The Church in Post-Christendom (Part 4): In Pursuit of Community

At the conclusion of my last article on the church in post-Christendom, I argued that “demonstrating the reign of God [or gospel] within a distinct community may be the American church’s greatest challenge to its mission.”

I further stressed that this community-in which diverse people, locally and generally, are united by a common love for Christ and each other-is an essential witness to the in-breaking reign of God. In essence, the nonappearance of this "community" renders our acts of service indistinguishable from any other and our proclamation of Jesus shallow and without basis.

What hinders this community is not a weakness of the institutional church and its leadership but rather the radical individualism of its members. This is not simply a matter of concern over sporadic church attendance or mediocre participation in the church potluck dinner; the absence of visible community is a central underlying principle that undermines the witness of God's people and opposes the redemptive mission of God!

Observing the ascendency of radical individualism, Charles Taylor, the acclaimed philosopher and author of Sources of Self, pointed out that over the course of the last two centuries “our sources of self-identity have shifted from the external and transcendent to the internal and subjective experience of the individual.”

In one sense, as modern societies advanced beyond the necessity of community for sheer survival, we gradually and naturally began to transfer our dependency from other people and the local community to technology and ubiquitous governing structures. As our need for other people in order to survive diminished, and as means of transportation and communication evolved, we were less and less bound to our local communities. The bonds of connection and the sense of shared identity were weakened and our reciprocal responsibilities toward others began to evaporate.

As an example, if you live in a larger city, consider how often you see a stranded motorist on the freeway while hundreds if not thousands of people pass by without the thought of offering aid. Such a thing would be incomprehensible to those living with the sense of shared community identity experienced in previous generations. To read more, click here.

Related articles:
The Church in Post-Christendom (Part 1)
The Church in Post-Christendom (Part 2): Understanding the "Good News"
The Church in Post-Christendom (Part 3): Recovering the Mission of the Church