NORMAL CHURCH
123 THE NORMAL CHURCH
Acts 2:41–47
God wants every church to be a “normal church.” What is normal? The dictionary says, “Conforming to a standard.” God has given a standard for His church. When a church is not normal, it fails to do what God wants it to do.
1. A NORMAL CHURCH WILL BE A GROWING CHURCH
2. A NORMAL CHURCH WILL BE A GOING CHURCH
3. A NORMAL CHURCH WILL BE A GLOWING CHURCH
4. A NORMAL CHURCH WILL BE A GROANING CHURCH
Only the “normal church” will reach the lost and win them to Christ. Each year churches are closing. Why? Because they are not meeting God’s standards and becoming a normal church. When churches follow God’s plan in the Book of Acts, they will have a normal church.
A study published in May 2014 suggested Americans are likely to exaggerate how often they are in church, and how much they exaggerate can depend on the setting in which they’re asked. Research by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that Americans were more likely to inflate reports of their church attendance on the phone than when responding through an Internet survey. On the phone, 36 percent of Americans reported that they attended religious services weekly or more, compared to 31 percent online. According to the published findings, white mainline Protestants had the most trouble admitting they “seldom or never” went to church. Over the phone, 28 percent said they rarely went, but when responding through an Internet survey, 45 percent admitted that they really did not go to church very often. Similarly, over the phone, 54 percent of black Protestants claimed to attend weekly, and the number went down to 40 percent online.
—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
A Vital Church Grows (2:42–47)
This passage is the first of three major summaries in Acts (4:32–37; 5:12–16) that describe the communal activities of the Jerusalem church and its exponential growth.
Apostolic Leadership in the Community (2:42–43)
This paragraph describes what the church does as a community under the leadership of the apostles as it expands. This first major summary immediately follows the first mass baptism (2:41) after the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and Peter’s inaugural mission speech (2:1–36).
2:42 Luke describes the leadership of the apostles as significant for the growing church (2:41). The apostles teach the new believers and demonstrate the same mutuality and devotion that was required of them in the upper room (1:4; 6:4). Community meals are instituted together with prayer (6:1–4).
2:43 The apostles’ teaching and prayers (2:42) within the community are accompanied by powerful acts. The apostles are not just witnesses of all that Jesus said and did and of God’s mighty acts (1:8, 21; 2:11); they also perform sign and wonders, causing the church to revere them.
Sharing All Things in Common (2:44–45)
While the previous paragraph (2:42–43) described primarily the apostles’ role and impact on the community, this paragraph demonstrates the impact of sharing property and resources on the community and the larger society.
2:44 As believers joined the church (2:41), they voluntarily give up their belongings as community property for the good of all (2:45).
2:45 Luke describes the process by which the property of the believers becomes community property (2:44) for the benefit of all: they liquidate their properties and distribute the proceeds according to need (4:32–5:11).
The Church’s Daily Routine (2:46–47)
Luke delineates the daily activities the believing community engages in and the growth that it experiences. Some of these daily activities, such as community meals, are possible because of the community sharing described in 2:44–45.
2:46 Luke describes where and how the believers spend some of their time as a community each day: together they participate in the temple and share meals in their homes. The generous spirit that they exhibit in the selling of their property for the benefit of all (2:45) is also present in their daily interactions.
2:47 Luke expresses the community’s attitude toward God and its positive overall care toward one another, which is connected with the other activities they engage in together (2:42–46).
