What would it look like...

So... I was listening to an old Mark Driscoll podcast today as I folded some clothes. He's talking about hypocrisy. The basic idea being that you can't say or believe one thing and then do another. Its not consistent. Its hypocritical, and the Word calls us to get rid of all hypocrisy in our life. But, this is really a sidebar, what really caught my attention was what he was saying about the early church. I should probably remember more details here, it would help make my point, but I can't. The gist of it was how Christians were put through horrendous persecution and outrageous tortures for the sake of Christ. How their words were simply the overflow of their beliefs and actions. With those images in my head I decided to dive into the first hand of account of the early church aka. the book of Acts. It was captivating. There aren't too many sections of the bible where I can get lost in the story and completely lose track of time. It was really soooo exciting to read how God moved and revealed his power through our brothers and sisters thousands of years. There were miracles aplenty, people raised from the dead, thousands being saved, God speaking in visions whether you were asleep or not(Saul), etc. etc. etc. It was a VERY tough and exciting time to be a follower of Christ. But, as excited and intrigued as I am by these stories, I know that they are more than just stories. This was real. That really happened. Which is GREAT! BUT WHY DOESN'T THE CHURCH LOOK LIKE THAT NOW?!? I know we live in a different time, and a healthy, vibrant, Godly, victorious church won't look exactly the same as it did in that time and place. But, what would it look like here and now? And how do we get there? Christ wants his bride to be healthy and pure upon His return. Its our responsibility, by His Grace, to see it through. What needs to change. What will that change look like. We need to look deep in the scriptures and spend hours on our knees in prayer as we ask God for the wisdom how to proceed.