Giants of the Reformation (7)

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. Acts 4.32

Institutes of the Christian Religion
John Calvin (1509-1564)
“At first they spent very little on the embellishment of sacred things; afterward, although the church became gradually richer, they still kept moderation in this respect. Whatever money was given to it still remained intact for the poor, should any great need arise.”

Next to staff, keeping up church property is typically the largest chunk of the budget of a local church. Churches need a place to worship and make disciples, but we have capitulated to the materialist spirit of the day when we feel we need expansive campuses with all kinds of multi-purpose facilities and all the latest technological gadgets. The first Christians met in homes, and each house church was a true church, though all the churches remained one church in their community. Only after the turn of the third century did large church buildings begin to appear – a legacy we have never quite managed to shake off. Once we build these facilities, we tend to do most of what we do as congregations in them, which discourages making disciples in the community, where people live. Our congregations become centripetal, as all our activities are designed to draw people to the building, rather than centrifugal, flinging us out to the larger world with the Good News of Christ. We excuse our lack of personal outreach by saying our church is “seeker-friendly.” But aren’t we supposed to be doing the seeking, like Jesus did (Lk. 19.10)?
How much of the outreach and disciple-making of your church is conducted beyond the confines of your local facility?

T. M. Moore

Pastoral Hope Initiative
Pastor, where are you in your walk with and work for the Lord? Are you growing? Covering all the bases? Working fruitfully toward the Kingdom of God? Our Pastoral Hope Initiative can help you establish a framework and baseline for steady, fruitful growth into the Lord Jesus. Men, if you think you might want to work through this 14-week protocol. Watch this brief video, then, if you’re interested, let me hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.All quotations from John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, John T. McNeill, ed., Ford Lewis Battles, tr. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), Vol. 2, Book IV, pp. 1012ff.