You should meet my friend, Nathan. He’s the strongest man I know – and it’s not just because he lifts weights. It’s because he’s part of a movement that defines his entire life.
He’s a CrossFitter through and through. Before you even ask, he’ll tell you about his latest WOD (Workout of the Day) with the enthusiasm of someone who’s just discovered the secret to eternal life.
His identity is wrapped up in this community, this discipline. You can’t meet him without hearing about his next gym session or his personal bests – and noticing he’s ripped.
CrossFit isn’t just what Nathan does; it’s who he is.
What if the church had something like that – a practice, as defining and transformative as Nathan’s CrossFit, that shaped not just our bodies but our souls?
Elements of a Cultural Movement
What makes CrossFit – or any popular movement – so compelling?
Whether it’s CrossFit, the early church, or the Civil Rights Movement, the most transformative movements share key traits. There are a few essential elements:
1️⃣ A Defining Habit: A single practice that shapes everything.
- CrossFit has the WOD (Workout of the Day).
- The Early Church had the agape feast, where believers shared meals and lived out their faith.
- The Civil Rights Movement practiced nonviolent resistance, shaping its followers through disciplined action.
2️⃣ A Tight-Knit Community: A shared mission that forges deep bonds.
- AA & 12-Step Programs build tight-knit groups centered on accountability and shared identity.
- The Early Church was a family, not an institution—gathering in homes, sharing resources, and praying together.
3️⃣ A Clear Identity: A way of life that makes you distinct.
- A CrossFitter doesn’t just exercise—they are a CrossFitter.
- Civil Rights activists didn’t just protest—they embodied justice and faith in action.
- The early Christians didn’t just believe in Jesus; they lived in a radically different way that set them apart.
4️⃣ Public Visibility: A movement so bold, the world can’t ignore it.
- Spartan Racers compete in major events and post their achievements online.
- Civil Rights leaders marched in the streets, drawing national attention.
- Early Christians were known for their radical generosity and love, even under persecution.
These are what make a movement attractive – and contagious.
Every powerful movement has a defining practice.
What if the church reclaimed its own – the agape feast, the shared table, the habit that once shaped our Christian identity?
The Modern Church Needs a Better Habit
The modern church has tried many strategies to stay relevant – bigger buildings, better programs, even watering down the message to fit culture.
But none of these form us. None of them shape our identity like CrossFit’s daily workouts or the early church’s agape feast.
Without a core practice, faith becomes something we consume, not something we live. And Christians risk losing what makes us distinct.
Think about your church. What makes you, you?
Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it.”
So what is the ancient path? It’s not another church-growth strategy – it’s Communion.
Jesus told His disciples at the Last Supper: “This is a new covenant…” and “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
Do what? Break bread. Drink wine. Be united at the table by faith.
This wasn’t just their tradition – it was their way of life. Every week, they gathered around the table, breaking bread as an act of faith in Christ.
Imagine if that’s what your church was best known for – what if hospitality toward your neighbors was at the heart of your identity?
This is the vision of The Communion Revolution – not just reviving a meal, but restoring the habit that once defined Christian life.
The ancient path won’t be found in new strategies, but in old practices – like the agape feast.
And reviving it might actually be worthy of the enthusiasm of someone who’s just discovered the secret to eternal life.
The Agape Feast: Christianity’s Origin Story
Your table can be a place where faith isn’t just discussed but lived out.
That’s how it was in the early church.
They shared a meal – believers from all walks of life sat as equals, breaking down societal barriers.
They were a spiritual family – hospitality turned strangers into brothers and sisters in Christ.
They stood as a witness to the world – a community built on love rather than power, which left outsiders in awe.
This wasn’t just a ritual – it was the heartbeat of the Christian life.
Jesus at the Table
If a movement is shaped by a defining habit, then what was Jesus’ habit?
Jesus didn’t just preach from a pulpit – He shared meals. With sinners, tax collectors, and Pharisees alike, He used the table to reveal God’s heart.
He broke bread with those society shunned – tax collectors and sinners – showing that God’s Kingdom is one of radical openness (Luke 5:29-32).
He challenged religious hypocrisy over dinner, embodying truth in community (Luke 11:37-45).
He fed thousands, illustrating God’s abundant provision and care (Mark 6:30-44).
Even for His disciples, recognizing Jesus after His resurrection came not just in words but in the act of eating together:
- in Emmaus (Luke 24:30-31),
- back in Jerusalem (Luke 24:41-43), and
- on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:12).
At the Last Supper, Jesus made it clear to His followers: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
He wasn’t just giving them a meal – He was giving them a defining practice.
📖In The Communion Revolution, we explore 10 stories where Jesus’ table fellowship changed lives. Get It For FREE.
The Early Church’s Commitment to Hospitality
The early church took Jesus seriously. They lived like He did.
- Acts 2:46 — “They gathered in homes, sharing meals with glad and sincere hearts.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:33 – “When you gather to eat, you should all eat together.”
