and every situation.
Sure, they did not have a big building to pay for or a large staff to support. And the people who attended meetings two thousand years ago probably did not need or expect some big production or access to a lot of programs. Church back then was really more about connecting with one another and connecting with God. Everything was… well for lack of a better word, simple.
Of course, the times were different. Back then, church was often more about day-to-day survival than just coming together once a week to get another dose of encouragement. Church was the family of people you relied on to help meet your day-to-day needs. The church in Acts was literally a group of spiritual siblings who lived all their lives together Sunday-to-Sunday; the good, the bad and the ugly.
And as we read further in the passage Acts 2: 44 – 47 goes on to tell us that, “all the believers were together and had all things in common;and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Now, the nuts and bolts of all that may or may not sound too appealing to you, but none of us can argue with the results God produced through them. Truth be told, it kind of makes any sane person wonder how in the world they accomplished as much as they did. Seriously, with such simple thinking and uncomplicated expressions of worship how did they ever manage to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6)?
One thing is for sure, they certainly knew how to live on mission together, didn’t they? They really took that go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded us (Matthew 28: 19 -20) seriously. And as it turns out, their simple structure for how they gathered and assembled made accomplishing their mission and ultimately being the church easily reproducible everywhere they went.
In retrospect, it should probably make all of us wonder how many of our modern conveniences do we honestly really need. Now, I am not necessarily knocking the lifestyle of the modern Western church, but I hope we are all truthfully pondering in our hearts what of all the things we have created and incorporated into out spiritual gatherings are actually needed and are reproducible. We can’t exactly erect beautiful buildings with bookstores and coffee shops in them everywhere. And we are not always going to have access to electricity and lighting.
But that’s not what true church is about anyway, is it? Church is the people. And if we are ultimately just concerned with loving God and loving one another, don’t you think that having a simple framework for gathering together that is not dependent upon amenities and niceties might be something we should all be familiar with, maybe even comfortable with. It sure would free us up to be on mission a little easier, wouldn’t it? And ultimately that is what disciple making is all about, right?
So, maybe instead of trying to have the biggest and best of everything on the block, what if we just went back to the basics? What if we just made things really simple again? What if our gatherings were just about breaking bread together, fellowshipping, praying and devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching?
I would completely understand if you do not think that it is possible, but I at least want to encourage you to give it a shot. Maybe just try it with one or two others to see how it goes. Invite some people over to your house or take a picnic out to the park. Find a comfortable place to sit and spend some time sharing your life with one another. Ask each person to share something they are thankful for. And then pray for one another. Eat some food and talk about Jesus. Read a scripture or two. Recall a time when God did something amazing in each of your lives. And just enjoy one another’s company. Before you know it, something amazing may just actually happen. Church might actually break out right where you are at.
As a testimony of someone who has already tried this out for himself on numerous occasions, I can tell you that things begin to happen around the table that would never happen in a large building. People’s hearts are heard. Everyone’s voice is valued. And we all get the chance to all experience the love of God in a new and fresh way. It’s actually quite remarkable. More than that it is transformational.
And in the end it makes me wonder (as I hope it does with you), if our first century brothers and sisters might actually had been on to something after all. And if they were, maybe we too can learn something from our past. If nothing else, we certainly would have found a way to uncomplicate our spiritual gatherings and that in and of itself might just be worth its weight in gold.