The Church I Never Knew?

OK, so you are curious about this blog title? It sure sounds alot like a book you heard about years ago by Christian author Phillip Yancey. And that picture in the corner, what's that?



Well, I am so glad you asked.



The book you are thinking of is, The Jesus I Never Knew. It was awarded the Christian Book of the Year in 1996. In it the author examines more closely the New Testament story of Jesus in the Gospels. He sets his newly found evidence against what he had always been taught about Jesus and comes to the conclusion that there is more to Him than he had ever known. Yancey writes, "The more I studied Jesus, the more difficult it became to pigeonhole Him".

Three years ago I read a fascinating work titled, The Early Christians: In Their Own Words. Since reading Eberhard Arnold's compilation of early Christian writings, I have inherited a passion to understanding, not so much the workings of the first church, but the heart and Spirit of the earliest followers . And this passion goes far beyond just head-knowledge. Thankfully, God is developing a deep aching to 'live it out'. As a dear friend often asks, "So what does that look like"?

I am discovering that New Testament Christianity is not formulas, rules, or even steps, but is uncalculatable(new word), Holy Spirit-led, filled with deep compassion, and full of Jesus. This is the church that I never knew for nearly fifty years.

The picture is of what is believed to be the oldest known meeting place of Christians. Archaeologists excavated this cave underneath a third century church in Rihab, Jordan in 2008.