Reflect:
Acts 2:1-47
“And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)
When churches aren’t filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they have to resort to smoke and mirrors to get the job done.
That’s why churches these days devote inordinate amounts of time, energy and resources trying to figure out who they should be, what they should look like, and how they should go about attracting their community to Christ. In an effort to reach lost people, they stress over what constitutes the perfect worship style, the best ministry philosophy, and the most effective structure for church growth.
Pardon me, but when I read about the first church here in Acts 2:42-47, I don’t see any of that. Perhaps this is an unfair and oversimplification of things, but I think all they were concerned with was being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
When it comes to church, I am not sure there is such a thing as “perfect” or “best” or “most”. Frankly, there are not only a thousand ways to skin a cat, but to do church as well. I can take you to congregations all over the world that violate every single best practice for doing church well, yet they are thriving, impacting, God-pleasing outposts of Kingdom expansion in their communities. Without buildings, without resources, without training, without a cultural “cool factor”, they are flat out getting the job done.
What is their secret? It’s the indwelling and empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.
The secret to church growth, health and impact is not to be found in a technique or a philosophy or a style. It is found in a relationship. It is found in a vital connection with the Holy Spirit. Churches that thrive under the least conducive environments do so because they flow in and overflow with the lifeblood of the Spirit.
When a church begins to stress out over style, fight over philosophy, drain resources fixing its facilities and care more about cultural relevance than connection with the Spirit, it ceases to be God pleasing. What churches need more than anything these days is a little bit more of—okay, a lot more of—the power of the Holy Spirit.
When that happens, God will add to the church daily those who are being saved!
“How little chance the Holy Spirit has nowadays…churches have so bound Him…that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves.” ~Charles Thomas Studd
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