No More Frozen Pizza

I generally don’t make New Year’s resolutions. But this year I’m making an exception.

My resolution for 2007 is not to eat any frozen pizza.

Pizza is a strong candidate for my favorite food. I like deep dish pizza, stuffed pizza, thin crust pizza and authentic Italian pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. I like pizza with mushrooms, onions, sausage, olives, pepperoni, green peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and just about anything else you can put on a pizza.

Pizza is also the food I am most likely to eat too much of.

I don’t eat sweets, so I am not tempted by pie, cake or ice cream. You can leave a bowl of M&M’s in front of me, and I won’t eat a single one. But pizza is a different matter. I’ve even forced down a slice of pizza when I was already stuffed.

So what’s the problem with frozen pizza?

The problem is that frozen pizza is not real pizza. Most of it is little more than cardboard with tomato sauce and “cheese” on it. Even the best frozen pizza is a weak imitation of the real thing.

If I’m going to have pizza, I want the real thing.

I don’t want to waste empty calories on something that fills my stomach and yet leaves me hungry—longing for the real thing.

Of course, this is bigger than pizza.

I’m also done with reduced-fat peanut butter, fat-free mayonnaise and turkey franks. But food is just the tip of the iceberg.

The prophet Isaiah records these words of the Lord:

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare (55:2).

Our lives are filled with fake junk.

We sit in our imitation leather chairs while we watch “reality” shows on TV that are interrupted by ads that tell a fictional love story that centers around instant decaffeinated coffee and by mechanically animated commercials selling us financial investments with a “personal touch.” We then go to our computers where we enter the virtual community of My Space while smoking low-tar cigarettes and eating “butter-flavored” popcorn.

Sundays are no different. We get up and eat Egg Beaters for breakfast. Then we drive 30 minutes to a church where we have a manufactured “worship experience” and listen to an entertaining monologue from a preacher who wishes he were Jay Leno.

Enough.

Jesus said, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10, The Message).

So why do we settle for imitation life?

We spend our time, energy and resources accumulating wealth, trying to make ourselves look attractive, buying the latest electronic gadget, going to trendy vacation spots, developing our abs, indulging in addictive pleasures, applying products to our bodies to make us look younger and scaling the never-ending ladder of “success.”

And the whole time our souls are starving.

I’m not talking about pagans, atheists or hedonists. I’m talking about people who claim to be among Jesus’ “sheep.” I’m talking about myself.

Do I really believe that God causes all things to work together for my good? Do I really believe that if I focus on the Kingdom of God that God will supply all my needs? Do I really believe that nothing can separate me from the love of God in Jesus Christ? Do I really believe that God intends to fulfill the desires of my heart? Do I really believe that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us? Do I really believe that my life can be suffused with love, joy and peace?

Then why am I gorging myself on frozen pizza?

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Peace on Earth

The angel announced, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).

This simple statement has the potential for several misconceptions.

The key to understanding this is to remember that it is written in the characteristic Hebrew poetic form of parallelism. It is composed of two statements (of unequal length).

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

Place: “the highest” — earth

Person: God — men

Characteristic: glory — peace

The angel was proclaiming that this event (the birth of the Messiah) would result in bringing glory to God in “the heavens.” And the result on earth would mean peace for mankind, specifically those upon whom his favor (grace) rests.

But this was not a promise of world-wide peace. In fact, Jesus would later tell his disciples, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

God has much bigger plans than a global truce.

Ever since the Garden, mankind has been estranged from God. And this estrangement spread to all our relationships. We found ourselves estranged from each other. Not only were we at war with each other, but we were also at war with nature itself.

Yet, God was prepared with a plan.

This plan rested in a feeding trough in an obscure village of an unimportant province of the Roman Empire—as a vulnerable baby. In this child resided all the hopes and dreams of mankind (and the Divine Community we call the Trinity).

God and man were reconciled in a single person. And in this person, God’s plan of redemption was fulfilled. And peace became a reality on earth.

But this peace came at a cost.

Only this child could pay the price. And pay he did, in full.

So why is there still conflict and war? Why do modern-day Scrooges exploit others for profit? Why do children become pawns in custody battles?

Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to experience this costly peace. It can only be known by repentance and surrender. We’re back to the choice whether to trust God with our happiness, with our future and with our hearts.

If we try to save our lives, we lose everything. Yet if we abandon ourselves to this Messiah, we receive life and hope and peace.

May you experience this peace that is beyond human understanding this Christmas season. And may you allow God to use you as a carrier to infect all those around you.

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Limited Grace

In a previous post, I mentioned that we tend to reduce grace to a deposit in some cosmic bank account. We say that it is “God’s unmerited favor” and limit that favor to getting signed up for heaven.