The agape feast was radically counter-cultural in a Roman world divided by class and status.
Rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, men and women – all sat at the same table, a living testament to the Kingdom of God.
No one had ever seen anything like this before.
Every single week, they shared this meal – a way of life built on hospitality, prayer, and community.
This was the defining habit of the early Christian movement.
Even Roman officials noticed how central this meal was to Christian life.
📜Pliny the Younger, writing to Emperor Trajan in the early 2nd century, reported that Christians met “on a fixed day” to share a common meal – one marked by love and generosity, not conspiracy or rebellion.
Early Christian writers captured its essence:
📜 Justin Martyr (2nd century)
“On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place… After the prayers, bread and wine are brought, and the presider gives thanks..” (First Apology, Ch. 67)
📜 Tertullian (2nd-3rd century)
“Our feast shows its motive by its name. It is called by the Greek term agapé, which means ‘love.’” (Apology, Ch. 39)
📜 Clement of Alexandria (2nd century)
“It is altogether unfitting to have feasts where some are drunken and others hungry. The Lord’s Supper should be taken with reverence, in simplicity, and in equality.” (Paedagogus, 2.1)
📜 Cyprian of Carthage (3rd century)
“The table of the Lord is not divided by rank – it is open to all who believe.”
At the Lord’s table, status meant nothing – only love and unity mattered.
What if the church reclaimed that same radical hospitality today? Could it help bring us together too?
The Communion Revolution is a call to return to Christianity’s origin story.
Christians are table people. We flourish in table communities, and table fellowship is what we should be best at.
It’s time to revive the practice that can renew our faith and bring us back together.
The Rise and Fall of the Agape Feast
If the agape feast was so powerful, so transformative, why did it vanish? How could something that fueled the early church’s unstoppable rise just… fade away?
As Christianity grew, the very practice that united believers started to fracture under human sin.
Let’s be real – binding people together around a table isn’t easy, and it never has been.
In fact, the New Testament itself doesn’t shy away from calling out abuses in the agape feast.
📖 Paul didn’t mince words in 1 Corinthians 11:20-22:
“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for the others. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in?”
📖 Jude 12 piled on the warning:
“These people are blemishes at your agape feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm – shepherds who feed only themselves.”
Even in the early church, greed crept in – some gorged themselves while others went hungry. Drunkenness tainted the table. What was meant to be a sacred act of communal love became a tool for status and division.
The meal that once shocked the Roman world by smashing social barriers? In some places, it had started rebuilding them, and it began to crumble under the weight of human selfishness.
📜 St. John Chrysostom, in the 4th century, thundered against this betrayal:
“You disgrace the church of God by treating the poor with contempt at the very table of love. The Lord’s Supper is meant to unite, not divide.”
The agape feast didn’t fail because the meal itself was flawed – it faltered because we forgot how to do it like Jesus did, with love, humility, and grace.
Over time, the church shifted the focus on the Eucharist away from the table to the altar – changing it from a shared meal to a ritual performed by clergy.
Later, the emphasis shifted again – from the altar to the pulpit, centering Sunday worship on the sermon rather than the communal practice of the agape feast.
Today, in many churches, the focus is on the stage – where performance often overshadows participation.
Slowly, what was once the church’s heartbeat – the meal that made the Kingdom visible – was stripped away. And in the process, the table was lost.
Reviving the Agape Feast Today
If table fellowship fueled the early church, it can ignite renewal now. But restoring it isn’t just about gathering to eat – it’s about learning to live like Jesus did.
That’s what The Communion Revolution is all about. In the book, I unpack 10 lessons you can learn from Jesus’ table – practical virtues that will transform your gatherings.
The Abide Course takes it even further, guiding you step-by-step to build a thriving spiritual family around your table with:
✅ A contemplative vision to shape your agape feast.
✅ Community-building skills to turn your meals into discipleship.
✅ Hospitality that echoes Christ’s grace.
This isn’t nostalgia; it’s a blueprint for revival – and it’s within reach.
The church doesn’t need more programs or stages – it needs deeper relationships.
The agape feast isn’t just a relic of the past – it’s the habit that can renew the church today, turning faith into something lived out, not just confessed.
It’s time to bring the church back to the table.
Join the Revolution
For centuries, the agape feast was Christianity’s heartbeat. You don’t need permission to bring it back–just an open table and heart.
The table’s calling. Church renewal starts with you. Be part of the movement!
📖 Read the Book – FREE: Download The Communion Revolution & rediscover what the church was meant to be.
🍽️ Take the First Step: This week, invite just one person to your table. Let’s bring the church back home.
📣 Join the Movement: Share this post with someone who needs to see it. Let’s start the conversation.
Next Up
We’ll explore the 2nd pillar of The Communion Revolution in “Modern Discipleship Is Failing – Abide Fixes It.”