Conversations on Biblical Community

Community is one the keys that sets following Christ on a different page than following any one else. Community is vital not only to the existence of church but for the fleshing out of the believer. Vernard Eller places incredible weight on living in community.

“You probably think we should talk about the lifestyle of the individual Christian before moving on to that of the church. But I am convinced that establishing the proper sort of community is the most critical factor in generating truly Christian lives. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that there is not even the possibility of a fully Christian style of life outside the context of the right sort of Christian community (church).” – Vernard Eller

Hebrews live out their whole lives in community. Their understanding of identity as a people, as well as how they relate to their God is fleshed out in community. A great understand of this is found in Isaiah 6:5. Isaiah doesn’t even know how to identify himself solely as an individual when relating to God.

People to people relations

One of the broken elements in need of repair, resulting in Adam and Eve’s choice is people to people relationship. In joining up with God in his redemptive story we must help in restoring God’s design for community.

Throughout history God has provided ways for his people to recapture the right relationships that the brokenness of sin has caused. The ancient offering of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was one of the most important days within the life a Hebrew person. This is the day when all of the sins of the people (corporate) were forgiven.

Leviticus 16 gives us a description of Yom Kippur. However Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and God, not for sins against another person. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible. That must all be done before Yom Kippur. As God setup the system for reconciling people back to himself, he built-in a must for the reconciliation of people to people as the first step in redeeming people to himself.

This people to people reconciliation is not just for an ancient people. In Matthew 5:23 Jesus reflects on this principle by stating that our offerings can’t even be given to God without first correcting our relationships to and with others. This has huge implications for us as true believers living out biblical community.

Community is lived out in fellowship

Communal fellowship goes far beyond the common view of sharing punch and cookies, coffee and cake in the foyer after service. Biblical fellowship requires something of us. It requires us to have part ownership.

Fellowship in a community cost people something: there are 85+ ‘fellowship offering’ references in the Old Testament alone (click here for more info).

This understanding of community is still being lived out today. In Scotland a small community will band together to buy a cow. All members sharing part in both the cost and the blessing.

I’m wondering if the Biblical example of our fellowship with one another is that it should cost us something as well? The New Testament examples of fellowship also show there being a co-mingling of relationship, a cost, and a communion with God where we join in with Him.

In a paper by Vernard Eller called “The Outward Bound” he uses the idea of the church being a Caravan instead of a Commissary:

Essentially, the New Testament pictures the church as a caravan. This “caravan” understanding seems to have been normative until the time of Constantine, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. This acceptance of Christianity by the world brought with it a different concept of the congregation–a concept that has dominated the church scene to the present day. According to this understanding, the church is pictured basically as a commissary.

A commissary is an institution that has been commissioned to dispense particular goods, services, or benefits to a select constituency. The commissary church, then, sees itself primarily as an institution, a divine institution franchised by God. God has stocked the institution with a supply of heavenly graces (Bible truths, correct theology, the sacraments, etc.) which the clerical proprietors, through proper transaction, can disburse to the customers. The measure of a commissary, it follows, lies in the legality of its franchise, the warranty of its goods, and the authorization of its personnel.

A caravan, on the other hand, is something entirely different. It (and a walking caravan best fits our idea) is a group of people banded together to make common cause in seeking a common destination. (Cur emphatic use of the word “common” makes it evident that we are speaking of a community rather than an institution) The being of a caravan lies not in any signed and sealed authorization but in the way it functions. Its validity lies not in its apparatus but in the performance of its caravaners–each and every one of them. A caravan is a caravan only as long as it is making progress–or at least striving to make progress. Once the caravaners stop, dig in, or count themselves as having arrived, they no longer constitute a caravan.

When I travel, it costs me something. I have to give time, energy, and resources to reach a destination. My prayer is that we would be willing to give of ourselves in order to live out community God’s way. That we would celebrate both in the cost and the blessing of traveling together. My hope is that all of you will travel with me on this amazing journey.