Can we return to the Golden Age of the Church

Acts 4: 23-37

This passage is perhaps one of the most beautiful pictures of the church. Having come all the way from the threats of the priestly delegation Peter and John returned to the church unharmed and, in fact, emboldened.  This beautiful picture and moment of the church will not last, but if there is a golden age of the church it is this moment.

In this golden age of the church we see that the church is deeply rooted in Scripture the church is speaking the word with boldness. There is great unity in the church, which apparently resulted in great generosity within the church. New leadership is developing. The message of the resurrection and the abundant grace of God were being shared with great boldness. The word that is translated “boldness” in verse 31 could be translated with “dynamic great power".  We also see the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in the life of the church. The Disciples were empowered, united, generous, the “abundant grace of Jesus was upon them” and they were proclaiming this good news. This moment was the Golden Age of the church. It was before the corruption of Ananias and Sapphira and before the physical persecution that we see in the next chapter. This was before the misunderstandings, division, death of martyrs and the rise of false leaders that will come later in the book. Before the heartbreaking history of the church over the last 20 centuries we see in this moment what the church could possibly be. The Golden Age of Acts 4:23-37 may have only lasted a few weeks or months, but it was real.

We have lived our whole lives with a different kind of church experience. We have suffered and sacrificed much for the church.  Sometimes we have also suffered much because of the church.  We have invested and we have seen our investment squandered and opportunities wasted.  What we have seen has not been a golden age but a sort of local “dark age”.  It is sometimes easy to grow a little or even very cynical about the church. We know the life of the church is a mixed bag of good and bad.  This mixed bag is what we see in the rest of the book of Acts.  For our part, with the rampant evil of our world and the refuge of the church being so painful we have a hard time seeing the good.  Having been an eyewitness to the troubled dysfunction, pain, and pettiness so much we sometimes feel as if there is no other side to the church.

We will likely not enjoy another golden age on this side of Heaven. In fact, there is plenty of reason to be cynical about the church if we choose to be. But cynicism is a choice we make, it is not the inevitable reality of the world or of the Church’s brokenness. Cynicism is an attempt to avoid experiencing past hurts again.  It is a choice we make based on personal wounds, what we believe about reality and how we interpret the experiences of our life.  The person most cynical about love and marriage will not be the indifferent bachelor, but the jilted, passionate lover.  The person most cynical about the church is not the lukewarm agnostic, but the profoundly disappointed enthusiast.

However, we don't need to despair because we don't live in the Golden Age of the church.  Cynicism about “institutional religion” is not the only option that is available to us.  Rather than be disappointed by our failed experience with the church and passively slide into suspicion we can make a proactive choice.  I can, for my part, be a golden age of the church.  Or to use a more appropriate image I can choose to be a light on a lamp stand or a city on the hill.