Would They Be Confused?

                I love Cracker Barrel.  The food, the candy, the antiques and the fireplace all are inviting to my sense of what a restaurant should be.  Perhaps more than that though it is a place of comfort because I always know exactly what to expect because they are all built and designed the same.  Have you ever got lost inside a Cracker Barrel?  No, because once you've been in one you might as well have been in all.  No one would ever think of rearranging and redesigning what has worked so well.

But what about the church? What would it be like if a first century Christian came into our presence today?  What if Paul or Peter walked into our building on Sunday morning?  Would they feel at home?  Approve?  Would Paul be able to identify us as what he hoped the planted churches would become.  Would John be able to point to the approved examples from the churches of Asia and say, "These folks are on the right track and moving in the right direction."

                We can fully believe we would be recognized as the Lord's church as revealed in the New Testament IF we are following the pattern and example we read about in the New Testament.  Formats and structure can change, but we dare not change the worship, work and design of the church as the Lord has established it.  The body of Jesus Christ does not need to be redesigned.

                "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."  -Hebrews 12:28