“Expressive Individualism and The Vital Signs of The Church” by Rev. Dr. Clark Cowden | May 10, 2026
Acts 2:42–47
Our society today worships the idol of Expressive Individualism. Expressive Individualism believes in pursuing our own personal freedom, happiness, and self–expression over everything else. It believes that we are the only reliable source of our own truth and identity. This is not what Christianity believes.
Our society today worships the idol of Expressive Individualism. Expressive Individualism believes in pursuing our own personal freedom, happiness, and self–expression over everything else. It believes that we are the only reliable source of our own truth and identity. This is not what Christianity believes.
Christianity believes in an external authority (God) and defines boundaries for orthodox belief and behavior (Scripture). Our culture rejects this and instead believes in an internal authority (ourselves) where we set our own beliefs and the behaviors we think are right. Our culture believes in the sacred self. The sacred self makes it hard to be in church because church means giving up what we think is right for what God says is right and accepting the Bible’s boundaries for orthodox behavior when it goes against how we want to live.
Jean–Jacque Rousseau and Jiminy Cricket both tell us – always let your conscience be your guide. But what if your conscience tells you to rob a bank, or neglect your family, or torch local businesses, or try to assassinate a political leader? Maybe our conscience alone isn’t a sufficient guide.
People who say they are “Spiritual but not Religious” do not believe in Christian doctrines received externally from the Church. They believe in one’s own intuition as the default for discerning what is true, good, and beautiful. It says, “I don’t want anyone to tell me what to believe or how to live.” Today people reject authority, institution, creed, and universal morals and ethics. They value intuition, personal feelings, and experiences. They demand to rewrite their own scripts about how the universe, and human beings, operate. They don’t want to receive doctrine or assent to a creed. They want to choose the spiritual path that feels best to them. Feelings become more important than facts. They prioritize intuitional spirituality over institutional religion. As a result of this Expressive Individualism, around 2014 or 2015, many pastors began noticing a subtle change in the Sunday morning vibe. The typical visitor went from expecting to be shaped and formed by the church, to expecting the church to be shaped and formed by them. We’ve gone from entrusting our belief formation to a church, to insisting a church change its beliefs to conform to ours.
Our alignment with a church’s theology is no longer as important as a church affirming our pre–existing cultural commitments, political allegiances, and social convictions – especially on gender, sexuality, and sexual ethics.
All healthy institutions shape the character and virtue of their members to varying degrees. We need to allow the Holy Spirit and the Church to shape and form our beliefs rather than demanding that the Church conform to ours. This change in posture, from entrusting to insisting, is one symptom of Main Character Syndrome – the belief that we are at the center of every story. This is why Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Him. He is the center of every story, not us.
This cultural background that we are living in today brings us to our scripture for this morning. Over the last two weeks, we have been talking about the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled all of the believers in Jesus Christ for the first time. As a result of this, Luke tells us in Acts 2 what the Vital Signs of the Church are. In a time when church attendance has declined dramatically and many churches are closing their doors, we need to understand what the Vital Signs of the Church are and to live them out in our life together. Acts 2:42–47 says this: “42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
Luke tells us there were these four Vital Signs in the early church – teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. These are the things that the early believers were devoted to. These were not marginal activities. These were their primary activities.
1)The first Vital Sign was TEACHING. This wasn’t just any teaching. It was the teaching of the apostles. The apostles were trained and taught by Jesus. He authorized them to convey the truth about Him. The people listened to what they taught and practiced what they heard. This is about Jesus and about the Bible.
1)The first Vital Sign was TEACHING. This wasn’t just any teaching. It was the teaching of the apostles. The apostles were trained and taught by Jesus. He authorized them to convey the truth about Him. The people listened to what they taught and practiced what they heard. This is about Jesus and about the Bible.
