This article exposes a deep flaw in the American Church. This flaw, which has been largely overlooked, has set the stage for the current epidemic of serious social problems, including crime, divorce, depression, drug abuse, and suicide. It follows that the Church is indirectly responsible for these problems. The Church could bring significant improvements by making a few basic changes -- however, prospects for such changes are dim, as we shall see.
By "Church" (capital C) I am not referring to particular christian denominations or movements. Rather, I am speaking of the entire body of genuine believers in Jesus Christ. This article diagnoses a disease which has infiltrated the entire body of Christ. All churches are equally infected, whether Protestant or Catholic, traditional or non-traditional, charismatic or evangelical, liberal or conservative, modernist or fundamentalist.
Here is the source of the flaw: almost every christian in America is a member of four separate communities. These communities are not only distinct; often, they are entirely disjoint. These communities are like four horses tied to the christian’s four limbs, pulling him/her in four different directions. Emotionally and socially, christians are being drawn and quartered.
The four communities I am referring to are: neighborhood; workplace; extended family; and church. Some American christians are involved in even more communities than this. For instance, a Vietnamese-American or Chinese-American may be involved in a Vietnamese or Chinese ethnic society. A christian with a strong interest in sports may be heavily involved in a sports league. Christians concerned about issues such as abortion or the environment may participate extensively in a corresponding interest group. All of these organizations represent different communities, involving different relationships with completely different sets of people.
The multiplication of communities is a relatively recent development in human history. It is true that even in Biblical times, family-based communities were broken up by migration. However, living together usually meant working and worshipping together as well. In many Third World countries, this situation is still the norm. In China, for instance, is not unusual to find a family of three or four generations living under one roof, working at the same farm or factory, and worshipping together at a neighboring church or house meeting. Instead of time-sharing between four communities, they are deeply involved in just one. Their attention is not scattered in four different directions as ours is, so their relationships with others are much deeper and more satisfying. Their Gospel witness is far more effective, because they have so much more in common with those they share with. This example shows the secret behind Third World revivals we sometimes read about, where entire communities are converted to Christ. This can ONLY happen because human relationships within these communities are deeply intertwined. But here in the U.S., such revivals can never, never take place, because relationships are stretched too thin.
We claimed above that the multiplicity of communities is responsible for many serious social problems. This is because inter-community competition weakens the social structures which once provided stability, support and satisfaction. For instance, in many neighborhoods social ties have virtually disintegrated. Many suburban neighborhoods resemble ghost towns, whose streets are deserted except for cars. How can neighbors have time for each other, when so many relationships and responsibilities lie elsewhere? They may see each other during PTA, Girl Scout functions, or Neighborhood Association meetings - but this is hardly an adequate basis for intimacy.
After neighborhoods, the disintegration of marriages follow close behind. Husband and wife are pulled apart by their multiplicity of involvements. The closest acquaintances of the one are strangers to the other. This habitual separation becomes so deeply engrained that even spouses who attend the same church often have completely separate circles of church friends. If such a couple begins to have marriage problems, how can they obtain help? They certainly wouldn’t tell the neighbors about it. One or two office-mates might be let in on the secret, but most likely they wouldn’t even know both spouses. Extended family members could be reached by phone, but how could they be expected to accurately understand the couple’s day-to-day situation when they live hundreds if not thousands of miles away? At church, if they are lucky they might be able to obtain a token weekly or monthly appointment with a pastor or associate, who has tens or hundreds of other relationship problems to worry about. Or, they might be able to join a marriage support group composed of people who, because they live and work elsewhere, are little better than strangers. Small wonder that so many troubled marriages fail, because adequate supporting structures are nonexistent.
With the buildup of social pressures and the breakdown of neighborhood and family, it is not difficult to see that a host of social problems follow close behind. With social structures weakened, people feel aimless, alienated and empty. They seek "kicks" in drugs or illegal activity - or they simply decide to end it all. Since relationships are so impersonal, it’s easy for people to be callous or cruel to each other without qualms of conscience. Dishonesty is rampant, and con artists and thieves take advantage of the fact that people do not protect each other against their activities.
