Self-focus forfeits happiness. Asking, “Am I happy?” opens the door to unhappiness. A key ingredient in the pursuit of happiness is self-forgetting. You are the one who is painting the canvas of your life. How you doing with it? Could you use some help?

Perhaps ancient Greek civilization has something to teach 21st century Christians about happiness. Greek city councils were called ekklesias. All citizens were invited & anyone present could speak in the meeting. Jesus & His early followers used the same word for their meetings.

Perhaps we need a focus-shift demonstrated in those New Testament groups. As Christianity became programmed, it lost the spontaneity of the early ekklesias. Ekklesias are greenhouses for spiritual growth in & through regular people. If Christ-followers are family, why not meet like family, without a precise program?

Ekklesias meet to focus on the risen Jesus and to actively share God’s love with one another. They give us a present from the past: the presence of the risen Jesus. Ekklesias are Christians professing their faith as prompted by the living Jesus; not one professor teaching a course. Ekklesias train ordianry people how to spend time with Jesus. A day spent without Jesus is a day of distraction from the world’s greatest hope.

“The ekklesias of God are instructed by Christ.” –Origen in 230 A.D. It’s time for the recovery of ekklesias in the body of Christ. http://amzn.to/2nVkazY. .