Matt Smethurst once wrote that, “Contemporary people tend to examine the Bible, looking for things they can’t accept, but Christians should reverse that, allowing the Bible to examine us, looking for things that God can’t accept.” He also said, “There are two ways to read the Bible: as if it’s all about you or all about Him. Scripture is straightforward: the road to the best things is not through the good things but usually through the hard things.”
Here at Tab, we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that there are no errors in what it teaches us about God and faith and life. God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible and He shows us how He has designed us to live. If we are unrepentant and continue to engage in behaviors the Bible calls sin, we will hurt ourselves. If we humble ourselves, repent, and obey what the Bible tells us, we will flourish and experience a goodness from God that is beyond our imagination.
We should not be surprised at the unique power of God’s Word. Jesus based His whole life on scripture. For Jesus, the living Word was foundational. If we are going to know Jesus and have a relationship with Him, then we must devote ourselves to the Scriptures. The Scriptures are not just information about God.
They are writings by God and from God about Christ. We need regular and comprehensive immersion into large chunks of the Biblical text that allow us to be drawn into the big Biblical story and shaped and formed by it.
2)The second Vital Sign of the Church is FELLOWSHIP. On the Day of Pentecost, their fellowship was diverse and inclusive. The Holy Spirit formed them out of a variety of cultural, ethnic, social, and linguistic backgrounds and this diversity would continue when the gospel was introduced into gentile contexts.
The community was also exclusive. The Holy Spirit only filled people who believed in Jesus. People who did not believe in Jesus were not a part of the Church.
The idol of Expressive Individualism in our society today has led to the breakdown of community and an increase in loneliness, isolation, depression, and mental health issues. Brad Edwards has written, “Physiologically speaking, being in another’s physical presence is a powerful way to release accumulated anxiety.
Virtual connection exacerbates anxiety because screens can’t replicate all the nonverbal social cues our brains subconsciously process in sending and receiving communications.”
Fellowship is good for us because God designed us as relational beings who need to live in community, but it is also a necessary part of being and growing as a Christian. Matt Smethurst has written that, “You will never know the multidimensional glory and beauty of your Savior unless you know Him in community. You need a whole pile of other people who also know Jesus well,
They are writings by God and from God about Christ. We need regular and comprehensive immersion into large chunks of the Biblical text that allow us to be drawn into the big Biblical story and shaped and formed by it.
2)The second Vital Sign of the Church is FELLOWSHIP. On the Day of Pentecost, their fellowship was diverse and inclusive. The Holy Spirit formed them out of a variety of cultural, ethnic, social, and linguistic backgrounds and this diversity would continue when the gospel was introduced into gentile contexts.
The community was also exclusive. The Holy Spirit only filled people who believed in Jesus. People who did not believe in Jesus were not a part of the Church.
The idol of Expressive Individualism in our society today has led to the breakdown of community and an increase in loneliness, isolation, depression, and mental health issues. Brad Edwards has written, “Physiologically speaking, being in another’s physical presence is a powerful way to release accumulated anxiety.
Virtual connection exacerbates anxiety because screens can’t replicate all the nonverbal social cues our brains subconsciously process in sending and receiving communications.”
Fellowship is good for us because God designed us as relational beings who need to live in community, but it is also a necessary part of being and growing as a Christian. Matt Smethurst has written that, “You will never know the multidimensional glory and beauty of your Savior unless you know Him in community. You need a whole pile of other people who also know Jesus well,
who are different than you, and you’ve got to know them to know Him. The local church is the only human institution Jesus started and the only one inhabited by the Spirit and glory of God. Divine glory is available to you in the church in a way it’s not available anywhere else. This is why every Christian must belong to a healthy church. You are not an obedient Christian if you are not a member of a church.”
“The local church doesn’t exist for itself but for those who don’t know Jesus Christ. We’re meant to shine like a city on a hill, visible for miles in the dark (Matt. 5:14). But to be radiant, we must be distinct. The church is designed to be an alternative city within every city, an alternate society within every society.
