Spiritually, the Church continues to exist in love as one body of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. Christians develop in the faith to walk in love as God intended (John 13: 34 - 35 & Matthew 5: 13 - 16). However, with increased secular knowledge, Church leaders tend to focus on dogmatic doctrines, charismatic gifts, and legal existence as business entities to the detriment of the gospel. Fewer members of Church congregations are having the spiritual experience of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to truly walk in love. At the same time, Church congregations tend to be focusing less on their charitable institutional roles. A return to the first century house Church practice of the faith for discipleship and accountability to one another is imperative to link spiritual development of Christians with the virtuous institutional roles of the Church. The link is necessary for the Church to remain effective in the society today, avoid confusing the work of faith with the love of money, and ensure profitable congregational experiences. Every Christian need spiritual experience of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to be fruitful.
Joshua Odetunde grew up in a Christian home, seeing Christian faith as the normal way of life. His formal education and work experiences in Environmental Studies, Real Estate, and Public Policy and Administration alongside Bible and Christian education underscores his unique approach in this Christian literature. The passion for the poor is born from work-life experiences spanning across public., private, and nonprofit sectors in low-income communities as opposed to teaching and research in college institutions or working in other elite institutions here in the United States. It led to the founding of a nonprofit organization in Louisville Kentucky.
