Is your church functioning as an organ (like the heart, liver, and hand) or like an organ (the musical instrument) making beautiful music but it doesn't need any other instruments to perform a concert. Well, some might say, I wish things were that good. Over the next few weeks we will look at some stuff related to the development of what I call community. The local church, as we learned last time really isn't that well equipped to be a revival instrument, as we normally define the term. Perhaps she is much more suited to be an instrument of eternal renaissance, same music, same result but with an orchestra instead of an organ.

The following article appeared in the November 22, 1992 issue of Oikos and is really what began my thinking along these lines these last years.

Where is the community?

23 June 1999

Some months ago, the demonic spirit that channels through one of the prominent Puget Sound area New Agers reported that the Judeo-Christian God Jehovah, from his space ship hidden behind the moon was making plans and would soon attack the earth. This spirit urged his followers to prepare for war in the heavens and on earth, to build bomb shelters and to stockpile the necessities for war. While demonic spirits aren't known for the revelations of truth, the report was remarkably consistent with the accounts in the Book of Revelation. What I found intriguing, as I have thought about these demonic proclamations, is that this spirit made no mention to any Judeo-Christian force present and at work at this time on the earth. To some degree this must be deception, but there is more than a little truth to the fact that the Christian church is not all it should and could be.

I was returning home from a week long retreat up on the Kettle River in Northeastern Washington when I decided to stop in the factory outlet center next to the freeway at North Bend. Browsing through one of the book stores I came across the book written by a Roman Catholic priest serving in the Philippines (1) Well, for that price how could you go wrong.

As I read, I began to understand the history of Christianity in the Philippines. The author also discussed the effects of Vatican II, the attempts to bring about its changes within the hierarchy of the Catholic church, his particular order, how some of the changes were effective at helping the poor, and some were not.

At one point he and some of his colleagues asked some Filipino priests to help them make their ministries more effective in reaching the people. The result of that meeting was the decision to begin the of forming Christian communities.

Suddenly, the a light bulb switched on in my head. A Christian community, that's the handle I've been looking for. Continuing to read, now thoroughly engaged in the details, I realized that "Christian communities" was indeed the answer for which I was searching. The problem points the author covered as being wrong with the Catholic Philippine church were basically the same problems the church faces in America. Sure many of the needs in the Philippines are different than in America, and the culture is different, but people are people the world over, uniquely created by God and not the descendant of some long lost ape.

This Christian communities point may not be a great revelation to you, but before you reach for the clicker to turn on the couch potato machine, bear with me for a moment. For the last 12 years, I have been actively involved in the fields of business and community development. Before that time, it was one of those passions that made me collect materials, just because I found them interesting. Now armed with numerous files and bookshelves full of development materials, I was searching for some way to tie it all together.

Programs and information however, are just a pile of papers unless you can effectively apply it to the lives of individuals. Just like the gospel of Jesus Christ, you cannot stuff it into someone's heart if they are not receptive. The problem is not the potential of the message, but more with our hierarchical delivery system both in, and out of the church. In short, we just don't like to be preached to. We want to figure it out for ourselves, learn from our mistakes and continue, sometimes against incredible odds. It's part of our nature. I'm reminded of the old principle. "You can pull a string and it will follow along, but if you try to push it both the string and you go nowhere."

Getting back to our introductory remarks, the demonic belief in the lack of an effective world Judeo-Christian presence stems chiefly from our lack of community. This is not a recent development, it has taken 1700 years for us to develop this ineffectiveness. In the fourth century, Constantine declared the world Christian, establishing the professional clergy. The Reformation put scripture back in the hands of the people, sent the church back into the world, but did little to change the role of clergy. Five hundred years later we are still requiring our pastor and his staff to take care of our biblical Christian responsibilities.

Looking again in the terms of the coming warfare, lets say that a typical Evangelical Protestant church has one full time staff member for each 25 to 50 Sunday morning parishioners. In terms of warfare, that's a hell designed number of support troops.

