Living Like the Early Church

In the late 1100s, Christians in France called Waldensians began to preach from village to village like the disciples when Jesus sent them out two by two. They believed they were obeying Jesus when they brought no purse and only wore sandals on their feet, even during winter. In the early 1800s, some American Christians wanted to strip anything out of worship not found in the early church, including instrumental music (if Peter and Paul didn’t have guitars or keyboards, neither should we). These are two examples of Christian restorationism, when people attempt to restore the beliefs and practices of the early church because it’s believed they have been lost or corrupted over time.

The Vineyard can also be described as a restoration movement because we embrace what the Bible says we should expect from life empowered by the Holy Spirit, including the gifts of tongues, healing, prophecy, and more. We don’t believe that God is asking us get rid of our musical instruments, or preach publicly in sandals during winter, or in any way try to replicate the 1st century Jewish culture in our church. Instead, we should ask how the fullness of the Holy Spirit is available to us in 21st century Bognor Regis. How do we settle for less than what he wants for us because of obstacles we are unwilling or unable to remove?

Listen to Patrick’s talk on this subject here.