Getting Back in Time

Through Glenn Chatfield, I learned of this post from The Cripplegate aimed at those who wish to repristinate the Church—or at least their own assembly—into a New Testament likeness.  Those desiring the “bliss” of the infant church are actually cherry-picking to create a sentimental caricature.  I especially liked some points made at the end:

I rarely hear people saying, “Hey, let’s not forget that in Acts 14:1, Paul and Barnabas spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.  Let’s make sure our pastors are trained in expository preaching!”

I rarely hear “Hey guys, we need to get back to proclaiming an exclusive gospel like Peter did in Jerusalem in Acts 4:12!”

I never hear “You know, Acts 17:11 teaches us that the church in Berea checked everything by the standard of the scriptures; we need to really cultivate a systematic theological and biblical training program in our church to better equip us to do that!”

Whether or not your assembly is not leaning towards a “return to Acts,” you can glean some things to consider.