How does the church in America in the 21st century compare to the church of the first century? When we read of the exploits of the early believers and compare their level of commitment to followers of Jesus Christ today, how do we compare? In Acts 17:6 there is a thought-provoking statement made by the enemies of the early believers that is truly amazing. They say, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”

These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

What a truly astounding accusation. What prompted them to make such an unbelievable assertion? What had those early believers been doing to gain such a powerful testimony in a relatively short period of time? What had they done, and what were they doing, that warranted this kind of attention?

If you’ll remember, back in the first chapter of the Book of Acts, we have Jesus telling His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. They obediently followed His instruction, and ten days later the Holy Spirit came in a display of miraculous power. The room where they were meeting was all of a sudden filled with the sound a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire appeared in the room and began to settle on each of the disciples gathered there, and they were all given the ability to speak in language they had never been taught.

These believers were so emboldened by the power of the Holy Spirit that they went out into the streets of Jerusalem, fearlessly proclaiming the message of the Gospel – the Good News of Jesus Christ being raised from the dead. The people gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost were overwhelmed by the intensity of the believer’s witness, and as they heard the Gospel being presented in all the different languages of people from all over the world they were brought under conviction by the work of the Holy Spirit. The result? On that one day about 3000 were saved and added to the fellowship of believers.

And that was but the beginning. Just a little later the number had grown to 5000 men, plus women and children. The testimony of the Acts record is that the Lord was adding to the church daily those who were being saved. It wasn’t long until believers were no longer being added, but multiplied. Churches were being added, as the number of those being converted to the Christian faith kept growing exponentially.

This growth was taking place in the face of much adversity and tribulation against the church. The Jewish authorities tried everything within their power to silence the voice of these early believers. Arrests were made. Incarceration was the experience of many. Many others were executed for being followers of Jesus Christ. It seemed that the more the church was dealt waves of persecution, the bolder they became in their proclamation of the Gospel.

Compare that to the state of the church in America. I don’t mean to come across as judge and jury, but by my personal experiences and observations it seems to me that the church in America today has become somewhat complacent, some even apathetic. The Acts record tells us that the early believers were gathering daily, going from house to house worshiping together, sharing all things in common, giving up their personal belongings to assist others who were in need. It shows clearly that the early believers were totally committed to their Lord, and it showed in every aspect of their lives.

I believe that the church of today pales in comparison. Let me make a few personal observations. As I think about churches I have served as pastor for over 40 years, I have seen a lot of Sunday morning “worshipers” who are conspicuously invisible Monday-Saturday. I’ve served as pastor of churches in which a very small percentage of the members did an enormous percentage of work/ministry. I’ve served churches where some were totally burned out from carrying more than their share because too many were carrying none.

I’m reminded of something Vance Havner said: “In every church there are pillars, and there are caterpillars. The pillars make up about 10% of the congregation, yet they do 90% of the work; the caterpillars make up about 90% of the congregation, yet they only do 10% of the work.” Sadly, from my personal experience, there is a lot of truth in Havner’s assessment.

There are pillars and caterpillars in every church.

The Bible teaches that God has equipped each believer with at least one spiritual gift which enables each one to serve God by developing and using our individual gifts in service to the church. As each member of a local body of believers uses his/her gift, the work of ministry is done, the workload is shared, and God is glorified. No one person, or small group of persons, becomes exhausted because they are having to do their share and someone else’s as well.

Howard Hendricks made this observation: The church is like a football game – 22 people on the field in desperate need of rest, and 40000 people in the stands, in desperate need of exercise. Where are you in this game of life? Are you in the game – or are you resting comfortably in the stands? Let’s take a few minutes for a time of reflection and self-evaluation. Am I doing my part? Or am I causing someone else to carry my share of the load? I feel certain that each of us already knows the answer to that question. If your answer is that you are allowing others to carry your weight, then why not make a change – now. God would definitely be pleased with that decision.