Faith Venture

Before the gatherings of Jesus-followers became rich and politically powerful after 340, before bishops controlled wealth and had the ear of kings, before the law sort of made all citizens members of the church, there was an active, thriving, although underground, church.

This church performed services unheard of in ancient times. When plagues rolled through Rome and the wealthy class fled to the mountains, the Christians came out from their hiding areas and nursed those who were ill disregarding their own health. When the cultural practice of leaving unwanted babies (usually because of being female) out for wild animals to kill, Christ followers took them in and nursed them.

Because of the witness and service of these early disciples hospitals were founded and schools were started. Women were held in higher esteem.

What if we were more like that today? Not rich. Not politically powerful. But leading through service. Attracting people by what we do, how we live.

What if…

This entry was posted on April 5, 2022 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Disciplines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.