Healthy, Growing Churches (4)

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. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid themat the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. Acts 4.32-35

Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 4.32
The Venerable Bede (672-735)
“Those who had completely left the world behind by no means pushed themselves forward, one over the other, glorying in the nobility of their birth. Rather, as though born from the womb of one and the same mother, the church, they all rejoiced in one and the same love of brotherhood.”

The unity we seek within and among the churches in our community can be expressed in worship. By gathering together, professing the Creed, singing God’s praises, offering prayers and thanks and gifts, and submitting to the Word, we show ourselves to be united in heart as one people with one faith. Likewise, this unity of faith includes a practical unity expressed as reaching out in love to do good to our brothers and sisters in Christ, whatever their needs may be (Gal. 6.9, 10). The first Christians shared homes, goods, meals, and money with one another, as needs and opportunities became known, under the leadership of the shepherds of their local churches. We do the same with our deacons’ funds, food and clothes closets, and other forms of service to one another within the local church. How much more powerful might this practical unity be as a witness to the reality of Jesus, alive from the dead, if networks of such sharing could be developed and maintained among all the Christ-honoring churches in a local community?

Churches today are like twins, “born from the womb of one and the same mother, the church,” but separated at birth and unaware of one another’s existence. What could your church do to help restore this broken unity?

T. M. Moore

The Work of Shepherds
In case you missed our series on shepherding and the work of shepherds, you can receive a free PDF of 28 morning and evening readings, in which we unpack the Biblical teaching concerning the work of shepherding, guided by great shepherds of the past. Simply write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and ask John to send you a copy of The Work of Shepherds.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations from Church Fathers are from the Ancient Christian Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press.