One of the things we are seeking to do is build a true community. Not a tight little cult with everyone in lockstep, and not a disparate and loose collection of people who happen to share latitude and longitude markers. In this fallen world, true community can only happen in and through Christ, and not through any shared physical trait — whether blood, or doctrinal convictions, or liturgical similarities, or through happening to be under the authority of the same overweening nation/state.
Christ brings those who have true faith in Him together. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7). If we walk with Him, then by definition we are walking with anyone else who is walking with Him.
One source of hostility comes from those who want and need this kind of fellowship, but access to it would involve repenting of their pride. That is too high a price to pay, and so they wind up enviously attacking the very thing they would love to be a part of.
Sometimes these attacks come from outsiders, unbelievers, those who know that they are outside. But other times there are people who are inside, but their pride keeps them from enjoying the fact that they are inside. After a while the strain gets to be too much, and they leave angry at the exclusion they themselves created.
This would be the case regardless of how righteous the community was. We do not find fault with Jesus because Judas betrayed Him, and we do not find fault with Paul because Demas deserted him. But other situations are more complicated than that, and we know that Ahithophel had reasons for thinking that David was not a man after God’s own heart — Bathsheba was his granddaughter, after all. Given the envious hatred of true community, do not complicate the situation unnecessarily by throwing your own true sin into the mix.
Amen to this post. Building community, family so to speak, requires a great deal of humility and constant forgiveness. People are hard enough one at a time, in groups they can be down right intolerable.
And I’m thankful y’all there have constructed your ecclesial rules in such a way as to see that all God’s folk are encouraged to sit together at the Table.
Okay, the whip just got cracked. Of course no one is asking (nor would,) but my sinful, outsider’s take-away is: True community can only happen through christ. Certainly not by the ‘overseeing’ secular state. huh? But anyway, no other true community is possible. So, If you point out failings in the church and/or it’s leadership from the outside, you are a hostile prideful sinner: dismissible outsider. But if you do happen to reside within the barricade of the ‘community’, you ought keep your mind and tongue in check a well. Because If you do not and you express ideas contrary… Read more »
You really need to be charging Pastor Wilson for rent; it is apparent that he has taken up residence in your head.
You clearly don’t know Douglas or the Christ Church family.
You do know that RandWoman (Ayn) cracked the whip pretty hard on her disciples?
I think Ayn Rand is ridiculous. An easy mistake to make though andrew with my handle, I probably would too.
“Ayn Rand is ridiculous.”
Freudian back home.
Only the NSA knows for sure what I edited before pushing Send.
Thanks. What does the handle mean?
“In this fallen world, true community can only happen in and through Christ, and not through any shared physical trait — whether blood, or doctrinal convictions, or liturgical similarities, or through happening to be under the authority of the same overweening nation/state.” It that what we actually observe? There are believers of other religions who are clearly in community with one another and there are American believers with very little sense of community. Perhaps some distinction should be made between a next-world concept of community and the on the ground communities we try to build and maintain in this world.… Read more »
The truth of the statement rests in the phrase “true community,” though it doesn’t seem to be fleshed out in this particular post. However, this is evidently either an excerpt from something larger, or a brief meditation in a liturgical context, not a complete exposition of the idea. And I believe being in Christ is meant as a necessary, not sufficient, condition.
“Physical trait” is also odd in that he then goes on to list several things of which “blood” is the only thing marginally physical. Maybe he means temporal or earthly traits but those are the only traits we have.
I think by physical trait he doesn’t mean it only in the biological sense, but in the sense of outward behavior/appearance. The things that create community are a spiritual reality, not created by anything physical we do, or anything we physically are.
It is a bit confusingly worded, but I think that’s what he’s getting at.
And I think that temporal or earthly traits are not the only ones we have. We have our baptism, our confession, the fruit of the spirit, etc.
True, I shouldn’t say only traits but certainly traits that can’t be ignored. He even includes doctrine and liturgy as things which don’t define the community and those aren’t exactly incidentals. I get that he is speaking to an eschatological concept of community but in a world of dissolving communities does it make sense to look past them to that eschatological community?
This is one of those very common situations where Christians in danger of falling off the road into a ditch are focused on and warning each other of the ditch on the other side of the road. In a world where Christians were burning each other at the stake over doctrine it would have been very good to focus on our brotherhood in Christ. Currently Ecumenism is not the problem. An increased focus on particulars would be helpful and not harmful in community building be these particulars confessional, geographic or even ethnic such as with the Orthodox churches.
And not by hopping in bed.