The breakdown of social relationships is sometimes blamed on T.V. Actually, T.V can be a wonderful social facilitator: as Super Bowl parties and T.V. bars attest. But T.V., owes its popularity at least in part to the social havoc caused by the four communities. Through T.V., people can participate vicariously in intimate, stimulating relationships which are no longer practically realizable.
It’s not T.V.,but the Church which must take a far heavier share of the blame. Of course, the initial fragmentation of communities is not the Church’s fault, for this occurred naturally as transportation became faster and easier. However, the Church not only went along with the split-up, it made things considerably worse by creating separate "communities of worship", rather than bringing together christians within existing communities.
Perhaps you feel that your church is exceptional, and does not participate in the breakdown of neighborhood communities. If so, then answer these questions:
*What percentage of your congregation lives within walking distance of your church?
* What percentage of church members have three or more neighboring families who are also members? How often do they meet together to pray for their neighborhood?
* Does your church strongly encourage members to get involved in spiritual activities together with neighbor and coworker christians who attend other churches? Does your church initiate or sponsor such activities?
* Does your church fill members’ evenings and weekends with in-church activities which take members out of their own neighborhoods, making it more difficult for them to form closer relationships with neighbor and coworker christians?
* If your church has a small group ministry: how many of the small groups are neighborhood- or workplace-based (that is, most of the group’s members are neighbors and/or coworkers)?
* How many small groups include neighbors which attend other churches? Does your church "own" the small group, or is there co-participation with another church or churches?
When measured against these test questions, very, very few churches get good marks for promoting christian community within neighborhoods.
Professional clergy are likely not to be fully cognizant of this problem, because they are not as affected as others are. They do not have to deal with four separate communities as others do, because their working and worshipping communities coincide
Our diagnosis is confirmed by current events in developing countries. Third World areas which are beginning to reorganize socially along the lines of the United States (such as China) are seeing a burgeoning of the same social problems which plague us.
What then should the Church do? The fundamental social objective of churches must change. Rather than each trying to establish its own separate worshipping community, churches should coordinate their efforts towards creating close-knit worshipping communities within neighborhoods and workplaces. They should network with other churches to find members who share the same neighborhood or office. Then, they should work together to bring those members together, and provide training and direction to make them able to worship, pray, and encourage each other. Pastors would serve as counsellors, helping neighboring christians to see past surface differences, to appreciate and respect each other’s practice of faith, to avoid stumbling blocks and pointless arguments, and to function as a single team with a single purpose, that is to share the basic Gospel of Christ with those around them. Rather than each church offering its own inclusive set of meetings, classes, and Bible studies, which are aimed primarily at members and offered independently of other churches, instead churches should function more along the lines of community college campuses, offering classes and studies for the christian community at large. These classes and studies would equip and encourage christians engaged in neighborhood-localized worshipping communities. Churches would also collaborate on a regular basis in staging large, regional, "stadium" worship events. These would not be seen as optional accessories to regular church worship - rather, these would be a necessary and central part of christian life. These events would create and cement into place the Church’s spiritual identity as God’s holy nation (1 Peter 2:9) , much as the festivals of the Old Testament established and maintained the national identity of Israel.
Of course, this program if carried out would spell the end of "churches" as we now know them, and many of their current functions would be taken over by a network of neighborhood-based cell groups. The current religious infrastructure would be replaced with a social organization of christians which much more closely resembles that described in the book of Acts.
Unfortunately, the American Church will never make the necessary changes, and the previous paragraph points out why. Professional ministers and church officials do not want to give up "their" churches, even if the entire Body of Christ would benefit. Most likely it will take an enormous social upheaval, as radical as the communist revolution in China, to force the Church to reorganize so that she will function as the Lord intended. But the benefits would be worth the upheaval, because I believe that the revival that would follow would outweigh even the explosive church growth which has blessed China ever since the communists took over.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we acknowledge that the Church is Your Church. We acknowledge that Your ways are higher than our ways. Forgive us for managing Your Church in our way. May we not be bound by habit, tradition, or circumstance, but humbly seek You for guidance on how to administer Your Church. Purify our hearts with Your blood, that we may see You and hear Your answer; and fortify us with the Holy Spirit, that we may have the courage to say and do as You direct us, regardless of difficulty or opposition. Turn the hearts of Your people towards each other, lest You come and strike the land with a curse (Malachi 4:6)