The Bible has a much richer concept of grace.

In the following Scriptures, grace seems to refer to God’s power:

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.
Hebrews 13:9

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:6–7

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Acts 6:8

In these passages, grace seems to refer to spiritual gifts or special abilities that God gives people:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
Ephesians 4:7

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
Romans 12:6

Here grace appears to be a capacity that God provides which produces maturity in a follower of Christ:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:18

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:1

In these two instances, grace seems to mean God’s care:

From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
Acts 14:26

Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
Acts 15:39–40

In these passages, Paul addresses the role of God’s grace in his life:

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
1 Corinthians 15:9–11

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s
grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Ephesians 3:7–8

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Romans 12:3

I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:15–16

The first two, seem to be using the term to refer to God’s power at work in his life. The other three seem to use it to refer to his office as an apostle.

If you are still thinking that grace refers only to the substitutionary atonement, this verse should resolve the issue:

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
Luke 2:40

Of course, the child is Jesus. God’s grace was upon him. And in this case, the favor was not “unmerited.” This suggests a richer meaning for John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

May the love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit be with you this Christmas season.

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Controlling Grace

I’ve noticed a rather disturbing behavior in parishioners while participating in the means of grace known as Communion, the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper.

It is most obvious when they are partaking of the “wine.”

(Disclaimer: We use grape juice in little cups. I know that it has little continuity with Jesus passing around a cup of wine after the Passover meal, but there are other factors involved.)

Communion is supposed to be a means of grace. It is one of the “channels” through which God administers his “unmerited favor” to his people. It is well established that humility and surrender are necessary conditions for receiving grace.

But this is what I see: worshippers asserting control when they are receiving Communion.

It is a general attitude. But I have isolated two different behaviors that expose this attitude. One is refusing to take the little cup that is closest. It seems to be a deliberate assertion of self will.

In this situation, the tray has some cups already removed. And one cup is isolated making it easy to grasp. (I often rotate the tray to make these even more accessible.) I watch the person consciously reject the close cup and reach for one farther away.

The other situation could be described as “which one should I take.” In this case, the worshipper looks at the cups in the tray as if they were chocolates in a Whitman sampler. After a short deliberation, the communicant reaches for the prize with the compressed lips of satisfaction.

What made me aware of this was a jarring moment that occurred while I was distributing the bread. (We use a small loaf of regular bread which I break in two. I often carry a half loaf in each hand.) I extended one of the half loaves to a congregant who quite purposefully reached past it to tear off a piece from the other half.

It was after this that I started to notice the more subtle behaviors I described above.

So what do you think? Have you seen this at your church? What is your attitude when taking Communion? Do you think I have made too much of this behavior?

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Discipleship & Grace

I’ve heard people that I respect say that sanctification is by grace alone: “The Christian's personal holiness is as much a monergistic activity of the Holy Spirit as is his justification and conversion.”

(Monergistic is just a fancy way to say that it depends entirely upon God and that we play no part in the process.)

I understand the motivation and mindset behind such a statement. But it is not biblical.

Fortunately, J. I. Packer doesn’t let his theology get in the way of clear biblical teaching:

Regeneration was a momentary monergistic act of quickening the spiritually dead. As such, it was God’s work alone. Sanctification, however, is in one sense synergistic — it is an ongoing cooperative process in which regenerate persons, alive to God and freed from sin’s dominion (Rom. 6:11, 14-18), are required to exert themselves in sustained obedience. God’s method of sanctification is neither activism (self-reliant activity) nor apathy (God-reliant passivity), but God-dependent effort.

As Dallas Willard explains:

Currently we are not only saved by grace; we are paralyzed by it. We find it hard to see that grace is not opposed to effort, but is opposed to earning. Earning and effort are not the same thing. Earning is an attitude, and grace is definitely opposed to that. But it is not opposed to effort.
Dallas Willard, The Great Omission, p. 166

Here are a few statements from Scripture about the effort involved in becoming like Christ (emphasis added):

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.
Philippians 2:12–15

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
1 Corinthians 15:9–10

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
Colossians 1:28–29

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
2 Peter 1:5–7

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:13–16

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
2 Peter 3:14

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:5–10, 12

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
1 Thessalonians 4:3–7

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’
tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:7–8

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:11

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Hebrews 6:11–12

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:24

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14

Make no mistake. The work of transformation in the Christian is done by the power of God. But this transformation does not occur without participation on our part.

Discipleship is “training for godliness.” It is a process much like physical training.

In today’s church we’ve reduced the gospel to a theory of atonement and reduced grace to forgiveness of sins. But the gospel is much more than that. And grace is not just some deposit in a cosmic bank account.

Jesus called us to be (and to make) disciples.

