Causing Trouble

I have had a couple of things come before me this week that has me thinking about the impact small groups and the church have on people. Or in this case, the seeming lack of impact on people. The first incident was a question in my small group. "Why don't we see the power that was present in the early church in our churches today?" This has caused me to be thinking about the book of Acts this week.

The second incident that has contributed to my thought processes was an interview of a "talking head" on a news program. The person was asked about why "Person X" was generating so much news and angst among people. This television person said something to the affect, "'Person X' has turned the world upside down." This got me to thinking about Acts 17:6, "These men who have upset the world have come here also." Of course, the verse is referring to Paul and Silas and their missionary journey.

The reason why we don't see the kind of power displayed in the early churches found in the book of Acts can be learned by looking at two aspects of this problem. Theologically, we know that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God has not changed since those accounts of the early church were written, therefore, we know the "problem" is not with God. I would argue He stands ready to display His power to the world through the church.

Which leads us to the other side of the coin. If the problem is not with God, then it must be the church. I am speaking specifically about the church in the United States as a whole. There are individual churches that are avenues for God's power and work, but the churches in aggregate are weak. Why? Too many churches have set out to not upset the world. It can show up in a variety of ways: performance over biblical truth, fear of conflict, lack of concern for the lost, ignorance of the Bible, etc.

I had a friend of mine this morning mention that there is talk that legislation might pass that targets certain kinds of speech as offenses for which you can be arrested. He rattled off a couple of those potential topics and asked me what it would mean. My reply was, "I guess I'm going to be arrested." I don't think we seek to upset people, but we should not be afraid to state the truth, even if it means others will become upset. Paul and Silas were doing nothing more than standing for truth and were accused of "upsetting the world." I wish the same could be said of us.