As a former congregational pastor, now director of field education at a Presbyterian seminary, I am perplexed by how unimportant worship seems to be for a number of our students. Many have never been part of a worshiping community. They are the children who attended the service of worship for ten minutes, heard a children’s sermon (often aimed at the adults), and left the sanctuary for a recreation or art program. These students have not been formed by corporate worship.

In pondering what spiritual practices, including corporate worship, would have enriched their lives, I have returned to the spiritual practices noted in the earliest days of the church, the days following Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2. What were the practices of that motley crew of early Christians that enabled them—children and adults—to witness faithfully, live joyously, and persevere under persecution? Note the description of that Pentecost community:

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.

(Acts 2:44–47a)

These few verses are rich with revealing practices that formed our forebears in faith—and form Christian communities today.

The Practice of Common Worship: Daily worship was the norm of that early community. Together they reflected on their experience of Jesus and stories they heard of him from the disciples, seeking to understand the meaning of Jesus’ life, teachings, death, and resurrection—all seen in the light of the Hebrew scriptures. They prayed together. Worship was both word-centered but also action-centered. They entered this community through water and the Spirit (baptism), and God was made known to them in the daily breaking of bread. 

The Practice of Hospitality: All were included in that early multicultural community. Experiencing God’s love and acceptance led them to offer that love and acceptance to all. There were serious differences of understanding, but a common experience of the Spirit led them into valuing the community and welcoming all.

The Practice of Sharing with those in Need: Having all things in common sounds pretty radical to many Presbyterians, but at minimum it is a discipline of caring for the “least.” This involved firsthand interaction and sharing with the widows and orphans, with all in need—not paternalistic charity. Through this practice, folks risked being changed by their giving. Having things in common also led to a life of simplicity, of a radical set of values in which people were more important than things.

The Practice of Gratitude and Praise: Just as children are taught to be grateful by learning to say “thank you,” the Christian community learns gratitude by naming its gifts. Intentionally beginning prayer with naming thanksgivings is a discipline that teaches children as well as adults gratitude. In worship and in daily life praise and awe can pour forth out of sheer gratitude for who God is and for God’s work in the world.

The Practice of Witnessing (Testifying): This practice too sounds rather un-Presbyterian, but we are called to speak of the presence of God in our lives, to name how God is at work in our lives and in the world. This naming gives insight and hope to the one who speaks, and others gain an awareness of God at work in their lives and can come to say, “Yes, that is my experience too.”

As an educator I value the schooling process; words I heard John Westerhoff speak in a workshop 35 years ago still reverberate: “The experiences a person has or does not have in the community of faith determines whether or not the faith becomes real.” Ours is an embodied faith—embodied in the community of faith—embodied in ancient practices. The faith becomes alive as children and adults participate and experience in community the ancient practices of the church. For two thousand years these practices have formed people in faith. They are formative for each of us and our children, and they lead to deep faith and praise of our God.

Garnett Foster is interim director of field education, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.