I'm hardly a socialist; as noted in previous posts, my personal politics tend very much toward the conservative side. Particularly on economic matters -- I'm a free-marketer, a Hayekian, a capitalist pig, whatever you want to call it. I'm skeptical of the efficacy of government-based welfare programs, hence my remark that the church-based, grassroots ministry of the early Christians would've been seriously diminished by bureaucratic interference.

Neither do I consider myself a "church socialist," in the sense that you seem to refer. An earlier post had faulted evangelicals for lack of social ministries -- we can often be so concerned with the hereafter that we neglect the here-and-now -- and I largely conceded that point. I don't think that the modern American church should or could seek to establish a system similar to the one described in Acts, but I do think that its engagement in ministries to address the physical and financial needs of the poor and needy very often lacks vitality. "Pure and undefiled religion is this: to care for widows and orphans in their distress..." I have no statistics on the level of personal giving (whether it be direct tithes to the church or donations to charities and social ministries) among American evangelicals. While it's probably reasonably high in a comparative sense, I'm willing to venture that it's much lower than we -- we, who are instructed to share generously and freely and to store up our treasure in heaven -- ought to be giving. Paul declares that "they'll know we are Christians by our love," and by that he means, in part, the demonstrated love of giving and sharing of incomes. Does American society know that evangelicals are Christians because of their love? Or just because of their noisy engagement in the political sphere?

And as always, I'm indicting myself, too. Though I do tithe, uh, religiously, my charitable donations beyond that aren't nearly what they could or should be. A few less trips to Starbucks or a bit of self-denial at Target could easily translate into lined coffers for Habitat for Humanity or Bread for the World or my local soup kitchen. But I digress; this is a subject eminently suitable for a sermon, much less so for a thread topic.