The New Testament calls Christians disciples — trained and disciplined Christ-followers. When Paul and Barnabas wanted to strengthen the disciples and to encourage them to remain true to the faith, they told them: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:21-28.) How is that the sound of encouragement?

Hardships cause true Christ followers to humbly and deeply need each other and to rely more and more on the risen Jesus as our present King, Lord, and Master as we are drawn together in genuine, heart-felt, Christ-led community. To further strengthen and encourage the body of Christ, Paul and Barnabus appointed groups of elders, mature believers to be servant overseers in each Spirit-led, open-sharing community of disciples (see 1 Corinthians 14:26) named and modeled after the ekklesia, the participatory town hall meetings in Greek cities. Then “with prayer and fasting” they “committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

The early Christians didn’t trust in organization or human hierarchy and authority. (See Matthew 20: 25-28.) Their trust was in the living Jesus. They wanted to follow Him and as they did, they lived out the 50+ one another commands of the New Testament, in their daily lives and when they met together. Mature believers served as elders/overseers to keep the focus on everyone listening to and obeying the risen Jesus from their heart, and not on mere outward forms of godliness or on human hierarchy and control. They let their trials and tribulations continually connect their hearts to each other with Spirit-given compassion and caring for one another. They overflowed with joy and love from the real presence of Christ living and working inside and through them.