(The problem was not that people who aren't a part of our church showed up - that is GREAT. The problem is that not many from our church were there).
I know I didn’t give much notice. And I said it was for people who didn’t have anything else to do. But… you know, that’s a problem we have: the people in my church just don’t like to get together with one another. Oh, we can TOLERATE each other… for an hour once a week. But there is no social interaction; no fellowship; no sense of community. And the truth is, it's not just "my" church that's guilty.
When I look at the Bible, especially the book of Acts, it seems to me community was the very essence of what being a follower of God/Christ was all about. It is what made the church the church. They met together daily, broke bread together in homes, praised God together, went out together, and on and on. God showed up in their midst.
What really frustrates me is that I feel like I have talked to our leaders over and over about our need to work on this sort of thing. Guess how many were there? Notta one. I know some people had very legitimate reasons for not being there. But that’s the problem… there always seem to be good reasons to avoid fellowship… discipleship… worship… ministry… and everything else that SHOULD be important to us. I’m not pointing fingers at anyone. I just don't know what to do anymore.
I think what it does is it castrates the church. I believe this, more than anything else, is what keeps the church from being the church. It hinders our effectiveness. It limits God’s work. It is a roadblock to the mission of Jesus. It gives the finger to the Holy Spirit. It gives in to things like self-centeredness, pride, jealousy, laziness, and a whole host of other "character flaws."
Well, I know the answer is Jesus. I'm just not sure how to fit it in. And maybe that's the real problem - we think it's all about trying to fit Jesus into our lives. I think what he wants is for us to surrender our lives to him - completely and wholly - and follow where he leads us.
7 comments:
What you say may be true but as you say the 4th isn't probably a good example. I also think we need to be careful about our expectations of community today. Perhaps it's possible for people to be involved in several more community circles than in the past. Is that okay or do we need to limit our relationships to just one community? For example, I spent yesterday with a group of people we connect with because we all worked in another country together. I do think my church community should be my primary community but that doesn't mean I can't be involved with others.
I also assume this means we will see you the next time your "community" gathers over at the softball field. :-) OK, that was a cheap shot.
Jesus hung out with 12 guys the majority of the time. Sure He taught a lot of people, healed lots of people, and was available to everyone. But He chose to "hang out" with just 12.
There's something to that I think.
You raise an interesting point. I have some random observations but no answers:
1) People were brought together in the early church by their excitement for the Good News about Jesus as Christ. They wanted to get together and talk about the revolution going on - how the entire world had changed by His life and resurrection. How many of us can say church, and more accurately the Gospel, "excites" us any more? Most of us grew up within Christianity, so we know about grace, we know about salvation, but it is almost like we just take it for granted. We don't have the excitement of the early church, nor even the heartfelt wonder of Luther at the grace of God. So when we get together with other "church people", it isn't to exclaim about our salvation, it is to talk some Godtalk and/or natter along in safe small talk.
2) I presume the early conversions weren't a purely random distribution of the population. We read of "whole households" (family, servants, slaves) being converted. We may be talking "family" units bigger than the entire attendance at your July 4th get-together. All those people would already know each other. So "a family" showing up at church then may have been bigger than one now. And that doesn't count the autonomy we give kids now days ([Parent] "We're going to a church picnic...Want to come?" [Teen barely looking up from XBox] "Nah, sounds boring.")
3) We are commanded to be in fellowship with each other, and that may be the hardest thing to do. It seems like it is easier in some weird sense to do missional work and love someone you don't know, like a homeless person at a food pantry, who obviously needs help and care, than to have to be friends with fellow congregants who we kinda sort know, flaws and alls, and with whom we are thrust together solely through the accident of which church we attend. It's like the old saw about family being that group of people who, when you have to go there, they have to let you in (whether they want to or not, and whether you want to go or not). I think a lot of us feel the same way about church.
That isn't to say I think we should only create churches out of family and existing friends. That would leave a lot of people on the outside. But on the other hand, think about every friendship you've ever made in your life. Sure, they may be created within an artificial situation where the two of you were thrust together through no choice of your own - work, school, etc. But the point is you end up with A friend or a small group of friends. You usually don't end up being friends with every single person at your job or school. Yet in some way that's what we're told to do with church.
And it's hard, because we're all trying to be "nice". Most/many church gatherings would not be the kinda place where you could pop open a brewski and put your feet up and belch after the BBQ in contentment. No, we must all be on our best behavior, our kids have to be perfect, etc. So we watch what we say, keep checking on the children and make superficial small talk and a bit of gossip. Not exactly the environment where I am going to find my newest best friend.
None of the above is meant to be coherent - just thoughts that popped in my head due to your post that I wanted to set down here (especially since you were complaining about no comments the other day :-).
Jim
I got as far as the word "castrates" before I closed my laptop and set it out at the curb.
Tom,
I agree, we don't need to be limited to one community. I am referring to 'primary.' And I'm just going to ignore the softball remark. I have likely pissed off enough people already.
Shawna,
It's certainly hard to argue with that. Thanks for the input!
Jim,
Wow, you make some excellent observations. And like you say in #3 - being in fellowship together may be the hardest part. That is exactly my point here. Thanks for sharing!
MR,
What did you say your address was again? Oh... it's probably gone already. drats.
Jim--
I think your part about the fact that the early church had whole family conversions etc is exactly my point.
"Church" tries too hard to make people be friends. There are some people you are going to hang out with, and some you're not. And that's ok. We are still called to love, serve, and be there for those we may not enjoy being around, but I don't think the Bible teaches we must be best friends with them.
We just have to be open to the Holy Spirit and when He leads someone across our path whom He feels we need to reach out to, we should be ready and willing.
We should fellowship with each other because we desire to, not because we have to. Just like we should love God because we desire to, not because we have to. We shouldn't push people to do things they don't want to do.
Shawna:
I agree. The interesting thing is it is hard to distinguish "fellowship" from "friendship" in most people's heads. Perhaps the former leads to the latter, but not consistently, and that's where the friction arises, I think.
Dan:
Your post and its comments thread were part of a set of triggers that led to my latest post. Comments appreciated.
Jim
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