A Fellowship or Enterprise?

In his book, In Times Like These, the late Vance Havner wrote, “Christianity made its greatest strides when it was poor and persecuted. Dr. Morgan pointed out that the Church of England fared better under the persecution of Queen Mary than under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth; that the Salvation Army got along better when pelted with sticks and stones than when her general was smiled upon by royalty; that Methodism prospered more when scorned, than when her leaders were received at the royal court.”¹

“I know the difficult ordeal you are enduring and your poverty, although you are actually rich” (Revelation 2:9).

“In the beginning, the Church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the Church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, and became an institution. Next it moved to Europe, where it became a culture, and, finally it came to America where we made it an enterprise” (Richard Halverson, former U.S. Senate Chaplain).²