Prison breaks. Informal dinners. Living in community. Crazy evangelistic trips. Making sure everyone always had enough of whatever was necessary for life. These were the activities of the early church--An out of the box community that wasn't perfect, but that loved with a passion that could not be contained in four walls. And the results of this lifestyle are apparent in the pages of history, with salvations and healings and miracles being recorded in record numbers. The label "institution" would never fit the early church. So WHY does the church seem more like an institution these days?
Maybe being an institution is safer. Maybe it's easier. Maybe it just makes more sense to our natural minds since we live in a world where institutions are everywhere. In an article I was reading tonight countering the church as an institution, the author wrote, "In my understanding, the evidence confirms that the church is a community, a community that places its faith in Jesus, that exists in the love of God, and that loves and cares for all community members as they seek to share Jesus with others." I wonder what it would be like to once again live out such a pure and undefiled faith...one that loves and is free from the religious bondage of man's workmanship.