[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-first-century-church-for-the-twenty-first-century":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-first-century-church-for-the-twenty-first-century-surround":72},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":54,"date":55,"description":16,"extension":56,"image":57,"meta":58,"minRead":59,"navigation":60,"path":61,"postType":62,"publication":63,"publicationUrl":57,"seo":64,"stem":65,"topics":66,"__hash__":71},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fa-first-century-church-for-the-twenty-first-century.md","A First-Century Church for the Twenty-First Century",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"Acts",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":50},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47],[14,15,16],"p",{},"In 1900, Wilbur Wright wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, \"For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man.\" His commitment to flying was so all-consuming, he wrote, \"I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money, if not my life.\"",[14,18,19],{},"Orville and Wilbur Wright weren't famous then, and they didn't have a pilot's license! But they had a dream, so they invested their resources and risked their personal safety to make the dream a reality. Finally, on December 17, 1903, they flew their small plane for 12 seconds and 120 feet—and the world hasn't been the same since.",[14,21,22],{},"I have a dream, but it's not about flying an airplane. I dream about a church that's as old as the time of Christ, and as fresh as the new millennium.",[14,24,25],{},"I dream about a church that's anchored to the rock, and flowing with the times—a church as timely as today's newspaper, yet as timeless as the unchanging gospel of Christ preached by Peter, John, and Paul.",[14,27,28],{},"I dream about a church where making disciples, more disciples, and better disciples isn't a slogan, but a way of life.",[14,30,31],{},"I see a church both old and new. Faithful to our heritage, following the familiar paths of righteousness and truth—yet so confident about the road map laid out in Scripture that we're unafraid to launch out by faith into new and uncharted territory as God leads us.",[14,33,34],{},"I dream about a church unashamed to become what God has called us to be, not a clone of organizations the world calls successful.",[14,36,37],{},"I long to see healthy, growing Christians rooted deeply in the Word of God, bearing wholesome fruit in a world rapidly drifting toward moral decay.",[14,39,40],{},"I dream about a community of believers who relate to one another with honesty and grace—who aren't afraid to face and solve disagreements when they arise, but stay bound together by our common love for Christ and for each other.",[14,42,43],{},"I dream of a cross-cultural, intergenerational church with a place for the young, the old, and everyone in between. America's so-called Generation Y includes 31 million people between the ages of 12 and 19, and it's going to grow by another four million by 2010—the largest teen population in United States history. At the same time, today there are about 35 million Americans over age 65, and there will be another four million of them by 2010. What a wide spectrum of opportunity for the church!",[14,45,46],{},"Acts 9:31 mentions four standout qualities of the New Testament church: (1) A harmony only the Lord can create. \"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace.\" (2) A strength only the Lord can give. \"It was strengthened, and encouraged by the Holy Spirit.\" (3) A growth only the Lord can produce. \"It grew in numbers,\" not because of programs and gimmicks, but because the Lord's hand was on these believers who outserved, outgave, and outlived their pagan contemporaries. (4) A reverence only the Lord deserves. The disciples were \"living in the fear of the Lord.\"",[14,48,49],{},"Wilbur and Orville Wright were fascinated by flying. I am captivated by the dynamic, world-changing church that got off the ground in the book of Acts. A first-century church reaching twenty-first-century people. That is my dream. What is yours?",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":53},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","2001-03-04","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-first-century-church-for-the-twenty-first-century","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fa-first-century-church-for-the-twenty-first-century",[67,68,69,70],"Church Leadership","Biblical Theology","Christian Unity","Intergenerational Ministry","uGNLWoWQtmZ21S-aavVRfcsmEICdlpsxav6t0WhAm9o",[73,78],{"title":74,"path":75,"stem":76,"description":77,"children":-1},"A Declaration of Dependence","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-declaration-of-dependence","articles\u002Fa-declaration-of-dependence","The Israelites must have been excited as they approached the border of Canaan, for they were on the brink of entering \"a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.\" But Moses warned against the sin of self-sufficiency. \"Praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. . . . Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down . . . then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God\" (Deuteronomy 8:7–14). \"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall\" (Proverbs 16:18). King Nebuchadnezzar learned that lesson the hard way. After arrogantly patting himself on the back for his achievements, the powerful king of Babylon endured a humiliating period of insanity until he finally came to his senses and said, \"Now I . . . praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble\" (Daniel 4:37).",{"title":79,"path":80,"stem":81,"description":82,"children":-1},"A Good Old Age","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-good-old-age","articles\u002Fa-good-old-age","The Bible says, \"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone\" (Colossians 4:6). I thought of that verse recently when I came across a well-worn book published in 1891 by the English preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon. The book is called *The Salt-Cellars: Being a Collection of Proverbs, Together With Homely Notes Thereon*—a rather long title for a book full of short quotes!"]