Church as a Redemptive Community

If you've ever vacationed along Florida's panhandle coast, you’ve probably seen what Time magazine calls possibly "the most astounding design achievement of its era…" Prince Charles raved about it and the Walt Disney Company wanted to copy it. The focus of all this admiration is the charming, Victorian-style town of Seaside, which has been described as the ideal community. It was designed to revive a bygone era when neighbourhoods were composed of people who were involved in each other's lives.

 

Seaside is a delightful place to visit. But if you are looking for over-the-fence neighbourliness, you'll have to look elsewhere. You see, despite what the planners thought were all the right ingredients, Seaside has failed to produce the sense of community originally envisioned. That's because, just as it takes more than a house to make a home, it takes more than buildings to make a community.

 

Seaside was launched in the early 1980s as an alternative to the anonymity of modern-day living; it was intended to bring people together into meaningful relationships. The role of the automobile was downplayed in Seaside. Instead of driving to a mall, it was hoped people would shop and fraternize at the town centre. It was required by law that every house be built with a front porch so as to encourage porch-sitting and therefore contact with passers-by. All the elements were present to re-create the bygone community of yesteryear – all except, perhaps, for the most important thing.

 

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the town planners of Seaside made no provision for a church (among other things). The result, the Journal notes, is that "community life is nil." Seaside is an attempt to meet what one theologian (John Hardin) describes as a fundamental "deep down longing of the human race, namely, its desire for community" – but with the most essential ingredient missing.

 

In his book, The God Who Is There, Francis Schaeffer writes that the idea of community has meaning only when it is grounded in biblical truth. "Without the certainty of that truth, and the content of that truth," he wrote, "the call for community would...be (just) one more (unattainable dream)." The Bible teaches that the Church of Jesus Christ – which is the eternal fellowship of believers – is the ultimate expression of community. Less than a hundred years ago, the church in Western society was the focal point of the community, signifying the valued place of Christian truth in the society – the common bond by which people belong to God and one another. But when the church steeples are absent, little remains to bind people together.

 

The town of Seaside reminds us that the Christian church is still God’s answer to people’s innate need for community, and that, if the church is missing, then places like Seaside are nothing more than a collection of pretty buildings.[1] This is very much the picture we find of the church in the book of Acts. This is very much the picture we find of the church in the book of Acts. In 2:44-47, for example, we read that “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

 

This is very similar to our Scripture reading from Acts 4, both passages showing that the early Church, for all its imperfections, is a remarkable example of community; a community characterised by love, openness and acceptance; a community in which its members took every opportunity to get together; a community where people were concerned for one another, cared for one another, and vigorously looked out for one another’s interests.

 

But I’m afraid that the church today, in many instances, has not done nearly as well. Chuck Swindoll, a well known pastor, writer and educator, recalls a conversation he once had with an old army buddy who had become a Christian after leaving the army. "You know Chuck,” his friend said, “the only thing I still miss is that old fellowship I used to have with all the guys down at the pub. I remember how we used to sit around and laugh and drink a pitcher of beer and tell stories and let our hair down. I can’t find anything like that for Christians. I no longer have a place to admit my faults and talk about my battles – where somebody won’t preach at me and frown and quote me a verse."

 

Yes, the local pub does provide an accepting and inclusive place, which is open, and unshockable. The pub flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved. With all my heart I believe that Christ wants his church to be open and unshockable; a fellowship where people can come in and say "I’m sunk, I’m beat, I’ve had it." The local pub has this quality – but sadly, our churches often do not.[2] As a result of this, we hear an increasing number of persons saying, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t go to church. I read my Bible; I try to do what God wants at work and home – but I don’t see the point of church.” And if we are honest, we’ll all admit that we too have had moments in our own involvement with church when we’ve exclaimed in tones of mounting exasperation, “Why do I bother?” I know I have. As a result of this, we hear an increasing number of persons saying, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t go to church. I read my Bible; I try to do what God wants at work and home – but I don’t see the point of church.” And if we are honest, we’ll all admit that we too have had moments in our own involvement with church when we’ve exclaimed in tones of mounting exasperation, “Why do I bother?” I know I have.

 

In his book, Struggling to Belong, Simon Jones makes the point that, “Week after week our church buildings are filled with the strains of singing. God’s people, gathered together, sing of the joy of belonging to him and his church…about how the church is the place where God is at work, and how, through the church, God is going to change our land for good.”[3] He goes on to say that “For every ten or so smiling, satisfied singers in church on a Sunday morning, someone is struggling either in the congregation or (more likely) at home, unable to face the congregation any more.”[4] He goes on to say that “For every ten or so smiling, satisfied singers in church on a Sunday morning, someone is struggling either in the congregation or (more likely) at home, unable to face the congregation any more.”

