While community is a hot topic, there are Christians who’ve seemed to stop attending church but haven’t necessarily stopped believing. They seem to have tired of the institution of church. Do you see this happening as well?
I see these Christians as existing in two groups. The first includes those who aren’t part of specific churches and form their own small fellowships or church houses. They’re all kind of frustrated with regular churches and form their own environments. They take communion together, do acts of service—they’re very literally the body of Christ and don’t see church as a building. But without an authority structure, this model ultimately breaks down.
The second group includes those who don’t go to church more than once or twice a month; they’ve found a way to not show up at church. Instead they have breakfasts once a week with other believers or are part of couples groups and do service projects with other Christians, and they cobble together a Christian life experience. They don’t feel as though church is meeting their needs, but the result is often a very consumeristic mentality to the point where they can’t contribute to the church at-large. Instead they’ve created their own pockets that no one else has access to. This group is the more prevalent one.
This is a valid problem. There are Christians who feel very disconnected from church; they feel as though it pulls them out of the rhythm of family, the rhythm of work, of the neighbors. It’s often unfulfilling.
What can the church at-large do in response?
What these Christians want is a church that becomes, for them, a launching pad—where they get filled up for the rest of the week. A place where they can’t wait to go. This is happening in urban contexts where the churches are more connected to their neighborhoods.
This interview was an excerpt from the the May/June 2011 issue of Outreach.
