The church of us vs. them

I finished David Fitch's book 'The Church of Us vs. Them: Freedom From A Faith That Feeds on Making Enemies' a couple weeks ago. I liked it. I thought it really helped inform his latest book (Reckoning With Power), and in many ways I found it much more helpful. I don't know if I was just out of the loop at the time, or if this was another 'covid casualty' (it came out in 2019) but I am surprised I didn't hear more about it. It was really informative as to how and why Evangelicalism is struggling so. Ultimately, I liked this book!

Anyhew, here's part of the blurb from Amazon:

Claiming that the church has lost itself in the grip of an antagonistic culture, David Fitch takes a close look at what drives the vitriol in our congregations. He traces the enemy-making patterns in church history and diagnoses the divisiveness that marks the contemporary evangelical church. Fitch shows a way for the church to be true to itself, unwinding the antagonisms of our day and making space for Christ's reconciling presence in our day-to-day lives. He offers new patterns and practices that move the church beyond making enemies to being the presence of Christ in the world, helping us free ourselves from a faith that feeds on division.

Below I will share just a few highlights for my own purposes...

For some time he's been a proponent of the evils of "ideology." I admit, I never fully understood what he meant. On pp. 30-33 he says:

"...belief minus practice equals (almost always) ideology."

"One sure 'tell' that a distinctive has become a banner is that it stops referring to anything real that affects how we live on a day-to-day basis. Instead, it is now a symbol for who or what we are against."

"They gather people around an idea that no longer has definite, concrete meaning. It does not refer to anything specific. Instead, people can fill that in themselves and rally around it."

"Can this banner make sense apart from describing who or what the banner is against?"

P. 115

"After returning from the refugee camps, Tom saw that the missionary's way of thinking about salvation misses the point [the need to make 'a decision' for Christ]. If Jesus Christ is now ruling over all things, then peace, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and renewal are breaking out wherever he is recognized. It's not necessarily that people are going to hell if we don't get to them in time; rather, it's that all these people and places are missing out on the greatest possible news in this world of pain, sin, hate, evil, and violence. I must go and be present in their lives so that I can point out to them, when it is obvious, that Jesus is at work in their brokenness and that he comes to save and heal."

"Proclaiming the good news does not make enemies. It reveals enemies."

PP. 144-145

"To say Jesus is Lord is to say he rules over the whole world. His politics is the world's politics too; they just don't know it yet."

"Jesus does rule over the whole world, but he rules through his presence becoming manifest through the witness of the church."

P. 149

"The way God works to change the world is first to inhabit a people with his justice, showing the world what it looks like, and then engage the world, challenge the world, and invite them to do the same." 

***P. 152

"All this means that the difference between Christians and the world is not a spatial one; it's an eschatological one. It's not an us-vs.-them difference. It's a matter of timing. There are not two spaces: the space of the ones who are 'in' and the ones who are 'out.' Rather, the church is already where the world is heading; the world just doesn't know it yet. We are living the kingdom ahead of time. We are the first fruits of a harvest that shall be fully gathered in the future. We are against no one. Despite appearances, the world is not our enemy. We are just ahead of them. This church is the space beyond enemies, the church beyond us vs. them."

***PP.155-156

"The answer to these questions requires that we again distinguish between making enemies and revealing enemies. The very presence of Christ disrupts a social context and reveals enemies. Jesus acknowledged as much when he said, 'I have not come to bring peace, but a sword' (Matt. 10:34). But the sword, we remember, is not a violent sword but the sword of his Word. His very presence, accompanied by his persuasive Word, reveals enemies for the purpose of making space for the unwinding of antagonisms, for presence, healing, and restored relationship with God and one another."

"Antagonisms, chaos, hate, vitriol, and violence are all signs of the enemy at work. They are the source of his power. And yet Satan disguises it all in the name of piety and self-righteousness. But Satan is revealed in the unanxious presence of the living Lord."

"One night, amid the flames and bullets, the violence and hate, the members of Koinonia Farm asked themselves, Is it time to leave? Clarence Jordan answered, 'Shall we go off and leave them without hope? We have too many enemies to leave them.' Jordan was saying, ironically, the enemies of Christ have been revealed through our presence. Now that we know they are enemies, we cannot leave them. We must invite our enemies into reconciliation, forgiveness, restoration, and being loved. This is the way God shall heal the world. This is the space beyond us vs. them."

P. 163

"We will move from churches as efficient and effective organizations to churches as patient places that cultivate the kingdom."

As you can see, there is A LOT of good stuff there. Good, and for me at least, quite difficult. So difficult, in fact, that I'm going to need a huge dose of grace and presence with the Lord to ever be able to muster this myself.

Thus... the need for... the church.