Becoming a Christian is less like joining a club and more like changing your culture. We will become a counterculture for the common good, simultaneously repellant and attractive to the world, only if we are distinct from the world.”
We become like those we are around. A dominant theme in the Book of Acts is the togetherness shared by believers. Their fellowship was based on something more than mutual interest. It was based on their devotion to the apostles’ teaching about Jesus. As a result, their fellowship transcended national bonds, racial bonds, political bonds, and biological bonds.
3)The Third Vital Sign of the Church that we see in Acts 2 is the BREAKING OF BREAD. We are not sure if this refers to simply sharing meals together or whether it specifically refers to the Lord’s Supper. It’s possible it refers to both, but it certainly includes taking communion together. It was a significant way to connect people to God and to one another in fellowship.
Derek Thompson, a staff writer at The Atlantic once wrote, “Maybe religion for all of its faults, works a bit like a retaining wall to hold back the destabilizing pressure of American hyper–individualism, which threatens to swell and spill over in its absence.” He argues that church affiliation, rather than distracting us or taking time from what really matters, is essential to the formation of happy humans and responsible citizens. What’s interesting is that he isn’t even a Christian. Yet he still sees an urgent need for society to rechurch. He writes that we are in the midst of “a great rewiring of our social relations,” and our disconnection from the historic vehicles of our formation is leaving us with less of the resilience, wisdom, and maturity needed to thrive right when we need it the most.
“The local church doesn’t exist for itself but for those who don’t know Jesus Christ. We’re meant to shine like a city on a hill, visible for miles in the dark (Matt. 5:14). But to be radiant, we must be distinct. The church is designed to be an alternative city within every city, an alternate society within every society.
Becoming a Christian is less like joining a club and more like changing your culture. We will become a counterculture for the common good, simultaneously repellant and attractive to the world, only if we are distinct from the world.”
We become like those we are around. A dominant theme in the Book of Acts is the togetherness shared by believers. Their fellowship was based on something more than mutual interest. It was based on their devotion to the apostles’ teaching about Jesus. As a result, their fellowship transcended national bonds, racial bonds, political bonds, and biological bonds.
3)The Third Vital Sign of the Church that we see in Acts 2 is the BREAKING OF BREAD. We are not sure if this refers to simply sharing meals together or whether it specifically refers to the Lord’s Supper. It’s possible it refers to both, but it certainly includes taking communion together. It was a significant way to connect people to God and to one another in fellowship.
Derek Thompson, a staff writer at The Atlantic once wrote, “Maybe religion for all of its faults, works a bit like a retaining wall to hold back the destabilizing pressure of American hyper–individualism, which threatens to swell and spill over in its absence.” He argues that church affiliation, rather than distracting us or taking time from what really matters, is essential to the formation of happy humans and responsible citizens. What’s interesting is that he isn’t even a Christian. Yet he still sees an urgent need for society to rechurch. He writes that we are in the midst of “a great rewiring of our social relations,” and our disconnection from the historic vehicles of our formation is leaving us with less of the resilience, wisdom, and maturity needed to thrive right when we need it the most.
Discipleship means more than going to church on Sundays, but it cannot mean anything less. Two essential ingredients of healthy belonging are obligation and sacrifice – two of the things we fight against the most. Our greatest good is found in pursuing our neighbor’s good. One of the Vital Signs of a healthy church is a community that comes together for the Breaking of Bread.
4)The fourth Vital Sign of the Church is PRAYER. These early Christians devoted themselves to prayer. Luke is referring to specific times of prayer. The Jewish tradition had set times during the day when people would stop what they were doing and pray. Do you ever stop what you are doing in the middle of the day to pray? Prayer has always been an important part of our communal life whenever believers gather together.
