What is Kairos Church all about?
If we were to strip that answer down to its essential parts,
the answer would be a single Bible verse:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
We live in incredibly complicated times. It seems we can’t
move without a risk assessment. There are government controls over social interaction
and the places we can go. Covid has changed everything and life is much more
stressful and complicated than it used to be.
In the past, church has been complicated too. Complex
theology. Complex strategies. Complex structures.
Yet when we look at the Gospels and the Book of Acts we see a
simplicity. We see the essentials.
The church was not a building, a program, or an institution,
it was simply a Jesus-centred community seeking to carry out God’s mission in a
lost world.
In terms of the key marks of a church, they were simple:
·
Devotion to the Apostles’ teaching (scripture)
·
Devotion to Fellowship (relationships)
·
Devotion to the Breaking of Bread (Communion)
·
Devotion to Prayer (Collective praying)
Of course – those four elements alone say nothing explicitly about mission – but they are written in the context of mission. Mission is the overarching narrative that shapes these features, and which in turn these features shape. It was Peter’s evangelistic street sermon, in the previous verses, that led to a harvest of souls: “about three thousand were added to their number that day.” and we read in the verses that follow: “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Maybe I’m being overly simple – but to me it seems clear. If
we keep church simple, and make the main thing the main thing – the Lord will bless
our missional efforts and he will add to the church as he sees fit.
John Stott in his book, The Living Church, warns against
churches running too many programs. Even “evangelistic” programs. He says we
should gather as the church weekly to break bread, hear God’s Word, fellowship
and pray, and we should scatter for the rest of the week to live life missionally.
As we gather we receive, as we scatter we give away the life we receive from
gathering in His presence.
Arguably, a healthy church develops in three ways – spiritually,
relationally (amongst the members) and outwardly towards individuals and
communities who are not part of the covenant community.
If we embed the values of Acts 2:42 in the context of our
missionary calling to be make disciples, and if we maintain our closeness with
the missionary Spirit, we will simply be the church God is calling us to be.
A church that simply loves Jesus, loves each other, and loves
the lost.
