*Check out the podcast version on Spotify or Anchor!
I was part of a book club this summer that went through Out of Sorts by Sarah Bessey. It’s about making peace with an evolving faith.
It really helped me nail down things I have struggled with over the last little while – particularly when it comes to the Church, her role in the world, and my own role within all that.
I’m hoping some of my own thoughts on this will be helpful to you as well!
As you may know, I was a history teacher before I started raising kids in Essex County, so this next bit really fascinated me. I’ve made it as concise as is humanly possible, but reach out to me if you want more!
The history of the Church has had four major paradigm shifts including her inception at Pentecost.
A paradigm shift occurs when a new discovery is made, new research is revealed, or new techniques are developed that changes the way of thinking or doing things.
Since these paradigm shifts have taken place roughly every 500 years, that should tell us a lot about where we might be heading!
- The first was the foundation of the Church itself at Pentecost
This consisted of the Holy Spirit falling upon Jesus’ disciples in the upper room in Acts 2. Then followed by the Apostle Peter being filled with the Spirit and addressing the crowd where thousands came to faith on that very day.
- The second was when the Roman Empire fell, and the Dark Ages of Christianity were born, circa 500
These medieval years were unfortunately tainted with Holy Wars and Crusades that did little good to draw ordinary people to the Saviour.
- The third is known as the Great Schism in 1054
At this time, there was conflict in the church. Most of it surround the belief that either Peter or Paul was the first official head of the church, as well as debates surrounding a Pope. My overly simplified response to that is… Jesus? Regardless, this resulted in the first of countless church splits. And the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were born.
- The final shift took place during the Enlightenment Period and is known as The Reformation
This is when opposition arose against the corruption and absolute power of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church was born.
I sure hope y’all enjoyed that little history lesson as much as I enjoy learning about these important markers of our history. Because many church scholars and theologians would argue that we’re about to enter another shake up in the life of the Church.
Buckle up kids, it’s going to be a bumpy ride! I mean, I say this in jest, but actually, it’s all very serious and intense.
Keeping in mind these important changes in Church history, I am dying to get to the good stuff of this post found in Acts 10, and I can’t wait to share some applications I am trying to adopt in my own life too.
Let’s check it out together.
Three main things happen in Acts 10
- Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, is visited by an angel because he is a devout, God-fearing man who gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (vs. 2). The angel tells him to send for a guy named Peter and have him come to his home. He does just that.
- Meanwhile in Joppa…. the Apostle Peter is hungry and up on a rooftop praying. Suddenly, he has a vision of this sheet coming down in front of him and all kinds of animals are on it. Some kosher, some non-kosher.
In his vision, God tells him to kill and eat. Peter, in his usual adversarial manner, argues with the Lord that he cannot eat meat that is impure and unclean. God tells him, do not call anything impure that God has made clean!
They go back and forth on this three times. (Because apparently “three” is the magic number for Peter!) While he’s thinking about this vision and what it might mean, the men who were sent to fetch Peter arrive and escort him to Cornelius’ home. - Peter meets with Cornelius and tells him that technically he shouldn’t even be there since Cornelius is a Gentile (non-Jew) and it’s unlawful for them to even associate.
Peter then asks Cornelius why he sent for him. Cornelius isn’t exactly sure! He tells Peter that an angel told him to send for a man by his name, so he did.
Peter then realizes the meaning of the sheet with the impure and unclean animals.
And this is where it all comes together…!
This story is about including non-Israelites into the family of God. Because guess what? After Peter tells Cornelius all about Jesus, Acts 10 concludes by saying:
…the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
So, even though Peter’s vision was about God permitting the consumption of ritually impure foods, the vision was only a symbol God was using to prepare Peter for a huge paradigm shift in the early Church!
What was the shift?
- No longer have to keep kosher
- No longer have to be circumcised to be included in God’s family
WHAT DOES THIS SHIFT IMPLY?
NO MORE DIVISIONONLY DIVERSITY
Y’all I don’t know how to communicate what a HUGE deal this was for the early believers. Or if we can fully appreciate what this meant for the people they rubbed shoulders with in their daily lives.
To think that after thousands of years, the very things that set them apart as God’s chosen people, namely: circumcision and keeping kosher… these were no longer requirements for being included in God’s family. And it is BLOWING MY MIND.
So what’s the point?
Friends, let’s be open to what God desires to change in our way of thinking. Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not talking politics. I’m not talking Covid. I’m not talking the right or wrong way to do church.
- I’m talking about each of our individual views of God. How we perceive Him, and how those perceptions INFORM the way we see our world.
- I’m talking about how those views of God FRAME our perceptions of the people around us.
- I’m saying, let’s ASK God for vision-of-a-pig-roast kind of moments
- to shake up our thinking
- to prepare us for what’s coming
- to equip us with His wisdom and His heart to interact with HIS world the way He desires for us!
- I want the next paradigm shift to resemble a Peter and Cornelius moment; rather than the schisms of division or the crusades of holy war that have for too long tainted the Church of Christ and her mission in the world.
And what’s the mission?
To love God. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
To love people. (Mark 12:31)
To make disciples of ALL NATIONS. (Matthew 28:19-20)
From The Overflow 
The issue of division comes from putting our personal belief system before our actual beliefs.
We, as humans, are apt to take a personal conviction and then use the Scripture of justify it. The Bible is a very, very large book and it is possible to justify any argument with finding the right verse. How many times have you experienced someone tossing out a verse to back up a personal opinion that has nothing to do with their opinion when looking at the context of the full chapter in which the verse came?
It should be the other way around 100% of the time. We should use the Gospels, the words of Christ, to form our personal belief systems. While you can justify almost any argument using the entire Bible it is not possible to do that with using the words of Christ.
In my opinion the most important books of the Bible are the four Gospels due to the fact that they contain the words of God. The Old Testament and rest of the New Testament are good but should not be held in the same regard. The remainder if the New Testament is just commentary, human understanding, on the events that happened when Christ walked with us. Even in the Gospels those who were closest to Jesus had issues understanding His teachings from time to time.
In the end there are as many denominations as there are believers. The main thing is that continue being in relationship with Him, love others as He loves us, and stumble along the way He made for us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Francis, thanks so much for your thoughts on this! I agree that focusing on our relationship with Him and loving others should be our priority above all else. Many blessings to you!
LikeLike