Christianity and Church

I blogged the other day that it is almost always the case that you canot be authentically Christian unless you are part of a Christian community. Why? The reason, I think, is that the gospel demands engagement in relationship. It has an individual element to it, but it is essentially a social religion.

That's not to say, of course, that "the church" as we know it always lives up to its calling. Bleached-out churches that suck out all emotion and enthusiasm are a tragedy. And power-abuse churches that control people's lives are a travesty. Yet retreating from church doesn't solve the problem, because it's also true that an individualistic and isolated faith rarely reveals the true nature of Christ. Edward Schillebeeckx wrote in The Church with a Human Face,  “The crucified but risen Jesus appears in the believing, assembled community of the church. That this sense of the risen, living Jesus has faded in many [churches] can be basically blamed on the fact that our churches are insufficiently ‘communities’ of God...”

Traditional church structures are a stumbling block for some. Among groups that identify with ideas like Post Evangelicalism, Emerging Church, Alt*worship, and so on are people who simply want to pursue a progressive model of church. But there are plenty more who have taken refuge in something that is not-quite-church, after conventional models of church have let them down, not just failing to provide relationship, but imposing unhealthy forms of relating.

So what do we with the call of the gospel to become part of the Church, if our experience of Church thus far is just too bad to overcome? The answer to this dilemma, I believe, is not to abandon the idea of church, but to rediscover what it means for church to be fully a community. This applies equally to denominational churches that have lost their way, and to new groups that are afraid of being too committed for fear of getting hurt again. The answer in both cases is not to withdraw, but to create community. And this will not come to anyone without cost and some degree of hurt along the way, because it's in the nature of creating community that it is both challenging and expensive to the individual. A community that doesn't challenge your ego and upset your equilibrium from time to time is probably not getting to grips with the faith.

Comments

[ash]

I was tempted to answer your question with 'why, you become an Anglican of course!' but that would be a bit naughty (even if it was my own solution).

I find this an interesting question. I had a discussion today in which I said I agreed Christians need fellowship and community with other Christians, but also questioned whether that means 'joining a church'.

But I also think the structure of the Church CAN be helpful. Just depends on the people involved.