 

Why is this happening? Why are so many people feeling such deep levels of alienation from the church? Why has the church failed to provide this sense of community which is so basic to human existence? Responses to these questions vary, but this morning I’d like to suggest that the church’s frequently intolerant attitude to those who struggle with a different understanding of their faith is certainly one of the main criticisms that have been levelled at the church, after all, we believe we know the truth about God and the meaning of life; we believe we know what’s wrong with the world and what needs to happen to put it right; and we believe we have the revelation of the mind of God at our communion tables and in our Bibles. And we’ve not afraid to tell people just that!

 

Of course it’s right not to be ashamed of the gospel. Jesus told us to get out into the world and tell others about him. The trouble is that we often come across as being a tad arrogant. “Jesus is the answer,” we say, “now, what’s your question? Well, actually, don’t ask any question; just believe what we say.”

 

When people, especially Christians, begin to ask questions, we raise our eyebrows in alarm. The reason for this is that often we don’t know the answers, and we feel that if we can’t give answers we shall loose our ability to control what happens to us and to others. Many of us see questions as a threat to faith and order. This is one of the reasons the religious leaders of Jesus’ day found him to be such a pain; he was always questioning why they did things the way they did.

 

And so, when a fellow Christian asks, “How could God have allowed all those innocent people to die in the Indian Ocean tsunami? Or says “I’m having a difficult time in reconciling what looks like a contradiction in Scripture” Or “Sometimes I’m not sure whether God really hears my prayers,” we get nervous. We close ranks and say “We’ve not got any problems with these things: here are the explanations. This is what we teach here. This is what we all believe. The problem is with you: you must just believe what we tell you, as everyone else does.”

 

Of course, it is never said in so many words or expressed so crudely. Rather, it is conveyed in far more subtle tones, such as with knitted eyebrows, looks of deep concern, or perhaps the suggestion to seek counselling from the pastor. But what is required aren’t simplistic answers, but honesty. We need to offer openness and a willingness to walk with people through their questions. We need to reassure people that life is a journey of discovery; that asking questions and expressing doubt are part of faith, and that simple solutions to deep problems are not on offer here.[5]

 

“One of the great weaknesses of the church is that it is often perceived as a place where thinking is discouraged and people are spoon-fed a series of beliefs by people who’ve got only answers and no questions…

 

“In a day which puts a premium on individual freedom and choice, of thinking things through and making decisions for oneself, it is a severe weakness if the church is known as a place where thinking is off limits.”[6] The Bible is replete with examples of a God who wants us to come and enter into a dialogue with him about how we should live. Remember what God said to the people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah? “ The Bible is replete with examples of a God who wants us to come and enter into a dialogue with him about how we should live. Remember what God said to the people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah? “Come now, let us reason together” (1:18). Here we see a God who invites us come and “argue it out” with him. If this is the case, then the church should be a place where such an argument can take place; where people can work through their questions, doubts, fears and uncertainties without being judged by others. Faith grows out of feeling accepted, rather than feeling that we have to sign a declaration of belief before we’re allowed through the door.[7]

 

“If, as a leader, I model a faith of total certainties, with no doubts, no grey areas and no question marks, and I have a crisis of faith, a period of calamity that causes me to publicly question what I believe, a lot of people will go down with me. And a lot of people on the margin of the church or (who are) struggling to believe will (then) have their suspicions or scepticism about the faith confirmed.” [8] When we recognize the need to be more open and honest about our struggles, our doubts and our uncertainties regarding our faith and not give the impression that we have our lives all together, I believe we’ll begin to see some changes in our churches. Just look at what happened in the early church!

 

From as early as chapter 2 of the book of Acts, we read that “Those who accepted (Peter’s) message were baptized, and (that) about three thousand were added to their number that day” (2:41). A few chapters later we are told that “many who heard the message believed, and (that) the number of men grew to about five thousand” (4:4). Later on in the book, we are told that as the word of God spread, “The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly” (6:7), that “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (5:14), and that “the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers” (16:5).

 

Why did the church experience such phenomenal growth in its early days? I believe that it is because people were drawn to Jesus because in him they found someone who accepted the fact that we all make mistakes, and welcomes us. Not surprisingly, then, when we come to church we find a group of people, who, like us, are broken, lonely, awkward, selfish and damaged. We find people who are at various stages of being put back together again by Jesus and for whom involvement in the church is a vital part of that repair process – a process in which we become better able to live with our uncertainties.

 

You may be struggling all alone because of your doubts and fears; you feel that no one understands, and you therefore don’t have a sense of belonging. God didn’t create you to face life’s anxieties alone. God intends for us to live together, and that in living together, we would help each other along the way. It is God’s will that we live together as brothers and sisters in a family relationship so that we can love one another, encourage one another, make room for one another, hug one another, pick one another up when we fall, and rejoice with one another: that's what the church was born to become. It doesn't always happen – there will always be clashes, harsh words, bad attitudes and unkind actions – but it can happen, for where Jesus is there’s always abundant grace to counter the effects of our sins. This is what Jesus intends for those who love him and who want to follow him in our all too messy world. Amen.

 

 

 

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