In Seattle, approximately 7% of the population attend any church on Sunday morning. If we assume a metropolitan population of 2.5 million we find about 5000 full time soldiers to do battle for 2.3 million souls or about one combat soldier for every 460 people. If all the rest of us 170,000 did more than just support our pastors, the odds would diminish to only 14 to 1.

There is some limited sense of community in the local church however, but this is mostly along ministry lines. The choir is a community, the softball team is a community, the outreach workers are a community, etc. These ministries by their very nature are specialized support communities and lack the diversity of the body as a whole or the ability to mount an effective attack on the battle field as a well designed fighting force. If we were to subtract the amount of our full time church staff that do little but support the support ministries we can easily see why church is not much of a spiritual force in our region, or in America.

Many churches have, or are trying small groups that meet in area homes for Bible studies, prayer, and other important Christian activities. They are mostly inbred with only members from the mother church and profess the denominational line. Because of their small size, lack of resources and direction, they denote a picture of a huddled mass of the oppressed, somewhat like the picture you would see of the members of a New Age cult, when Jehovah attacks from the skies. Nowhere is this and accurate picture of biblical Christianity, even under severe persecution.

The United States of America is not communist China or the old Soviet Union, but should Jehovah withhold his attack for a just few years, Russian missionaries, fresh from a revival in mother Russia, will be smuggling Bibles into American schools.

Ask the man on the street what he thinks about Christians, and his answer will probably include: "All they want is my money and all they do is argue!" Reformation of a local Christian community requires very little money. Our differences are really quite insignificant when viewed in the light of the redemptive work accomplished on Calvary. Christian communities are very biblical (the church of the book of acts was a community).

Two scripture passages are predominate and sufficient for our discussion and illumination. The first is John 13:34-35 were Jesus says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." Proverbs 10:12, "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."

This article is not a 12 step program on how to form a Christian community. A program is by definition a top down management technique. Christian community must be constructed from the bottom up. There is not a 12 step, a 6 step, or a 2 step program to establish a successful Christian community. The only required step is the first step and let God handle it from there. Each community must be uniquely itself, created and sustained by God, just as you were created in the image of God and are sustained by him.

The basic aspirations of the priests for their people of the Philippines were: 1. Sharing time, treasure, talent; 2. Group decision making; .3. No injustice; 4. Reconciliation; 5. Prayer together.

"Don't be shocked that I wrote prayer last. For too long we have put it so strongly first that the other essential parts of being a disciple have been lost. It must be there, but as a culmination, a celebration, a part of the whole, not itself the whole. I put sharing first because if we are sisters and brothers then we share. If we are not sisters and brothers then there is no God and we have nothing to say. (2)"

The priests first 3 attempts to establish communities met with failure before they were able to succeed.

To these thoughts, I can only add the following aspirations of my own. The communities must cross denominational lines. Trans-denominational if you will, rather than the denomination of nondenominational. Roman Catholics, Protestant denominations, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Fundamentalists in community together.

Secondly, to tie all the communities together without the creation of another formal institution, a monthly, service oriented, Super Souper Saturday, (on the second Saturday). This day becoming a time of community service followed by the sharing of soup and fellowship as brothers and sisters of, and within all the communities.

Perhaps my greatest aspiration is however, that we could do this with no "ands, ors, buts, ifs and maybes." These sources of hatred have kept brothers and sisters apart for centuries.

My tendency now is to lay down the most important facts I have gleaned from my files on the establishment of a successful community based on examples from God's creation and modeled in our own economy. Praise God! But really those points are important only when there are communities established and their leadership would like to understand some of the details of God's natural communities. I am also convinced that if you would follow my steps to the letter, you would add an unneeded failure in your attempts to establish a successful Christian community. The writings of Solomon also come to mind, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. (3)" Do keep us informed on your progress however, we stand ready to support your efforts as best we can. Give us a call or write us using the envelop provided.

The only other thought from the book I would like to leave with you is that the priests found that their communities functioned most effectively with about 30 adherents.

So get out your Nikes, put them on, and "Just do it!"

Endnotes:

1 Revolution from the Heart, Niall O'Brien, Oxford University Press, New York, 1987

2 Ibid. pg. 82

3 Ecclesiastes 12:12b