If you are new here, you have probably noticed that things are a little different than what you are used to. You might think it is a whole new religion. It isn't. On the contrary, we're looking for a way back to what Jesus had in mind. After he died, things quickly got more than a little off course. I'm trying to get us back on track.
Jesus was a Jew and he went to the synagogue. I don't think the synagogue was the model for the church he had in mind. He didn't say he would build his church with bricks and sticks. He was going to build his church on the belief that he is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). His church is the group of people who live their lives in accordance with his teaching and example. Clearly, the church of Christ is not a Sunday morning gathering of friends. Following him is a 365/24/7 job. It is our lives, our entire lives. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: [O]ffer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).
So no, we are not inventing anything new here. We're just going back to the way things were supposed to be. Our church, New Covenant House, is a common purse intentional community. We not only have all our possessions in common, we also have our faith in common. We try to follow the Way of Christ to the best of our ability all day every day.
We have two main challenges: First, all the surrounding laws and institutions are designed for a population that believes in competition and the survival of the strongest. Second, when we confess our Christian faith, we are automatically lumped in with the church that went off the rails centuries ago. We are going to have to learn to overcome these and many other obstacles.
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