Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Monday's hot topics: Rediscovering the early church

Over the past few years on this blog and on the forum - here - I've been digging in to the "early church". It seems I'm not alone. New forum member Elisa tipped us off to the cover story of this month's Christianty Today. The article focuses on this trend, a new generation looks for much deeper roots than their denominations offer. Here is an excerpt from the CT Feb08 cover story:
In Massachusetts, Campbell spoke with Sharon Carlson, a young woman raised in the Plymouth Brethren movement, a free-church tradition that eschews liturgy, tradition, and hierarchy. Carlson described the Communion experience as "tearing up bread and passing around cups of grape juice after men in the assembly spontaneously stood and repeated the words that they felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to say," and she felt that was no longer enough. As Campbell reports, " 'I want to be more connected to history, the history of the Christian church,' said Carlson, who relishes the knowledge that she is worshiping the way Christians have for centuries. 'There have been generations of people before me saying the same prayers.'
How do you feel about this trend to discover the ancient? As Protestants do we get frightened by reading about the ancient (Catholic) church? Or is it helpful to rediscover how people did church in the first century? Isn't that what the brethren movement was all about? Post your thoughts in the comments below or on the forum - here

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