A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do. A disciple is not a person who has things under control, or knows a lot of things. Disciples simply are people who are constantly revising their affairs to carry through on their decision to follow Jesus.
Dallas Willard, “Rethinking Evangelism”

Discipleship “is not a matter of behaving in certain ways, but of being inwardly and thoroughly a different kind of person: having the character of Jesus Christ.”

Christian spiritual formation is a transformation of the “inner person” by the power of God through our exercise of spiritual disciplines and participation in the means of grace. It is God’s work. But it also requires effort on our part.

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Willard on Discipleship

So what exactly is discipleship?

For an answer to that question I’ve turned to who I believe is the number one expert on Christian discipleship, Dallas Willard.

Discipleship belongs to the category of spiritual formation. This is a popular topic in today’s world. (A search on Google returns 1.5 million hits.) There is Buddhist spiritual formation. There is generic spiritual formation. Some think that spiritual formation is a Trojan horse for heresy.

The truth is that everyone is a product of spiritual formation, even atheists. The only question is what kind of a person each is being formed into.

Unfortunately, most North American Christians are not intentional about their spiritual formation. Their spirits are unconsciously shaped by Woody Allen movies, by The Oprah Winfrey Show, by The Simpsons, by U2, by Dr. Phil, by Rick Warren, by Dan Brown, and by Bill O’Reilly.

Instead of this haphazard spiritual formation, followers of Jesus are called to an intentional process of Christian spiritual formation (2 Peter 1:5–7).

In Living A Transformed Life Adequate To Our Calling, Dallas Willard explains:

Spiritual formation for the Christian is a Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self—our “spiritual” side—in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.

Christian spiritual formation “is not a matter of behaving in certain ways, but of being inwardly and thoroughly a different kind of person: having the character of Jesus Christ.”

But that inner transformation will result in observable differences in behavior:

Discipleship focuses on the inner self, which consists of our ideas, beliefs, and emotions. Character grows out of our inner lives, and it governs what we think and feel. As our character is transformed, our behavior is transformed as well.
Dallas Willard, “Apprentice to the Master,” Discipleship Journal, #107

It is widely accepted that Christians behave in ways that are virtually indistinguishable from nonbelievers. Why is this the case?

The modern church has changed what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Being a Christian has come to mean going to church and being saved when you die. The ministry of the church is given over to “making the final cut” and solving problems (marital problems, witnessing problems, apologetics, pain and suffering), not to discipleship.
Dallas Willard, “Apprentice to the Master,” Discipleship Journal, #107

In this article, Willard explains:

[Christians] believe there is a God and they need to check in with him. But they don't have any sense that he is an active agent in their lives. As a result, they don't become disciples of Jesus. They consume his merits and the services of the church. … Discipleship is no essential part of Christianity today…. We don't preach life in the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus as an existential reality that leads to discipleship and then character transformation…. When you don't have character transformation in a large number of your people, then when something happens, everything flies apart and you have people acting in the most ungodly ways imaginable.

Christians generally do not exhibit that character of Jesus. And the reason they don’t is that they don’t intend to. They don’t think that the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount are livable in the real world. They believe that “turning the other cheek” and blessing “those who persecute you” are idealistic moral sentiments rather than commands.

Of course, there are other issues involved such as a misunderstanding of the nature of grace and very real concerns about legalism. Then there is the question of whether it is even possible for us to develop the character of Jesus.

I’ll address these issues in subsequent posts.

Pastor Rod

“Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be”

Missional Discipleship

In my previous post, I mentioned that many people see community and mission as competing values. The truth is, however, that true community grows out of mission.

Most church leaders are also convinced that evangelism and discipleship pull the church in different directions. They say that we must manage a “balance between evangelism and discipleship.” But they warn us, “Finding and keeping God’s Biblical balance between in-house discipleship and outreach evangelism is always difficult.”

Many believe that evangelism is more important than discipleship. Their philosophy is to get as many people “into heaven” as possible.

John R. Rice is an extreme example. In his book, I Am a Fundamentalist, reviewed here, he calls Biblical churches “great soul-winning centers.” He criticizes formal worship services and small churches. Rice says, “It is not a sin for a church to start small. It is a sin for a church to stay small.” He asks, “Who is greatest in the sight of the Lord? Evidently the man who wins more souls.”

A Southern Baptist Convention official sent out a letter (quoted here) with this paragraph:

Numbers are important because they represent souls lost and headed for Hell that are now headed for Heaven. It is time that we get serious about baptizing as many as we can these next two weeks to close out the 2005-2006 year.

There are many pastors and leaders who think the very same way. They just don’t have the courage to say so.

