Is community the best word to describe church?
In my sermon last night, I was reflecting on the increasing prevalence of the word ‘community’ when it comes to describing church. I’m still thinking this through, and would appreciate your thoughts.
I worry that we too easily complain when others aren’t friendly toward us. We wish there were deeper relationships at church. We long for a sense of … well, community. I worry that community as a concept/idea is too insular and self focussed. I worry that I, and maybe you also, expect others to meet our needs, to suit our personalities, to be friends for us.
I’m not sure that the Bible uses terms that mean community. Instead, it speaks of church as a body, or as a family. What’s the difference?
Church as a body has a head, Jesus Christ (Eph 5:35; Col 1:18).
Church as a family has a father, our heavenly Father (by virtue of being children of God – 1 John 3; co-heirs with Christ Rom 8:17).
The biggest difference is that the images of a body or a family, more explicitly suggest the authority of the godhead.
Community can be really useful term to describe the network and the nature of relationships that exist in church. I hope and pray that any and every church continues to be a place of great relationships, of good friendships for each and every one of us.
Yet, for the church to be a light in this dark world, we need to be different. And what will mark us out as different is relationships under the headship of Jesus Christ.
‘Body’ and ‘family’ are the Biblical frames of reference. Family also sounds close and relational
God bless.
Hi Josh. I share some of your misgivings about the direction talk of community can take us in (and the unhelpful expectations it can set up or feed into).
I find the first chapter of Bonhoeffer’s Life Together just so helpful in working through this issue.
Bonhoeffer’s alive to the ways ‘community’ can go wrong. But, more deeply, he’s acutely aware of the absolute privilege of gathering together with God’s people.
For Bonhoeffer, gathering is a gift not a given. It’s something not all Christians get to enjoy as readily as we do (and take for granted).
Whatever words we end up using for church, I think we’re in trouble if we start to overlook this.