No, I didn’t spell the title wrong. Yes, I could have spelt Acts “Ax” and gave it a perfectly suited title for this post at least. Yes, for some I also could have used the word “Ask” and while the meaning would be different unlike the interchangeability I am aiming for between “Acts” and “AX” if read out loud the same word would be heard, acts or ax. It’s time to rethink church by taking Acts to it which, if my premise is accepted, we will take an ax to many of the things we call church.

Scalpel or a chainsaw?

While this has become a very politically charged phrase, this blog may also become very politically charged for church goers and what they think the church should be. I think it may be time to use both. There are practices or maybe better put, justifications for our practices that need a chainsaw. On the other hand, there are misguided views of the purpose of church that need a very accurate touch to remove only the damaged part. When we take an Acts or an ax to the church, we need to be careful to get rid of all that doesn’t belong, but we must wield the Acts, ax, chainsaw and/or scalpel with precision.

Mega Church, chainsaw or scalpel?

Either! While Acts records the first “mega church,” the concept of having thousands of people meeting together was short lived and, I would like to propose, not a great idea. There is safety in numbers but the main goal of our Christian faith should not be safety inside the church because we can outnumber. Here lies the issues of the mega church. The feeling of belonging stems from the group. The larger the group, the more we feel like we belong, the more we belong to a group, the more we are tempted to increase the group to feel even more safe. What do we have to give up to make sure that the group grows or at least stays the same size? Often our doctrine suffers and our worship shifts. The performers and I mean performers, worship leading, preaching and the whole show is designed to mimic the world to keep us comfortable, feeling safe and maybe even get a few of those on the outside, inside.

Evangelism, chainsaw or scalpel?

Either! While Acts records huge evangelist events such as the day of Pentecost, and there have been great revivals throughout history, the church was the landing place for those who followed Christ not the starting line to discover faith. Therein lies the issue of creating church around the unbeliever. Church was to be the gathering of the believers to be equipped to reach out to the world, the unsafe, unbelieving world. We gather with those who share our belief and commitment to be strengthened so that we can step into the world as light. When we create church around meeting the darkness often the darkness is stronger than the light.

Regular meetings of the believers, chainsaw or scalpel?

Either!While Acts records meetings of believers and the New Testament practiced first day of the week fellowship, meeting together regularly even daily was part of the lifestyle of believers. I know that is a bit much for our lifestyle but the idea that we have gone from something on at the church for everyone most nights of the week to no more Sunday night service or Wednesday night prayer meetings might just be a little too far. The safety of the mega church numbers only seems to work when it doesn’t get in the way of our life outside of the church. We use the church as an evangelistic tool on Sundays and maybe a few other large events but please don’t ask me to come too often. This large city church or even small country fellowship is taxed with preparing the believer to meet the world but in fact it meets to satisfy the comfort of those who attend. Safely we file in to a group of like-minded people for an hour a week, asking to be entertained and for our unbelieving friends to be brought into the faith all while making room for me to do what I want to do with the rest of the 167 hours in the week.

Acts the church with a chainsaw and/or scalpel?

It depends! I think if you read through Acts through the eyes of one who lived it (not possible) you would see a bunch of small churches in small towns. Not churches as we see them but rather each city had groups of people that met in homes because there was no such thing as a church building. Evangelism was the neighbour introducing their faith. Music was the heartfelt sound of the believer’s praise and pain, worship and thanksgiving. I am not against large gatherings in the thousands with great music and preaching but when a once-a-week entertainment safe zone is what we call the work of the church we may have missed the mark.

For some churches a scalpel to remove the small amount of diseased tissue will be enough. Other churches will need a chainsaw to cut out the dead parts that have not only spread in their gathering but through the fame of the leaders, their books and seminars has become a pandemic around the world.

What if we Acts the church? It started out big but not long after it was scattered and yet with or without the large gatherings God will not be denied the carrying out of His plan. Without the application of a chainsaw or a scalpel the church will continue to be a safe place for faith to die, its time to Acts the church. Acts (NIV)