THE CALLING OF COMMUNITY

In this article, I am calling each of you (every reader - whether you belong to Emmanuel or not), to two things; first, I am calling you to repent for living a private personal life, and second, I am calling you to community.

I say "I" am calling you, because I would not presume to speak exclusively for God, but I might be bold enough to say (and I do think I am correct in saying that), God, through me, will tap you on the shoulder in some way. Each of us is an ambassador for Christ, and need to take that position whenever we endeavor to speak in his name, which is what I am doing in this article.

Consider whether what I say is true. If you feel it is true, then embrace it. If what I say does not ring true to you, then simply dismiss it. There will be no repercussions to you if you reject it, except that you will miss one of the highest calling in Christ, the calling to intimate communion with Christ via his Body. So, if this article resonates with you, then take it to heart and act on it in tangible ways. I will say what those things are later in this commentary.

There's not a week that goes by that I don't hear from one person or another, of all ages, that they are tired of religion, or sick of religion, or can't stand religion. It makes me wonder exactly what they mean, because each one probably mean different things.

I often concur, and feel sympathetic to such statements, I too am not much interested in religion, as such, but what I mean by that is that I am not much interested in the legalisms of religion, the perfunctory insincerity of religion, and the mechanics of a + b = c religion, and the lifeless obligations of religion.

Most of religion (regardless of the form) is misguided, and yet those who frequently say they are unhappy with religion have not considered that they are often also guilty of perpetuating religion because they offer nothing better in its place.

I often see people giving up on church because they think church equals religion. Of course church can equal religion, but it need not. I see people stop attending meeting with fellow believers and becoming antagonistic toward organized forms of worship and so forth. This, to me, is unacceptable. If we are truly tired of religion, we ought to be seeking a solution to the situation and we would do well to find a replacement to traditional "church services" before we abandon them altogether. This is what we are trying to do at Emmanuel. It is not enough to be dissatisfied with the way things are. One must find new and better ways -- with humility, or we are truly doomed.

There is an alternative to religion, or at least I believe there is. The alternative is "community" -- I mean, living our lives in a way that they are intertwined with each other in authentically Christian ways - and by "Christian" I do not mean merely "religious" ways, I mean in ways depicted by the New Testament, and particularly, in ways that are laid out by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount ought to be the only true footprint of our faith, not a quaint side-bar that is added only after one studies the doctrines of the Apostles. Let's never forget that it is the Apostles writings that describe the teachings of Jesus, not the other way around. We must never forget that it is Jesus to whom we will give an account on the day of Judgment, not the Apostles. We must never lose sight of what the Father said to the "three" on the Mount of Transfiguration, "This is my beloved son, LISTEN TO HIM."

Jesus did not come to establish an organization; he came to establish a family, a community, a colony of heaven and an outpost of the Kingdom of God on this planet. Whatever churches have become, they are often not an expression of the Kingdom of God, and often less than the best expression of the kinds of relationships God desires his people to enjoy.

The Kingdom of God is both the realm and the rule of God, in the context of His subjects. One cannot have a kingdom if there is no one to inhabit that kingdom, and this is precisely the problem with the Christian religion; people think themselves to be in God's Kingdom but they do not live as those subject to the King of that realm. They do not live in sacrificial relationship to others. They live every hour as if their lives belong to themselves and if their personal concerns and personal values ought to be served by the Kingdom of God and not the other way around.

Ironically people ask, "Why is there no "spiritual substance" (power) in the church?" Well, isn't it apparent why there is weakness in the church? Can it be that there are deficiencies because those who call themselves "the church" are not functioning as Christ intended?

If one is merely adding Jesus onto their life and not abandoning themselves to the life of his kingdom, then how can we expect to see the power God promises to us in our own lives? Why blame religion when the problems of this life can often be linked to an individually selfish lifestyle? Don't these two item (surrender to God's will and seeing God's life in the church) go hand in hand? So, just as Moses covered his face to hide the fact that the glory of God had faded from his face, so the religious often hide (0r deny) the fact that the original spiritual power of the Church is often lacking in our personal experience.

