Church and Mission: Quick Refection from class on 10/12/09

We briefly reviewed the ways that Jesus' initial movement practiced their religion and then moved on to the practices, organization and views of the early Church. It struck me for the first time just how fearful the Christians must have been after Stephen's martyrdom. It also struck me how awkward that first meeting between Peter and Paul must have been, with Paul not only being highly suspect but also everything that Peter was not (that is, educated, Roman, well-to-do) and how much humility they both needed to have to accept each other in the way that they did. It gave me a new appreciation for them both.