All the believers were one in heart and mind. Acts 4:32
Sadly, with individual interests on the stage, Spirit-filled fellowships turn into institutions, with all the baggage institutions seem to require. Personal agendas and concerns begin to rival one another, and eventually fellowship is corrupted or even broken. The body of Christ becomes a collection of churchgoers, and instead of one heart and mind, there are many.
The early church was utopian, the kind of community that everyone craves and no one believes is even possible. Christian movements always begin with a sense of unity. The excitement and newness of a fresh work of God seems to subvert everyone's petty agendas, while awe forces observers to realize that something greater than their individual selves is taking center stage. The power of God gently and thoroughly overcomes the selfish individuality of men and women. When God does wonders, people live in wonder. And living in wonder puts us in the audience rather than on stage. Wonder and unity work well together.
-from The One Year Worship the KING Devotional (Chris Tiegreen)
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