Someone, who is no alarmist, told me the other day that he had heard a commentator on a television program say that the world is facing the most unsettling time since the American Revolution. I had not heard that before, but I had heard, no doubt as you have, that the economic situation is the most challenging since the Great Depression which began in 1929. On October 23, 2008, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, said in testimony before the Congress that the situation we face is a once in a lifetime economic tsunami. Only time will tell if these and other statements are right on target, too optimistic, or too pessimistic.

 
We can say confidently that in our country and the whole industrialized world we are confronted with a time of uncertainty. In the United States we will soon have a national election that some think may be the most significant since perhaps the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt. We should remember that in election years the tendency of many politicians is to proclaim that year a crucial year in history. If this is a critical year, we will know it only in retrospect as the historians record and interpret the outcomes. We surely may experience some very large changes in our government, and nobody knows how this will all turn out. We can take some comfort in the fact that changes are seldom so easily or quickly brought about as politicians promise and those who enthusiastically support them expect.
 
We surely are in a time of economic instability. As I write today, it seems that all the world markets have taken or are taking a nosedive. Some say we are in a deep recession with the possibility of another depression, while a few say we are not yet in a recession and may not have one. The one thing we can say for sure is that nobody knows. But, there is reason to have concern about things such as our jobs, investments, retirement plans, and really the whole economic structure of our society.
 
But, what if we are in for hard times? I doubt any of us have seen our standard of living changed by the past and present losses or by future uncertainty. We may even be doing a little better with gas prices having fallen so much. But, there is no denying that hard times might be ahead of us. (I have never put any stock in the conspiratorialists or the doomsayers. If they ever turn out to be right, it will not be because of their superior abilities, but because, they are like a broken clock which is right two times a day.) What if…?
 
If we experience an economic meltdown unlike any in our lifetimes, the church will be more important than ever. The word church comes from a Greek verb which means “to call out.” The church is a community of people God has called out of the world and redeemed by Christ to be his own. But Christians are not called out of the world to go it alone. No, we are not just called out of something; we are called into something. A Christian, except in the most extraordinary circumstances, is always in the visible church and connected to it through a local congregation. The identity of a Christian is every bit as much corporate as it is individual. We are not just individuals who have been saved; we are a community of saved sinners. It is equally valid to say, “I am a believer in Jesus Christ” and “I am in a community of believers in Jesus Christ with whom I worship, serve God, and experience the communion of the saints.”
 
If we take seriously that we are a part of the church, then we do have some guidance in the Bible regarding how the church functions in hard economic times. Hard times came very early to the Jerusalem Christian church, and they appear to have persisted.
 
How did the Jerusalem church respond in these circumstances? It seems that from the beginning there was a Christian intuitive and instinctual response to take care of one another. Not long after Pentecost we find this: “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44,45). Some people think this was a mistake – that it was a misguided attempt at some kind of “Christian communism.” I think that view is itself misguided. There is not the slightest hint in Acts or in later apostolic teaching to cause us to think the way they handled these hard times was a mistake. Rather, it seems that the church acted like the family it is. If your family goes through hard times, you are not going to look out just for yourself. You will, if necessary, share what you have among the family members, and, if necessary, sell things you own individually and use the proceeds to help other family members. That is what the church was doing, responding like a family in which all members care for one another and band together to get through hard times.
 
Later in Acts we find: “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need” (Acts 4:34,35). Joseph Barnabas is singled out and commended as one who followed this practice. Later, when the work of caring for the church’s needy became too big to be administered by the apostles, the first deacons were appointed to do this work fairly and efficiently (Acts 6). Still later, when apparently there were not sufficient resources in Jerusalem to meet the needs, Paul organized, collected, and delivered a relief offering to which the Gentile Christians contributed.
 
Now note several things: (1) This practice is not a “normal times” practice. It is an emergency “hard times” response to the needs of God’s people. (2) It is voluntary. Peter made that clear when confronted by the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). The church cannot and does not want to confiscate your possessions as the government can and does. You own what you own, and, if you give it to the church, you will give it freely. (3) This does seem to be if not the, then surely one, Biblical way for the church to get through hard times.
 
Here’s how the Westminster Confession Faith summarizes the fellowship (communion) of the church:
 
All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their head, by his Spirit…and bound to one another in love…are obliged to such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and the outward man… Saints by profession are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification; as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities…Nor doth their communion one with another, as saints, take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions (Chapter XXVI).
 
Are we going to be facing some really hard times? I tend to think not, but that is no more than a “gut feeling” based on no facts or reasoning. But sometimes it’s good to ask the “What if?” questions. So, what if hard times come? Well, we have a safety net. We will all be in this together; none of us will selfishly care for only our own or our blood kin’s needs; we will help each and we will get through together as the church functions as the church.
 
By the way, if you desperately need some lettuce, come on by the house, and I’ll give you some. Later maybe some cabbage, onions, cauliflower, broccoli. And, of course, I’ve got herbs. Even if you don’t have a lot, perhaps you can season it well!
 
Let’s be reassured and encouraged in the wonderful community Christ died for and cares for, his Church – a community made for crisis.
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William H. Smith is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Miss.