Epic. Revolutionary. World Changing. Extreme. Radical. Incredible. Emergent. Amazing. Cutting Edge. Supernatural. Next Level. Otherworldly.
Such words are common in sermons, speeches and motivational seminars and are used to inspire and excite listeners in hopes of seeing people lead extraordinary lives.
Ordinary has to be one of the loneliest and boring words in our English vocabulary. Who wants to have a bumper sticker on their car, or on their laptop that says, “ordinary”? A parent doesn’t put “my child is an ordinary student at Around The Corner Elementary.” Who wants to live in an ordinary town, work at an ordinary job, and have ordinary friends? And definitely no one wants to attend an ordinary church. If we are going to leave a legacy and an enduring impact upon history then our lives can be anything but ordinary.
Our generation is terrified of boredom. What they fear is missing out on the next big thing.
George Barna records the following: “Six in 10 young people will leave the church permanently or for an extended period starting at age 15, according to new research by the Barna Group. And for the generation now coming of age, it’s more than the usual ‘driver’s license to marriage license’ joy ride, according to the pollsters. For church leaders, the question is, what will we do about it?”
In another survey George Barna writes, “The research project was comprised of eight national studies, including interviews with teenagers, young adults, parents, youth pastors, and senior pastors. The study of young adults focused on those who were regular churchgoers Christian church during their teen years and explored their reasons for disconnection from church life after age 15. 31% of those polled said church was ‘boring.’”
Many grow disenfranchised with church and Christianity because they do not know what real Christianity looks like. We encourage youth and the adult alike to turn their worlds upside down, yet they don’t see why it is necessary to change a world that they love.
What does the real church look like? What does real-life Christianity look like? What does authenticity in the first church look like?
The answer to changing the world is being steadfast in the ordinary. The future of the church is in the ancient.
After Pentecost
That first church was an ordinary church. Jesus had ascended, and sent the Holy Spirit. The gospel was preached by Peter in which Jesus was declared as Lord and Messiah, and 3,000 people believed, were baptized, and the church was born.
What was that first church like? They were involved in what we would consider to be ordinary actions, or ordinary realities. Verse 42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” These are the ordinary tasks that every church should be engaged in. This is the life of the church. There’s nothing in there about entertainment. Nothing that is spectacular. There isn’t anything mentioned that catapults someone to some other spiritual level.
This is not just a summary of what happened on one day, but it is a summary of what happened daily.
Steadfast
Luke begins to describe the early church by telling us that the believers in it were distinguished by their devotion to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship with one another, to “breaking of bread,” and “to prayer.” The verb translated “devoted” or “steadfast” (proskartereō) is a common one that connotes a steadfast and single-minded fidelity to a certain course of action. Luke uses it elsewhere in Acts to characterize the devotion of the 120 in the upper room to prayer (1:14) and the apostles’ resolve in the matter of the Hellenistic widows to center their attention on prayer and the ministry of the word (6:4)
The first church was committed, persistent, faithful and steadfast. What were they committed to?
- Doctrine
- To each other
- Prayer
- Giving
- Attending the temple
Steadfast in Doctrine
An ordinary church is a church committed to the Word of God. Verse 42 says, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” Devoted and committed to the apostles’ doctrine. That is simply a reference to the fact that the apostles were the bearers of divine revelation, which was authenticated by the miracles, which they did, which then validated them as the spokesmen for God. And it was their teaching, the teaching of the apostles that was the substance of the study of the early church. This is important. An ordinary church is a church that is completely involved in the study of biblical truth. It was the apostles and their associates who eventually wrote down their doctrine and it composed the New Testament, the New Testament.
The word “doctrine” or “teaching” in the Greek is didache, which means instruction or lessons. The apostle’s doctrine included, but was not limited to, all of the Old Testament Scriptures and their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection.
After Pentecost there had to be instruction, there had to be teaching. We love Pentecost and all that relates to it. However, every day cannot be Pentecost. What keeps you is doctrine. Doctrine informs, forms and transforms disciples. Doctrine directs the church by urging Christians to do what they know.
Desire for God without doctrine is blind; doctrine without desire is empty.
To be a follower of Christ is to be a follower of Scripture. The words “teaching”, “teach”, “taught” “doctrine”, “preach”, “preaching” are used 37 times in Acts. That’s not including “heard the word” “Word of God” “word of the Lord” that is used in reference to preaching and teaching.
The power of the new and exciting, the power of campaigns, movements and strategies cannot forgive sins or raise the dead. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16)
The ordinary church is steadfast in doctrine. They renew and transform their minds by the Word of God. The ordinary church is a fellowshipping church. The people of God don’t come to watch and be entertained; they come to be with each other, not forsaking the assembling of each other. The ordinary church is a praying church. They have promises to claim and miracles to experience. The ordinary church is faithful to the house of God. Jesus Christ and the church are the center of their lives. The ordinary church is a giving church. They are willing to sacrifice to see the kingdom of God advance. The ordinary church is a worshiping church. Their love is for Jesus Christ and to see Him high and lifted up. But in the end, this ordinary church experienced extraordinary blessing.
Verse 47 ends with this. “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The Lord builds the church. He adds to it. He doesn’t ask us to be radical, extreme, over-the-top, transformative, emergent, or any other adjective. He asks us to remain steadfast and committed and faithful to the Word of God and the Spirit of God, and He will take care of the extraordinary part.
References and Bibliography
J. Swanson, (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
James Strong, (2001). The Strongest Strong’s: Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI.
Richard P. Thompson, (2015). Acts: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
Michael Horton (2015). Ordinary: Sustainable faith in a radical, restless world. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.