“Students,” he said, “there was once a community of believers who were so totally devoted to God that their life together was charged with the Spirit’s power. “In that band of Christ-followers, believers loved each other with a radical kind of love. They took off their masks and shared their lives with one another. They laughed and cried and prayed and sang and served together in authentic Christian fellowship. “Those who had more shared freely with those who had less until socioeconomic barriers melted away. People related together in ways that bridged gender and racial chasms, and celebrated cultural differences. “Acts 2 tells us that this community of believers, this church, offered unbelievers a vision of life that was so beautiful it took their breath away. It was so bold, so creative, so dynamic that they couldn’t resist it. Verse 47 tells us that ‘the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ “ Dr. Bilezikian’s unscripted words were as much a lament as they were a dream, a sad longing for the restoration of the first century church. I had never imagined a more compelling vision. In fact, that day I didn’t just see the vision; I was seized by it. Suddenly, there were tears in my eyes and a responsive chord rising up in my soul. Where, I wondered, had that beauty gone? Why was that power not evident in the contemporary church? Would the Christian community ever see that potential realized again? Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009). 21 Laws of Discipleship -- the book -- |
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