{"id":2109,"date":"2011-11-08T01:46:55","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T07:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=2109"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:35:59","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:35:59","slug":"the-church-as-an-alternative-community-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/11\/08\/the-church-as-an-alternative-community-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church as an Alternative Community, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Part 11 of series:
\n<\/a>What is a Church?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Church as an Alternative Community, Part 2<\/h2>\n

In yesterday\u2019s post, I explained how the early Christian use of the work ekklesia<\/em> for their gathering suggested that the church was an alternative, even a subversive community. By subversive, I do not mean that Christians were plotting to overthrow the local ekklesia<\/em> (governing body of the city) by political or military means. Rather, the early Christian use of ekklesia<\/em> did, in some sense, undermine the social order of the Greco-Roman city, with its ekklesiai<\/em> (plural of ekklesia<\/em>, town meeting-like gatherings to do city business). The Christian ekklesia<\/em> was meant to be an alternative society, a society of a radically different order with radically different values. It was a thumbnail sketch of the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

So, for example, in the ekklesia<\/em> of God, Jews and Gentiles, so often separated in Roman society, shared life together as brothers and sisters. Slaves could also be full participants in the Christian gatherings, enjoying equality in Christ with non-slaves, even with their masters. Women could actively participate in the gatherings just as long as they didn\u2019t engage in the scandalous behavior of the pagan cults. The theological truth that in Christ \u201cthere is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female\u201d was lived out in the Christian assemblies (Galatians 3:28). Thus, they were a kind of alternative society, one that implicitly rejected the domineering, separatistic, and elitist values of the Roman world.<\/p>\n

Could it be said that the church in America today is also an alternative society? Perhaps, in some places and at some times, but I fear these are the exceptions to the rule. The church in our culture tends to play a very different role than what was once envisioned by Paul and the earliest Christians. On the one hand, we often reflect the fallen values of our society rather than the holy values of God\u2019s kingdom. For example, put a church in the middle of a materialistic culture and, odds are, the church will be materialistic too. On the other hand, we have often been satisfied to play a comfortable religious role in society, offering a spiritual narcotic to soothe jangled nerves rather than an alternative way of living under God\u2019s rule. We don\u2019t want to rock the social boat. We want to find our niche in society so that society will smile upon us. Of course there are some Christians, who, like the Amish, withdraw from society in order to live as God\u2019s chosen people. But they hardly reflect the reality of what the Christian ekklesia<\/em> ought to be in the world.<\/p>\n

Christians who are active in politics, whether on the left or right side of the political spectrum, may see themselves as the rightful heirs of the early Christian ekklesia<\/em>. Indeed, their desire for God to make a difference in this world does reflect what we see in the New Testament understanding of church. But nowhere in Scripture do we get the idea that the role of the ekklesia<\/em> is to directly influence (or replace) the civic ekklesia<\/em>. Nowhere is it suggested that the Christian assembly should major in \u201cspeaking truth to power,\u201d other than the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather, the power of the ekklesia<\/em> to change society comes from the authenticity of its corporate life, which is a manifestation of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, the ekklesia<\/em> offers, not political advice to the members of the civic ekklesia<\/em>, but, instead, a whole new way of living, one that reflects the kingdom of God rather than the empire of Caesar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The logo of the Presbyterian Church (USA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let me apply what I\u2019m saying to my own denomination. If you\u2019re not part of the PC(USA), I expect you\u2019ll find things here that are relevant to your denomination and\/or local church.<\/p>\n

I come from a denomination that has often seen itself as a counselor to the federal government and other leaders. We pass motions and write position papers, recommending to our leaders what courses of action they should take on a variety of issues. There is a sad irony in all of this, because, on the one hand, I don\u2019t think many of our national leaders care one bit about what we recommend. On the other hand, our efforts to \u201cspeak truth to power\u201d often end up dividing us and impoverishing our own fellowship. The very thing that should be making a difference in society \u2013 our life together as an alternative community \u2013 is hampered by our misdirected efforts to make a difference in society through the ministry of pronouncements. How I wish we\u2019d stop trying to recommend to our government how it should act and start, instead, trying harder to get our own act together.<\/p>\n

What would this mean, in practice, for my denomination?<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means we would care much less about the proceedings of our national assemblies (ekklesiai<\/em>) and pay much more attention to the regular, tangible, essential gatherings of our local ekklesiai<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means that our denominational bodies would put much more energy into nurturing healthy ekklesiai<\/em> than we do today. We\u2019d see our denominational purpose primarily in terms of planting and nurturing churches through the Gospel.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means we would be open to new denominational structures that support our mission, rather than holding on to the structures of the past that guarantee our power but weaken our common life and mission.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means that we would strive harder to be an alternative society through our ekklesiai<\/em>, one that truly reflects the gospel of Jesus Christ, one that shines as a light into our dark world.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means that we would see our local gatherings as essential, not only to our congregational life, but also to the health of our cities.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means we would care more about doing<\/em> God\u2019s justice, and less about talking about justice in ways that divide and weaken our churches, thus enfeebling our efforts to do justice.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It means that our congregations would embrace our identity as \u201cmissional churches,\u201d fellowships sent by God to proclaim and live out the reality of his kingdom. We\u2019d be less committed to our own self-preservation and more committed to offering our neighbors the good news of Christ, both in word and in our shared life together. (For more on what it would mean for our churches to be mission, see my essay, The Mission of God and the Missional Church<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m speaking about my denomination here as an example. What I have just said about the PC(USA) would be relevant to other denominations, and even to non-denominational bodies. I find it fascinating that many so-called independent and non-denominational churches today are becoming \u201cmulti-site\u201d churches. The distance between \u201cmulti-site\u201d and \u201cdenomination\u201d is really very small.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 11 of series: What is a Church? The Church as an Alternative Community, Part 2 In yesterday\u2019s post, I explained how the early Christian use of the work ekklesia for their gathering suggested that the church was an alternative, even a subversive community. By subversive, I do not mean that Christians were plotting to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16470],"tags":[16593,8661,16529],"class_list":["post-2109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-what-is-a-church","tag-alternative-community","tag-pcusa","tag-what-is-a-church"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Church as an Alternative Community, Part 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 11 of series: What is a Church? 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