MAKING IT HAPPEN
                   Living Out the New Testament Model
                        of the Church at its Best
                                    
                     By Mark Dixon (mjdixon@aol.com)

   "The challenge for Christians today," wrote Vicar Alex Ross of the Church
of England in the September, 1992 Decision magazine, "is to rediscover the
principles, to get back into the scriptures and see how God wants us to live
as Christians; to be the kind of church and the kind of people God wants us to
be.  We have in the New Testament all the principles that we require.  I long
to see us far more like the Early Church, the church at its best."
   The New Testament model of the Early Church as seen in the first eight
chapters of Acts is more than a workable alternative, more than an old
wineskin, it is where we need to be as a community, as a people, as a church.
   Christians who approach their clergy with a genuine longing for Jesus, a
desire for spiritual renewal and a return to the New Testament model of church
life and ministry, may find their message welcomed as parched soil welcomes
long overdue rain.  It is a message that is already striking a responsive
chord in a remnant ready to return to the Rock.  This is a decisive hour for
the American church!
   "The book of Acts," wrote Gordon Aeschlimann, "shows the amazing things
that band of twelve disciples did when they had fully grasped the love story
of the Bible.  But that kind of faith-filled living was never meant for just
apostles or a few radicals.  [It] belongs to the whole church...yet the church
as a whole has yet to wake up and join in."  How can we join in?
   From the outset, make sure you are teamed up with mature Christians who
have a heart for Jesus.  Fellowship is vital: "coals that sit alone die out
after a while," Aeschlimann wrote.  Search out Christians of like mind, and
link up with them.  Then, it's back to basics.  Vicar Ross pointed the way at
the beginning of this article -- we have in the New Testament, particularly in
the book of Acts, the principles that the church of today must employ in order
to become once more "the church at its best."
   What are those principles?
   First, the early church was fervently evangelistic:  "That which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked at and our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning the
Word of Life."  First century believers turned the world upside down because
they had a sense of urgency about evangelism: the apostle Paul said "woe is
unto me if I preach not the Gospel."
   Baptist leader Edward B. Cole wrote, "The risen Christ lives in the midst
of His people as they live Him out.  They have Him as they give Him to others. 
They abundantly live as they extravagantly lose their lives to others.  This
is evangelism at its best."
   Second, the New Testament church was involved in missionary outreach to the
known world of its time.  "The natural habitat of the Gospel is out in the
world," wrote Cole.  "The Gospel cannot be confined within the church and
still be Christ's Gospel."
   Traditionally, a missionary is someone who crosses geographic borders or
cultural barriers to take the Gospel to someone who might not otherwise have
the opportunity to hear it.  Today's modern missionary often brings practical
skills in agriculture, public health and other critically needed areas in
addition to presenting the Word.
   Magazines like Campus Life and World Christian regularly advertise both
short- and long-term mission opportunities in nearly every inhabited region of
our planet, and list a treasure-trove of mission resources.  There are still
plenty of frontiers left for believers who are willing to go, and the world of
modern missions packs a powerful challenge to develop a Christian worldview
and become cross-cultural servants for the Gospel.
   Third, the first century Christian movement was Bible-based; early
believers were earnestly and constantly involved in the teaching, preaching
and learning of God's Word, both in the synagogue or temple setting, and in
homes.  Throughout the pages of the New Testament we see time and again their
dedication to study of the Scriptures and the discipline of the Christian
life.  It was part of their daily lifestyle as believers to gather for Bible
study and prayer.
   Similarly, Life magazine once wrote of the Jesus People movement of the
early 1970s, "Bibles abound, whether the fur-covered King James version or
scruffy back-pocket paperbacks; they are invariably well-thumbed and often
memorized.  For them...it's the ultimate 'how-to' Book, like the very
ambitious manual of an automobile mechanic."
   Finally, we see much evidence of a communal lifestyle, and a mutual caring
for each other's physical needs (food, shelter, etc.) as well as spiritual
needs.  We are told in Acts that "all whose faith had drawn them together held
everything in common; they would sell their property and possessions and make
a general distribution as the need of each required."
   Many scholars regard the communalism of the early church to be a reflection
of their belief that Jesus would return for them shortly.  Faced with the
prospect of His immediate return, possibly within a few months or years, and a
limited time in which to do the work of the Kingdom, it is easy to see how
believers might resign from their job, sell their home and other property, and
abandon plans for marriage and a family in order to devote themselves entirely
to the Gospel.
   Others suggest that even today, pursuing the American dream of a nice car
and a house in the suburbs should be anathema to a servant of Jesus who truly
believes in His imminent return.  Whether or not we decide to live in a
communal arrangement with other believers, simplifying our lifestyle can
permit us to invest more of our time and income for the Kingdom.  I am put to
shame by younger Christian friends who dress simply, eat simply and drive 30-
year-old autos in order to devote more of their resources to the work of the
Gospel.
   Evangelism.  Missionary outreach.  Bible study.  A communal or simplified
servant lifestyle.  These are hallmarks of the New Testament model for the
church.  In his book "Making Real What I Already Believe", John Fischer
challenges us to return to this powerful model, to take our faith in Jesus
"into the veins of everyday real life," living out the sacred pages of the New
Testament "in a sort of Acts 29 and beyond."  This is a revolutionary idea,
but one that I believe this generation is hungry to hear.  Maranatha!

Originally published in my quarterly journal Wild Olives, Autumn 1992.