More on The Way

I've discovered the "Local Writings" section of http://www.whatischurch.com/
and I'm working my way through it.

An excerpt:

So what did life look like for these followers of what would later become called “The Way?” It seems that they spent a good deal of time listening to the apostles tell stories about Jesus and teaching on the kingdom. They shared their few possessions in order to express the great love they had for each other and the Master. They ate meals together, great boisterous feasts where the lowliest took the place of honor. They lingered in each other’s homes enjoying sweet intimacy generated by hearts full of God’s Spirit. They worshipped God in the temple and committed themselves to prayer. But most of all, they lived in constant awareness that Jesus was alive and among them in spirit and that he would return soon in the flesh to fully establish his kingdom on earth.

Back in the 21st century, we are embroiled in a discussion concerning church life and praxis in a postmodern world. Many of us are experimenting with different forms of church: old, new, borrowed, and blue. Others have jettisoned the church (at least in its institutional forms) entirely and are attempting to follow Jesus in his wide world. Personally I’m beginning to identify more with the latter group. I crave informal, candlelit dinners with other friends on the journey, sharing bread and wine, conversing, disagreeing, praying, crying, laughing. Kingdom encounters are sought in the ordinary: sharing a laugh with my son on the playground, helping a friend that can’t pay their light bill, praying for healing for a coworker who just found out they have cancer. I am looking to be transformed into the image of Jesus, to be deeply and authentically Christian, a “little Christ”.