A Theology of Community

It’s graduation party season. One can hardly drive down a street without seeing lines of cars, colorful balloons, and signs with 2015 stretched across driveways. I was driving to one yesterday in fact (Congratulations Josh and Andrew!) and the first thought that popped into my head was this: ‘It’s such a shame that parents have to go through the rigmarole of having an elaborate party just because it’s a social convention.’ The way I’ve always viewed social gatherings is that they are purely utilitarian. You have a birthday party to honor someone’s birth, give gifts, and have some cake. At a wedding shower you give gifts and play some party games. This kind of thinking has even influenced the way I look at church gatherings. Church events fall into some pretty well-defined categories:

1.           Sunday service – purpose: worshipping God, prayer, being edified by a sermon

2.           Prayer gatherings – purpose: prayer

3.           Outreaches- purpose: attracting and reaching non-believers

4.           Small groups- purpose: discipleship

Books such as Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Church (and the student ministry focused Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry) have helped to shape my beliefs. I don't want to slander those needed and we'll-intentioned books but I think they've reinforced my own personal eccentricities. You see I've always been a bit awkward in social situations. I loathe small talk and honestly have always thought I communicated better I writing (you are the judge). I always wanted to be the quiet, introspective guy who said little but when he spoke, spoke with such profundity that he was always well-regarded. I think though I've just become a guy who doesn't talk.

I've always been a bit socially-averse. That is if you count wanting to "pull a Thoreau" as socially averse. Recently I was checking out these (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/these-eco-friendly-tiny-house-pods-look-amazing) as a real option. All of this has shaped my life thus far. Lately though, I've been pondering the validity of my beliefs.

The Bible is a record of community. The history of the nation of Israel is one of festivals, remembrances, and celebrations (prescribed by God, nonetheless). Social interaction was not only a practical necessity in the context, but also instituted by the Lord. The lines between social life and religious life were blurred. Passover was as much a communal event as it was a religious one. The New Testament continues the trend of social interaction. Jesus engaged his audience at dinners and parties. The first disciples embraced the concept of communal living even further. Not limited by perceived notions of sacred and secular, they ate and prayed; they celebrated and sang; they served and they shared. So how did we end up in a climate where we are so compartmentalized and isolated? How did we end up where the social and the spiritual exist in completely separate worlds? I'm sure there are a lot of deep societal reasons (Western culture, technology, and travel among them) but what I am left contemplating is how to embrace a healthier level of engagement.

In reading Shauna Niequist on the topic (http://www.shaunaniequist.com/) I've been left unsettled by the level of disengagement I see in my own life. To be sure, we want our gatherings to be purposeful when they need to be. We should pray when we need to pray. We need to teach and to learn when the situation arises. We do need to make sure that we don't shy away from the spiritual to ensure that things don't get awkward or complicated. We need to engage. Perhaps, though, the line between purpose and pleasure needs to be bent. Perhaps we need to view community in less utilitarian terms. We need to take down the doors of our homes (probably not literally) and invite people in. It seems like that’s what Jesus did. 

I envy my friends who see this more clearly than I. Those who understand that there is value (to use my logical terms) in being around friends and family live a far healthier existence than I. Those who can see that surrounding oneself with others is not merely the setting but also the plot are getting something out of life that (if I'm honest) I'm not. A chef (or Shauna Niequist) might say that the sauce is as much a part of the meal as the meat. Perhaps, no, not perhaps, certainly, I have lost out on something by approaching life and faith piecemeal, taking the elements without embracing the whole community (even if it is awkward and messy).

The Lie of Isolation

I love hiking and backpacking. I pretty much know the ins and outs of all the public parks within an hour’s radius of my home and I love the solitude that is available at these places. It has become a habit of mine to routinely get out into nature. In nature I can see more clearly the creation of the Lord. I see beauty and marvel at how beautiful it is and praise the Lord for His creation and praise Him for the art of it all. Being out in creation is a wonderful respite from stress and frustration for me but I have begun to discover a disturbing trend in my behavior: when I have relational conflict or are stricken by the pervasiveness of my own sin, I long to retreat into the wilderness. When I am disturbed by the ungodly activities in my community of across the world, my initial inclination is to flee into the woods. This revelation has opened my eyes to the great lie of isolation. The lie of isolation is that by removing the external influences you can better yourself.

We falsely believe that if we remove ourselves from temptation we can eliminate sin. This motivation is what led the Desert Fathers to flee the extravagances of the Roman Empire and to seek solace in the wilderness. Their (justified) desire for purity led them to an incredibly drastic retreat into asceticism. Sin, though, is a product of our yet unconvinced flesh, which has yet to comprehend in our freedom in Christ. Sin, ultimately resides in our heart not in our surroundings. Isolation seeks to remedy the sickness yet only serves to mask the disease.

Many of us find ourselves frustrated and often hurt by the actions of others. We linger on the pain of broken relationships or harsh and critical words. We see the sinfulness of our unbelieving neighbors and we are disturbed. Our knee-jerk reaction in these situations is to pull back because it hurts to remain. Isolation tells us that if we remove ourselves from engagement with others we can mitigate the risk, the temptation, or pain associated with human relationships.

Solitude is a beautiful, wonderful tool, modeled by Jesus, that serves to refresh, refocus, and clarify but it was never intended to be an end unto itself. To do so is to abandon Jesus’ call not only to a community of believers but also His command to go out and make disciples of all nations, which requires engagement with the individuals and communities that surround us. To abuse this discipline is to act out of fear and selfishness--- both faulty and unhealthy motivations.

We were not made for isolation either individually or corporately. When we isolate our communities from the greater world we fail to fulfill our purpose and reflect poorly our Savior who, though often seeking the solitude of the wilderness, was committed to entering into the lives and communities of sinners (us). What cause do we have to lament the grievances done to us when our Savior, through His engagement with us, suffered more than any man can conceive?

When we turn to isolation to escape our problems and pain, believing the lie that it will recuse us of further discomfort, we fail to fulfill the purposes we were created for. We were not created for isolation. We were created for fellowship. We must, however difficult, uncomfortable, painful, or hopeless it might seem, believe that the Spirit of the Lord is strong enough to heal the wounds; strong enough to influence change in others; strong enough to fulfill the plans of God. We must view our fellow believers truly: as brothers and sisters. We must listen and engage them as if they were family, for that is what they are. We must seek their good above our own for such is the example of Christ. We can trust that: “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”