In 1990-91 I attended Yale University Divinity School to find answers. As a youth pastor, I remember driving vans, hosting lock-ins and setting up folding chairs — and being very lonely. Meanwhile, I read the New Testament and discovered descriptions of rich, meaningful relationships among church members. Why wasn’t I experiencing that?
I studied the social milieu of the early church, wrote a thesis and learned that even in the first-century, the church was an exception among the various types of groups people could join. The church was meant to be an environment for life-changing, disciple-making relationships.
This series of “Steve the Pastor” considers these relationships from a variety of perspectives.
- October 5, 2021, Acts 2:42-47, The first church
- October 7, 2021, Acts 4:32+, Generosity and sharing
- October 12, 2021, Matthew 18, The unmerciful servant and grace to one another