There is, I sincerely believe, at least one better way to live our lives than mere-religion, and that is to live our lives in community. Community is where God's tangible presence can be found. Both the O.T. Prophets and Jesus told us so. I wonder if you can find those teachings. Not many can.

Community means that we live our lives in relationship with/to/for others. Though we once could identify various parts of our lives as belonging to ourselves - though we once claimed the exclusivity of our own lives for our own purposes, (or our own time, or our own resources, or our own families or our own careers), we can no longer do this when we become connected in relationships with God's people -- and to the needs of the world through the community in which Jesus wants us to live.

Connection to Jesus really does mean an end to the lower forms of self-interest and personal freedoms, and it introduces us to the beginning of a new kind of interrelatedness that affords freedoms that can never be experienced in the context of personal isolation or autonomy.

The idol of American culture is autonomy (independence), and it is the central cause of spiritual weakness in the Church of Jesus. Jesus said, "Whoever would be great in God's kingdom, let him become the servant of all." A servant is not free. A servant is duty-bound to complete the tasks of his/her master. This idea of servanthood is often misunderstood - to say nothing of despised. No one likes the term duty, because it sounds too religious, and this can be true, but there is "duty" and there is "duty." Not all forms of duty are equal any more than can all forms of love be thought of as equal.

Being a servant does not mean that one becomes a "doormat" for everyone to walk on (though every servant will surely be walked on), no. Service to Christ means (in the end) empowerment, i.e. it means becoming everything one ought to become, and a lot more than one can imagine. This kind of transformation (and there is no other way), is rooted in authentic relationship to others.

To live a private life, a life consumed with one's own personal concerns, and exclusively for one's own benefit is, without a doubt, a sin - and a very grave kind of sin. This attitude of privacy, exclusivity of one's life, and autonomy of action must be repented of or community becomes impossible, and the Kingdom of God cannot emerge. We notice it in the lack of spiritual authority and the diminishment of effective ministry.

Here is where I said I would mention options for you in the later part of the article. It is simple, 1) find (or gather) a group of believers with whom you can engage on more than the basis of a weekly gathering, say, around the table for meals. 2) Begin to live your life with these people and invite others into your circle. 3) Eat meals together. 4) Open your home for others to live with you - yes, to live with you. 5) Have parties and invite people you would not normally hang out with, and so expand your tribe. 6) Give your wealth to those who have less. 7) Feed the hungry and draw them into dialogue about the Kingdom of God. 8) Commit yourself to others in a way that is indissoluble. 9) Spend time, resources, energy and love on others. You don't need to bankrupt yourself. You can start small, but you should be intentional about it, regardless of what you choose. 11) Make connections that you will not allow to be broken, and 12) have compassion on those the world (and the church) has rejected. 13) Forgive someone who has offended you and plant something good into their life. You don't have to wait, you can start this today. Start small, but start in an intentional way.

Just think how odd it is that there are Christians who live in homes with empty bedrooms, and yet there are people who will sleep on the street tonight. You don't have to take in strangers from the street if you don't want, but you CAN start with people you know and trust.

Why not offer that empty bedroom to a student - for free? Why not lighten someone's load in life, and offer that cold cup of water in the name of Jesus. Surely, we can do that, can't we? What do we have that others might need. Don't wait until asked to offer it. The infrastructure for sharing already exists through things like craigslist and other such venues. Give something valuable/meaningful away - FOR FREE - and see what happens. I dare you. :-) Begin to build "community" between yourself and others and watch "religion" change through your life of hospitality.

So, I call you today to consider the meaning, the calling, and the centrality of true Christian community. If you wish personal dialogue on this subject, or resources about community, let me know. I am happy to explore this topic with you.

Best, Dan :-)