Today, we hear more secular people and people of other religions talking about mindfulness and meditation, but there are some differences. Tim Keller once said, “The goal of Eastern religion and the goal of Eastern meditation is to help you see that you and God are the same, whereas the goal of Christian meditation is to show you that you and God are utterly different. The problem you’re trying to address in Christian meditation is you really don’t realize how holy He is, how loving He is, and how wise He is. In Eastern meditation, the whole idea is to find yourself; in
Christian meditation it’s to find God. In Eastern meditation, to find the sameness between you and God; in Christian meditation, to find the utter difference in which is the great glory and comfort of the Christian faith.”
5)As a result of these 4 elements – teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer, you could say that a 5th Vital Sign of the Church is FAITH IN ACTION. V. 43–47 tell us that A) People saw signs and wonders taking place. B) People voluntarily sold their property and their possessions to meet the needs of their members. C) They had a deep love and concern for each other. And D) They experienced joy together. The early Church was winsome. People wanted to be a part of it. E) So, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This was evangelism and mission in action.
We know that institutions are far from perfect and the Church is no exception. But at our best, we are a place where the Spirit of God is on the move, forming and shaping us into the image of Christ through belief, behaviors, and belonging – through relationships and rituals, that help us find our meaning. Churches are not free from conflict, but at our best, we are places where iron sharpens iron.
4)The fourth Vital Sign of the Church is PRAYER. These early Christians devoted themselves to prayer. Luke is referring to specific times of prayer. The Jewish tradition had set times during the day when people would stop what they were doing and pray. Do you ever stop what you are doing in the middle of the day to pray? Prayer has always been an important part of our communal life whenever believers gather together.
Today, we hear more secular people and people of other religions talking about mindfulness and meditation, but there are some differences. Tim Keller once said, “The goal of Eastern religion and the goal of Eastern meditation is to help you see that you and God are the same, whereas the goal of Christian meditation is to show you that you and God are utterly different. The problem you’re trying to address in Christian meditation is you really don’t realize how holy He is, how loving He is, and how wise He is. In Eastern meditation, the whole idea is to find yourself; in
Christian meditation it’s to find God. In Eastern meditation, to find the sameness between you and God; in Christian meditation, to find the utter difference in which is the great glory and comfort of the Christian faith.”
5)As a result of these 4 elements – teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer, you could say that a 5th Vital Sign of the Church is FAITH IN ACTION. V. 43–47 tell us that A) People saw signs and wonders taking place. B) People voluntarily sold their property and their possessions to meet the needs of their members. C) They had a deep love and concern for each other. And D) They experienced joy together. The early Church was winsome. People wanted to be a part of it. E) So, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This was evangelism and mission in action.
We know that institutions are far from perfect and the Church is no exception. But at our best, we are a place where the Spirit of God is on the move, forming and shaping us into the image of Christ through belief, behaviors, and belonging – through relationships and rituals, that help us find our meaning. Churches are not free from conflict, but at our best, we are places where iron sharpens iron.
Churches are not places to come to affirm everything about who you think you are, or to agree with everything you think you already believe.
Churches are places where we are challenged to think differently from the world, to believe differently from our culture, and to act differently from society. If you believe in a God Who agrees with everything you are doing, you’ve probably made a god in your own image. The Church needs to counter the unhealthy beliefs and consequences of the Expressive Individualism in our society today. If we want to be a strong, healthy church, we need to be marked by the same Vital Signs that marked the Church at its beginning in Acts 2.
Which ones do we need to lean into more? Do we need more 1)Teaching, more 2)Fellowship, more 3)Breaking Bread, or more 4)Prayer, resulting in more 5)Winsome faith in action? Which area is the Spirit nudging you to spend more time in? Each one of these elements is important to our own spiritual growth and the life and health of the Church. These are the rituals and the practices that shape us into the kind of community God wants us to be. Jesus said, “Upon this Rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” We have a bright future. The Spirit is on the move. And Christ is setting the table for something special that God will do next.
Rev. Dr. Clark Cowden, Interim Senior Pastor
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church
Indianapolis, IN