When “Church” Becomes an Event: How Do We Recover “The Way”?

In my mind there is a persistent question that won’t go away: How do we recover what has been lost? In previous reflections I have traced the drift from an evangelistic culture to an inward, pastoral culture. Along with that drift, “church” has quietly come to mean a building—and what is done at the building. But in my understanding of what it means to be a Christian; I want to recover what first-century believers were known for: people of “the Way.”

In the New Testament, church (ekklesia) can refer to an assembly of Christians in a home, in a city, or across a whole region. At times it refers to the gathered group; at other times it refers to the collective body of those who have been saved. “The Way,” however, points to something deeper than a meeting place or a worship method. It describes people whose lives show they are disciples of Jesus. Jesus also taught that when two or three are gathered in his name, he is present with them. In that sense, a gathering of believers in a home can truly be “church.” When church is reduced to what happens at a church building, discipleship becomes optional—and the Way is easily abandoned.

In the earliest period, house-to-house gatherings shaped everything. In those assemblies discipleship was formed around table fellowship—teaching, encouragement, exhortation, mutual care, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. As I searched, I did not find a single “formal worship” script repeated the same way in every description of the assemblies. What I did find was a way of life. As Paul taught in Romans, the worship God desires is not limited to a service; Our life of service is our spiritual worship. If that is true, then the question is not only how we recover “evangelism,” but how we recover what produces people of the Way: making disciples—and reclaiming the table fellowship that formed them.

Evangelism announces the gospel. Making disciples forms a person into the Way.  Disciples were formed by “teaching  them to obey all that I ( Christ) have taught you.  Teaching is more than imparting knowledge in a Sunday morning bible class.  Examine the many cases where Jesus teaching is depicted in the New Testament we find a common theme.   The whole teaching of Jesus is with a view to the ordering of life with reference to God and one’s neighbor.  With our tradition we have a gifted pulpit minister proclaim the gospel and our bible classes provide knowledge. We have confused mere biblical knowledge with forming transformed lives.   Changing this is going to be difficult. 

I have come to believe that changing the culture of a congregation takes a level of leadership commitment that is rarely available. And when cultural change is attempted, resistance is almost always vigorous. In the New Testament, the Way was passed on largely through personal relationships—homes, fellowship meals, extended family ties, and friendships. We can do the same today, but it requires a shift: from dispensing biblical knowledge to forming mentoring relationships with seekers and with one another.

That kind of disciple-making also requires helping members identify their gifts and find real pathways to use them. It requires training that helps people understand why table fellowship matters. Eating together in homes forms bonds, places everyone on the same level, creates space to practice the “one-another” commands, and provides the examples and encouragement that make discipleship transferable. In my years as a professor, lectures impart information; laboratory experience produces real application and learning. Table fellowship and shared service are the closest equivalent in the life of faith.

Individual change, however, can begin small. Invite an unbeliever into your home for a meal. Or invite a fellow Christian so you can truly know them and encourage them. We can do this—but it takes commitment.