As part of our June/July Whole Church Teaching we are considering together Christ and Culture, reflecting on our post-Christian culture in 21st century Britain, and how we can live faithfully as followers of Jesus. In this series of articles, we shall be looking at Christian mission, discipleship, and community in a post-Christian world. The purpose of these articles is not to do any more teaching, but instead to reflect on the impact of a post Christian culture on living the Christian life as expressed in community, mission, and discipleship.
If you haven’t managed to listen to the teaching or need a quick reminder then here are three important things to remember about a post-Christian world;
- It is not a pre-Christian world.
- It defines itself against a Christian world view.
- It attempts to carry on the human project without Christ.
We also looked at some of the big themes of our current post-Christian culture. We recognise that we live in…
- An age of individualism
- An age of liberty
- An age of relative truth
- An age of progress
- An age of more
With that in mind let us look at some of the challenges and opportunities of living out Christian community in a post-Christian world.
Christian Community is not about You
It is widely agreed that perhaps the biggest influence on our current culture is a kind of radical individualism. This basically means that as a culture we believe the individual is more important than any group, institution, nation, or government. Whilst individualism in some ways emerged out of Christianity, it has become a radical individualism, where the entire focus of our culture is on meeting the needs of the individual. This is a huge challenge for Christian community because Christian community is not about you! It is hard, in our day, to think beyond ourselves. Everything that we do is evaluated in terms of its benefit to self. What do I get out of this? How does this benefit me? Is this worth my time? What kind of value does this bring to my life? How many of us evaluate meetings, church services, small groups, or whatever form of Christian gathering, in terms of what we get out of it? We may ask – was that a worthwhile meeting for me? Whilst none of these questions are essentially bad, Christian community strikes at the heart of the empire of self. There is a call in Christian community to lay down our own priorities and serve others in love. There are times when Christian community will not meet our needs, times when it will not be what we want, and yet Christ calls us to community despite our own preferences and ideals. The reality is we cannot consume Christian community, there is no customer survey to help improve our experience. Paul writes;
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Phil 2 v 4
Christian Community restricts our freedom
Living in an age of liberty leads to the belief that the more freedom we have the better the world will be. However, the reality is that being in a relationship restricts our freedom. The deeper we go in relationships the more our freedom is restricted. Think about how your freedom changes as you enter a relationship, get engaged, become married or have children. If we live in an age that prizes ultimate self-autonomy (the right to self-govern our lives) then we will naturally treat deep relationships with a sense of suspicion. How will being part of this group affect my freedom? Will I be controlled by this group? What if I do not want to be part of this group anymore? These are all valid questions but are highly influenced by a culture that seeks self-governance as a god. We must remember that the call to follow Christ is a call to lay down our self-autonomy. Rather than casting off restraint, the Christian message is that freedom is found in taking on the yoke that Christ has for us, and part of that is a call to be in community, to be in relationships at a deep level with other Christians.
Christian Community includes commitment
In a world that is looking for unrestricted freedom choice becomes the ultimate virtue. Think about it, how many of our recent law changes are made on the assumption that personal choice is paramount? Our culture passionately believes that we must be free to choose. I must choose what I do, what I wear, where I go, who I am. Therefore, choice is seen as ultimately good, and restriction is bad. Where does this kind of thinking leave the concept of commitment? One definition of commitment defines it as “an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.” Our culture will naturally see this as a bad thing. We are obsessed with the freedom to switch brand, change provider, get the latest model, find the next best thing, to keep our options open at all costs. Christian community requires commitment, not a commitment to a brand or specific church, but a commitment to a group of people. A journey with a group of people that says no matter what, as long as I am able, I will remain committed to you.
In John 15 v 12-13 Jesus calls His disciples to a radical commitment;
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
However, the news is not all bad! Our Post-Christian culture also offers opportunities for Christian community.
The need for community
Community is in our design. We were created by a God of community for community, by a God of relationship for relationship. Therefore, no matter what our culture is doing in this time the need for community is hard wired into human design. As our post-Christian culture increasingly rejects the need for deep relationships and community a gulf is created within, a need for community, a desire for relationships. Of course, this will not always be recognised, and other things will be used in an attempt to numb this God given desire. However, the church has an opportunity in our day to model God created community and relationships to the world around us. The church can be a light in the darkness, a city on a hill. As we authentically live out deep and meaningful relationships, as we create communities, we demonstrate something that many in our culture long for and yet do not have. This is a huge opportunity for the church to demonstrate something of the Kingdom of God on earth.
The ‘façade’ is failing
As our post-Christian culture moves increasingly away from its Christian roots then the fruit becomes more and more clear. This is true with radical individualism. I have increasingly heard secular commentators, writers and even celebrities beginning to comment on the failings of the radical individualist ideology.
“Most people in the West belong to a popular cult of individualism and materialism where the pursuit of our trivial, petty desires is a daily ritual.” Russel Brand
We must remember that if the Gospel is true then living counter to God’s design will ultimately fail. Like the son who left his father to live the ‘good life’ in Luke 15 the good times seem amazing, until the famine hits. I believe we are living at a crucial moment in time when many of the false beliefs and assumptions of a post-Christian culture are beginning to fail and let people down. Russel Brand, along with many others are beginning to see that the claims of consumerism, individualism, and liberty are not all they have cracked up to be. I believe there will be many who begin to ‘come to themselves’ (Luke 15 v 17), realising that the claims of a post-Christian culture have left them metaphorically feeding the pigs and “longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate.” (Luke 15 v 16) This is not the time to gloat or pridefully claim that we were right all along, but instead to lovingly run to those who long for something of the Kingdom of God. To welcome them, to put a ring on their finger, a robe on their back and have a feast.
We face many challenges in our post-Christian culture, but none too hard or great for our almighty God. Let us continue in confidence as we pursue the life Jesus called us to, the life of community, mission and discipleship.
– Tim Barton