My experience of church is extending well beyond anything I have previously experienced in 28 years as a disciple of Jesus. What’s amazing is that this is not just my experience; it is shared by our church, by my City Group, by our city. And, no doubt, by some of you.
Too Mature for Community?
The level of authentic confession of sin, persistent belief in the gospel, love for one another, and sharing of life and mission is remarkable. This is not naive community; it is redemptive community, a community of grace that holds in common brokenness and belief, failure and success, repentance and faith. As one of our people shared during our gathering on Sunday, “You are never too spiritually mature for community.”
Too Community-centered?
Indeed, community should be common fare in the church, and I’m not talking about “fellowship”, just hanging out or feeling like you have friends. If we are not careful, our longing for and experience of community can subtly displace the gospel. Biblical community is much, much more than this. Biblical community is significant, not because it makes you feel significant but because it recognizes that Jesus is our common source of significance. The gospel, not people, becomes the means to the end of our identity. Our sense of acceptance flows from our relationship with Christ, which in turn frees us to love and serve one another, not secretly judge, demand or ostracize. We become a one anothering community, freed by the gospel, to love and serve each other. We are equally never too spiritually mature for the gospel.
Making the Gospel Central, Really
As Graham Beynon puts it: “We are to be teaching each other the gospel, to be correcting each other about the gospel with all wisdom, to be singing about the gospel with gratitude and so letting it dwell richly among us. When we come to church on a Sunday, or to our small group meeting during the week, we should come saying to ourselves, ‘I hope I will be reminded of the gospel in this meeting. I hope I will be taught about it and corrected in my understanding of it. I hope we will sing about it.” ~ God’s New Community, 119.
Does your church, your community, your small group, your missional community gather in anticipation of being reminded of the gospel, corrected in the gospel, motivated by the gospel, to sing of the gospel? If not, what can you do to reshape community expectations around the gospel, not community? Have you become too mature for community or too community centered for the gospel? Consider how to make the gospel central and community will follow.
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February 27, 2009 at 6:39 am
Stephen
It’s quite interesting that you point out the danger of non-biblical community. In South Africa we have the African concept of ‘Ubuntu’ which basically says that one’s identity is formed by who they are in relationship with. Now a lot of the more progressive/emerging church guys here have sought to adopt and absorb the ubuntu concept but they haven’t seen the inherent danger where truth becomes subordinated to relationship. So for example, if you have a relationship with a rural Black African man in South Africa and he in some way wrongs you – say for example through an act of theft – When you confront him about his stealing he will most likely lie to you and deny the theft. But not primarily because he’s trying to cover himself rather he conceals the truth to maintain the relationship – so strong is his concept of ubuntu that truth is subservient to relationship. So whilst Ubuntu has much to commend itself it also, at its core, has an element that can’t be reconciled to the gospel.
I’ve detected a similar trend to this in my reading of some emergent/missional literature where its not really truth in community (ala Total Church) but rather community over truth. I think John Piper expressed this same sentiment after his now infamous meet up with Tony Jones.
As I’m in the process of guiding a church plant where we’re trying to hold hold our conservative reformed evangelical theology in balance with a community-orientated missional approach to life and culture I think this is one of the dangers I, and others, need to be aware of. So thanks for bringing it up.
February 27, 2009 at 8:20 am
Sam Groves
Great post, and great comment Stephen.
February 27, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Jonathan Dodson
Thanks for sharing the pressing challenges of biblical community in S. Africa, Stephen. The concept of ubuntu probably has some quasi-equivalents in many cultures. For instance, lying about books you’ve read in your book club in order to feel accepted by fellow readers, etc. In a community staved or saturated culture, community can become a functional idol.
February 27, 2009 at 5:23 pm
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February 28, 2009 at 7:47 am
John
Stephen, good comment – one further thing about the difference between Ubuntu and biblical community is that Ubuntu without all the romanticism can be a very shallow, surface thing – often you do not do the right thing because it comes from the heart (a heart moulded and shaped by the Biblical truth), which is what Jesus calls us to. But because it is what is expected of you, whether you actually are pleased about it or not. Whether you want to or not. The gospel call is far deeper than Ubuntu… In fact even the tax collectors and sinners may be said to practise Ubuntu.
Have said that I have some friends who are wonderful examples of the spirit of Ubuntu, but not because they are Xhosa (for example) but because they are Christians, firstly and Xhosa second.
April 3, 2009 at 11:46 pm
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