SHARE | MAGAZINE
Volume 5 - Issue 1
Church , what is it really ? From my understanding the term traditionally has come to describe the members of the Christian faith universally who believed in and follow Jesus Christ . These remain faithful to His teachings both in word and deed and continue to propagate His teachings across the world . God ’ s idea was not to have a global organisation per se but a people that would be His very family , all born of His Spirit where the lost , weary and lonely can come home to . Home , is where the heart finds an unreserved welcome , peace , rest , acceptance , rejuvenation and belonging .
The above definition seemed to suffice for much of the 1st into the 2nd Century but then everything changed . The Romanisation of the Church that created a Supreme world power of Church and State ushered in a new era that changed the definition of Church . This was soon followed by the Reformation where valiant men paid a great price of affliction , imprisonment and death in an effort to restore Church to what it was before . The Church then tottered through the modern era where it seemed to have experienced a sort of adolescent
EDITORIAL
WELCOME HOME TO FAMILY
identity crisis and has now arrived in the postmodern era of Contemporary Christianity . That ’ s us now in the 21st Century but can we still be identified as God ’ s family ?
Where is this Church ? The one Jesus founded , His band of brothers , His enlightened and empowered ones who bore His image ? Where are they today in the midst of this publicity generated , media hyped , production company that is passing itself off as the body of Jesus Christ ?
Consider a seeker of truth / an unbeliever reading the Bible and having been exposed to the compassion and the egalitarian anti-establishment ideas of Jesus Christ found themselves to be impressed by His Superhuman persona ; and thought , “ He ’ s all right this man ; I wonder if there is a Church nearby where I could talk to some of His disciples ‘ these Christians ?” If they were to successfully find one and happily joined the next convenient meeting ; would they leave there having met Jesus Christ through His followers ? Or would they quietly slip out the back door bitterly disappointed that there were no more true believers left ? What a shame , the Bible sounded so exciting ? Well , I ’ m not so old , but I have sat in
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SHARE MAGAZINE is a FREE Christian quarterly that deals with challenging Christian topics that have been mostly ignored or left unanswered . The magazine includes written articles , poems and thoughts etc . Read our online version at www . TheShareMagazine . com where you can go to our blog to discuss articles or order a printed version . If you would like to submit articles , join our writers group , or to get involved in any other way kindly email us . SHARE MAGAZINE is produced by Select Arrow , the publishing arm of United In Christ charity number 1140448 .
Disclaimer
Throughout this magazine the editor & contributors seek to present a balanced and accurate view of Scripture ’ s teaching . We are all on a journey of studying and understanding God ’ s Word . Because of this , all we can offer is as balanced an understanding as the Holy Spirit has offered us at this time . The views or opinions represented in this publication are personal to each of our contributors and may not fully represent those of any other contributor or editor .
Scriptures quoted are from the Contemporary English Version ( CEV ) unless otherwise stated .
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4 | SHARE | MAGAZINE January - March 2017