When we picture community in the church we usually think about sitting in a safe, comfortable home with our small group laughing and hanging out together. And that’s a good thing. We need that! But I often wonder if real community can only happen when we get off the couch and get into the lives of people and risk something for the gospel.
Alan Hirsch calls this communitas–the next level of community where individuals come together in a common mission that may include suffering and opposition. His thoughts are compelling:
What do you think? Do you agree with Hirsch? Can real community (communitas) happen without moving into the lives of people outside the church?
A good, needed word from Josh Harris about how to come to church:
1. Come Eager to sing to him, fellowship with other Christians, hear his word.
2. Come Expectant that he will speak, change us and refresh us.
3. Come Early —not walking in late, but in our seats and ready to go [when the service starts].
…in the past couple years I’ve become convinced that perhaps nothing is so important for your walk with the Lord as good friends. I think God gives us good friends as sacraments—means of grace given to us as indices of God’s presence and conduits for our sanctification. While “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24), that same Friend send us friends to help make his presence tangible and concrete. Nothing continues the incarnation like Christian friendship.
That is a question we all answer with our actions and choices, if not our words.
Is it with those who share my tastes, my style, my ethnicity, my status (marital, financial, social, intellectual or otherwise), my gender, my age, my politics, my parenting choices, my hobbies, or my affinities?
I like the answer of Martin Luther (as quoted in What Luther Says):
I want to be and remain in the church and among the little flock in which there are timid, weak, and ailing people who recognize and feel their sin, plight, and misery, who sincerely sigh and cry to God without ceasing for comfort and help, and who believe in the forgiveness of sins and are persecuted for the sake of the Word, which they teach and confess in purity and without adulteration.
Essentially, Luther says, he wants to be in a church that loves the Gospel and hopes in Christ. To which I add, Amen!
Start playing around with this principle: ’If you wouldn’t do it as a family, then you shouldn’t do it as a church.’ It does not always work. Families do not submerge members under water and they do not recruit new members–although good families are welcoming and inclusive. But give it a try and see where it takes you. Then have a go with: ‘If you do it in a family, then you can do it as a church.’
What comes to your mind? Eating, serving, sharing, sacrificing …
This is a stirring post for parents who wonder why their kids are apathetic about the Church. No doubt there are many reasons why young people are leaving the Church, but I think Scott Linscott is right on when he says, “When I look for someone to blame I head into the restroom and look into a mirror. Yupp, there he is. I blame him. That parent looking back at me is where I have to start.”
Here are his 5 Keys to Making Your Kids Apathetic About Faith:
Put academic pursuits above faith-building activities.
Chase the gold ball first and foremost.
Teach your kid that the dollar is almighty.
Refuse to acknowledge that the primary motivating force in kids’ lives is relationship.
Model apathy in your own life.
I encourage you to check out how he fleshes out each one of these here.
Drew Dixon gives four suggestions on making the most of our Sunday morning gatherings. I resonated with this one, in particular:
Talk to people — it’s difficult to “stir each other up” when we are mere spectators at church and are not utilizing this time to build relationships. Some of my very best friends are members of our church, but sometimes I have to make a point not to spend all my time talking to them at church. At church, I want to make a point to talk to people who I do not know as well. Those who I am very close to will still be my friend if I don’t spend all my time at church talking to them and there are many wonderful, mutually encouraging relationships that can be built in our church if we will just step out of our comfort zone and talk to the people we don’t know as well. Our church is small but just big enough for folks to fall in the cracks and miss out on mutually encouraging relationships. Be intentional in your communication with people when we gather for corporate worship. Instead of blaming others for their lack of interaction with you—why not seek them out. You will only get out of church what you are willing to put into it.
“A while back a former gang member came to our church. He was heavily tattooed and rough around the edges, but he was curious to see what church was like. He had a relationship with Jesus and seemed to get fairly involved with the church. After a few months, I found out the guy was no longer coming to the church. When asked why he didn’t come anymore, he gave the following explanation: ‘I had the wrong idea of what church was going to be like. When I joined the church, I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. You see, in the gangs we weren’t just nice to each other once a week – we were family.’ That killed me because I knew that what he expected is what the church is intended to be. It saddened me to think that a gang could paint a better picture of commitment, loyalty, and family than the local church body.” (152)
