What does it mean for the church to be the church? What does "community" look like? What does it mean that we are the Body of Christ? What kind of questions should we ask when looking for a church to settle in? Have we transferred our democratic and consumeristic values wholesale into our church communities?
On the latter question, at least, I think we have reason to be concerned about the "democritization" of the church. For I wonder how much we relate (unknowingly) to the church primarily as consumers, as opposed to "members of the Body." Perhaps we should here listen to John F. Kennedy's admonition and ask "not what the church can do for us, but what we can do for the church." To put it another way, ask not what Christ can do for us, but what we can do for Christ; pray not that God would grant us fulfillment, but that we would fulfill God's desires.
But what if we find ourselves in the church with a community that doesn't "fit our personality?" Here it seems useful to recall the principle in the second greatest commandment: namely, to care for the person that we find ourselves right next to (love your neighbor as you love yourself). It is both an immensely liberating and an eminently challenging truth--liberating in that it sets us free from the tyranny of having to save the whole world, and challenging in that we are called to love the difficult mother-in-law, annoying co-worker, bossy boss, and messy roomate. Social justice is sexy; justice in our college dorm room is somehow less provactive. Caring for orphans in Africa is easy; loving the pesky little brother can be difficult.
We find ourselves all the time living, working, eating, playing, philosophizing, planning, and leading with people who don't fit our personality profile. Christ's call to the church is to be the church in all of its cultural and personal differences. We are witnesses to a peacable kingdom whose citizens are bound together not by personality traits or cultural movements, but by Christ. Christ draws us together, and by some mystery, calls us His Body. The church is not a row of competing stores selling spirituality products. The church is His Body.
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3 comments:
David, you make a wonderful argument. For the most part, I completely agree. But I am left with some questions that I have failed to answer after wrestling with them myself for some time now.
Should you just drop into the first church that you visit then? Or is there a place for careful planning and finding a good match, like in choosing a spouse. It's not done haphazardly (or at least I hope it's not!). Prayerful consideration goes into other large decisions, what about in choosing a church? If you have access to 12 churches within your immediate vicinity, which one should you attend and serve in?
Any insight that anyone could share would be greatly appreciated.
Zachary
David. I'm here on your Blog!
Via ZC, via Stephanie Dosch!
I am sorry to keep banging on the Bohoeffer drum, but this is his point here:
Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients.
We thank God for giving us brethren who live by his call, by his forgiveness, and his promise. We do not complain of what God does not give us; we rather thank God for what he does give us daily.
And is not what has been given us enough: brothers, who will go on living with us through sin and need under the blessing of his grace? Is the divine gift of Christian fellowship anything less than this, any day, even the most difficult and distressing day?
Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the communal life, is not the sinning brother still a brother, with whom I, too, stand under the Word of Christ? Will not his sin be a constant occasion for me to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love of God in Christ Jesus? Thus, the very hour of disillusionment with my brother becomes incomparably salutary, because it so thoroughly teaches me that neither of us can ever live by our own words and deeds, but only by the one Word and Deed which really binds us together--the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ.
When the morning mists of dreams vanish, then dawns the bright day of Christian fellowship . . .
David -- I wrote about this once before: Here.
I don't mean to people away from your very fine thoughts!
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