5
And if perchance you fear this is some kind of trendy-leftie, PC, socialistic agenda...then grow up! During the 18th C's 1st Great Awakening in England, one of its most notable leaders, John Wesley, insisted absolutely on the gathering of the newly saved into highly organised and practical (methodical) cells and "societies"!
He later wrote, "I was more convinced than ever that the preaching like an apostle, without joining together those that are awakened and training them up in the ways of God, is only begetting children for the murderer."
These small groups were also organised to provide practical support and assistance to the multitudes of new converts, most of whom had up until then existed on the very fringes and lowest rungs of their society. So, these healthy "cells" also organised and helped their members with such "revolutionary" activities as saving money, budget-ing, and holding property in common for the good of the many...rather than just a privileged or clever few.
The Early Church lived through a time of the greatest tribulation and persecution, and "all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Ac 2.44-47)
As it was for our elder brothers and sisters at the beginning of the Church Age, so shall it be for us (and more so) at the end. For "the latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity." (Hag 2.9)
"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." (Isa 56.7)
"He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer." (Mt 21.13)
(1) The fulfillment of Luke 21.20-24.
(2) The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with an evidence of praying in tongues, became a cornerstone, spiritual experience for multitudes of Believers from every denominational tradition and background. Acts 2.1-4 and 1 Corinthians 12 were Bible passages which were rehabilitated from the periphery of Christian thinking and practice.
(3) Although obscured by uninformed criticism and exaggerated controversy, the NZ poet James K. Baxter's "Jerusalem Commune" was a high-profile example of the "yearning" for a new way of living. This particular expression of the 60s search for community startled the whole country, but ("Hemi") Baxter himself self-effacingly described it as a quest for "the objective Jerusalem of communal charity".
