Creators.com, February 4th, 2008
"They didn't have air conditioning, carpet or nothing," says Dylan, age 5. Actually, it was "the way the seats were lined up," says Milese, 6. No, that wasn't it at all: "because there were no chairs back then," says Halie, 6.
You all missed it, says Hannah, 6: "They did not have toys back then or church dresses."
Many interesting answers, but Gracie, 7, wins the award for the most thought-provoking: "Church was different back then because they didn't have one."
Hmm. Let's call this the Gracie paradox — church without a church. Is this possible?
The first-century church spread around the world without church buildings. Most people think of church as a building. When the Bible refers to the church, it has nothing to do with physical buildings. Rather, it's all about a spiritual building called the body of Christ — the house of God and the bride of Christ.
That spiritual building consists of all who have ever believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. "Living stones" is the Apostle Peter's metaphor for Christians because they are the building blocks that make up this living organism called the church. To call any building a church is a misnomer because the New Testament never uses the word this way (Ephesians 2:19-22 and I Peter 2:4-5).
There is the universal church, which consists of all Christians of all time. Then, there are local expressions of the universal church, when believers assemble in the name of Christ as a church in a particular location. In the early church, people met in houses, in fields and even in Roman catacombs (underground tunnels used to bury the dead).
"In the first century, they didn't have churches, but every day in their homes, they praised God, broke the bread and drank the wine," says Jimmy, 11. "Now we do all of that, and more, but we gather our community together and rejoice in one building."
Jimmy, your church sounds like a happening place. Mikelle, 11, has more to say about the community aspect of the early church: "In the early church, all the members were alike and together. Today, we may know a few other members of the church, but we don't even know everyone's names. We certainly don't see them every day."
"In the old days, they went from house to house having dinner," says Braxton, 7. "Today, we have different churches that talk about God. And we don't go house to house having dinner no more."
My friends are onto something. I would like to challenge all readers of this column to find one instance in the New Testament where the Lord's Supper is anything other than a meal. By definition, a "supper" is a meal. By reducing the Lord's Supper to something less than a fellowship meal, we're missing most of the community aspect of the church that made the New Testament church so dynamic.
"It was different because they split their stuff with others. And every night, they ate at others' homes," says Kyle, 7.
Think about this: We have taken a large part of the community out of the church by reducing the Lord's Supper to a ritual instead of a fellowship meal. Memorize this truth: "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart" (Acts 2:46). Ask this question: Are you willing to start your own fellowship meal by inviting believers over for dinner?
Listen to a talking book, download the "Kids Color Me Bible" for free, watch Kid TV Interviews and travel around the world by viewing the "Mission Explorers Streaming Video" at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Bible quotations are from the New King James Version. To find out more about Carey Kinsolving and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2008 CAREY KINSOLVING
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