LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
The Sixth Characteristic of a Healthy Church: A Response That Overflows with Joy
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
9/2022
The Sixth Characteristic of a Healthy Church: A Response That Overflows with Joy
The first community of saints celebrated the power and nature of God in their lives. The
early Church followed their Biblical example (recorded in the Book of Acts) as they emulated
the nature and character of the first disciples. The observations of those who witnessed the
early Church should inspire and guide us. If we were to imitate the earliest energized believers,
our churches would transform the culture and inspire a new generation. How can we, as
Christians today, become more like the Church that changed the world and transformed the
Roman Empire? We must learn the truth, strive for unity, live in awe, serve in love, share with
courage and overflow with joy. These six important characteristics were held by the earliest
congregations:
Acts 2:42-47
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many
wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were
together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions,
and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day continuing with
one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals
together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the
people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Six simple attributes were observed in the earliest believers. These characteristics serve
as a template to guide for those of us who want to restore the passion and impact of the early
Church. If we employ them today, we’ll create healthy, vibrant, transformative churches. As
grateful Christ followers, our gratitude should result in joy obvious to the world around us:
Principle #6: Overflow with Joy
The Church must be focused on God and all that He has done for us:
“…and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe;
and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had
believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and
possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day
continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were
taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor
with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being
saved…”
When we look at the lives of the early believers, we are amazed at the joy they
demonstrated even in the most difficult of situations. They were persecuted on all sides and
lived in harsh, difficult and challenging environments. Yet in the midst of their suffering, they
were still filled with joy. Look at this description from the unknown author of the Epistle to
Diognetes (written c. 130AD):
“They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are
insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evildoers. When
punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life…”
These early believers understood joy is a choice. And they understood joy is often the
product of our choice of focus. In the midst of persecution and hardship, the earliest of
believers kept their eyes on the prize. They stayed focused on the life awaiting them and they
found purpose and abundant meaning in lives surrendered to God in the service and love of
others. They understood persecution and suffering are often earmarks of the surrendered life.
They knew a life of comfort was probably a life of complacency. So they rejoiced when they
found themselves in a place of discomfort as a result of their commitment to God. It simply
served as evidence they had surrendered their lives to the God of the universe. The early
believers rejoiced at this evidence, and their joy was noticed by all those who were in their
company:
Acts 16:23-25
“And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, commanding
the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the
inner prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them…”
The Church needs to be careful to resist our inclination to focus on ourselves. We need to
be committed to a new life centered on God’s moral will and the gifts He has already given us.
We need to be wise stewards of these gifts and make God the focus of our lives. Like the early
believers, singing should be an important part of our lives. We ought to sing not so we can be
“ushered into God’s presence” (we know we are already there), but in spontaneous response to
what he has done for us. Our songs shouldn’t be the limit of our worship, but the spontaneous
result of our focus. We should sing, because we cannot help but sing.
In this short series, we’ve examined the value of six important characteristics of the early
Church. Grateful Christians cannot help but respond with gratitude, passion and joy. Our joyful
gratitude ought to obvious to the world around us. Although Christian congregations have
taken many shapes and forms in the two thousand years since the first community of saints,
none of these forms are as important as the transcendent purpose of God’s people here on
earth. As we look deeply at the nature of the first Church described in the Book of Acts, we see
God’s design for us as a family. The Church is not a place to meet; it is a people to be. When we,
as a Church, learn the truth, strive for unity, live in awe, serve in love, and share with courage,
the resulting joy we experience should be obvious to the world around us.
