Think about this passage from the book of Acts, chapter 2:
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
I don’t think this book of Acts experience was as much an anomaly as it was the natural outflow of the culture of the Life of the Triune-God working through a people that had been transformed by Jesus. Because of an encounter with God that was borne out of the Apostolic clarity of Jesus, his finished work, his miraculous resurrection, his promised Spirit, and the resulting new humanity, God’s people were drawn toward each other in a way that cannot be manufactured or contrived. Of course the “temple courts” experience was vital to maintain their connection to God, to each other and to their history.
But their experience was not limited to the temple only. They made a regular habit of spending time together outside the temple courts. And their regular diet was that of Gospel teaching, developing a sense of family, sharing encouraging words, generous living, contributing to the needs of others, as well as faith filled prayers to know God more through Jesus.
Not only was that kind of community attractive to the onlooking culture, but it was totally unstoppable! I believe today it is no different.
