Get Your Pretense On!

140 • Get Your Pretense On!

fellowship, and witness occurred in the early church (Acts 5.42; Acts 20.20), including baptism (Acts 16.15; 1 Cor. 1.16) the Lord’s Supper (breaking of bread) (Acts 2.46), discipleship “house to house” (Acts 20.20), Christian education for children (Eph. 6.4), and discipling of young wives (1 Cor. 14.35). This overview of the ancient oikos excites me greatly! The Gospel spread through the natural lines and links of real relationships already established, in homes, friendships, businesses, associations, schools – in other words, in the flow of the natural connections in life. Today in our urban neighborhoods, we can be led of the Spirit to develop strategies for spreading the Good News that take seriously the natural social units, i.e., the oikos , of each person who we seek to reach. We can win an entire household through its members, discipling them to share the hope of the Gospel through their own God-given webs of relationships and connections they already know, love, and relate to! Defining the Oikos Today My own definition of oikos today focuses on the power of sharing and relating in the context of our natural web of relationships: That natural web of relationships where individuals are recognized and embraced as a part of a larger social unit, based upon common kinship relationships, common friendships, and associations. Note the elements in this definition; “ Natural web of relationships ” refers to an oikos as the most basic and natural web of identity and connection for people. “ Where individuals are recognized and embraced as a part of a larger social unit ” sees an oikos as that social unit where individuals are recognized and embraced as a significant member of a larger network of relationships. This means the family or group to which the individual belongs,