There are others who believe that discipleship is important. But they think a few reminders from time to time will encourage people to “follow Christ.” Or they see discipleship as “part two.” First we have to figure out how to get them saved. Then we’ll figure out how to disciple them.

Some believe that discipleship is more important than evangelism. They believe that healthy Christians will naturally share their faith and bring others into the kingdom. They say, “Disciples naturally share their faith. They do relational evangelism on their own. They bring new believers into the church.”

But the problem is that the longer most people are Christians, the less contact they have with non-Christians. The more mature believers become, the less likely it is that they will find themselves in situations to “naturally share their faith.” And the more cloistered they are, the less they are able even to speak the same language as “the world.”

The sad reality is that most efforts at discipleship do not result in people “naturally sharing their faith.”

Here’s something most people haven’t thought about: The early church did not have an evangelism program.

They didn’t have a visitation night. They didn’t pass out tracts. They didn’t memorize a “plan of salvation.” They didn’t set goals for baptisms. They didn’t go door to door.

Yet “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Evangelism was not some activity they did from time to time. It was something that “just happened.” Notice in Acts 2:42–47 the things that the believers did:

• They listened to the apostles’ teaching.
• They “fellowshipped.”
• They “broke bread.”
• They prayed.
• They “lived” together.
• They shared their possessions.
• They gave to the needy.
• They met daily in the temple courts.
• They ate together.

You don’t read that they “shared their faith.” In fact, there is no mention of the things we think of when we hear the word evangelism.

Yet, at the end of this list Luke records that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Unfortunately, the word evangelism has lost its value for us today. I would suggest that mission is a better word.

Some people just see mission as a more sophisticated word for evangelism. In this article, the Director for Education and Evangelism in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said, “It is a balance between mission and formation.” He has simply adopted new words for evangelism and discipleship. He equates mission with evangelism and formation with discipleship.

The associate director (apparently his wife) says, “Within each congregation are two distinct but intersecting spheres of activity: evangelism and education.”

Mission is not just a more sophisticated word for evangelism or “outreach.” It’s an entirely different mindset.

We must replace “evangelism” with mission.

One reason churches need to have evangelism programs is because they have completely missed the purpose of the church. They have lost touch with its mission.

But what about discipleship?

Some people don’t see the need for discipleship. They say, “Teach me what the Bible says about church, and get out of my way. My friends and family will wrestle with the cultural implications. Teach me what you understand to be God's directive concerning leadership, worship, gifts, and service; leave it to us and the Spirit to work out the practice.”

Some resist efforts to do discipleship because they are afraid that it will result in legalism or moralism. Discipleship is about behavior, but it is not about legalism, moralism or even religion. Discipleship is about internal changes that are visible in behavioral changes.

Some think they are doing discipleship, because they believe it is nothing more than education or instruction. To them, discipleship is teaching people theology and doctrine. It is explaining the Trinity, the human-divine nature of Jesus Christ and the particular interpretation of eschatology to which their church subscribes.

But discipleship is much more than that. Dallas Willard insists that the proper way to think about discipleship is as Christian spiritual formation.

And this formation must become our highest priority: “If we do not make formation in Christ the priority, then we’re just going to keep on producing Christians that are indistinguishable in their character from many non-Christians.”

True discipleship includes the practice of missional living. And missional living is what Luke is describing in Acts 2:42–47. Missional living results in the expansion of the Kingdom.

Missional living is one of the factors that the Holy Spirit uses to draw people into the Kingdom. Luke says, “Everyone was filled with awe.” It is tempting to think that this was a result of the signs and wonders done through the apostles. But the Greek suggests that the people were filled with awe because of how the Christians lived.

True discipleship is missional discipleship. And missional discipleship attracts people to the Kingdom. “Evangelism” and discipleship might be at odds. But missional discipleship inexorably leads to the expansion of the Kingdom.

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Community or Communitas?

There is a lot of talk in the church about community. But there seems to be too little experience of true community.

Anthropologist Victor Turner suggests that we should think about this somewhat differently. He offers the concept of communitas instead of community. According to Turner, communitas grows out of liminality.

Liminality is a state of ambiguity, openness, and uncertainty. This transition state opens the possibility for new ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Differences between participants also become less important.

Out of this liminal environment grows communitas, a new social structure that is based on equality and common experience.

Michael Frost discusses this in his book, Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture.

Men [the disciples] who otherwise would have nothing to do with each other are thrown together by their shared devotion to Jesus, and as they journey together, they develop a depth of relationship that literally turned the world upside down.
Michael Frost, Exiles, pp. 113–114

When the church focuses on mission, communitas naturally develops. But when the church tries to create “community,” it often goes bad.

Those who love community destroy it, but those who love people build community.
Michael Frost, Exiles, p. 108

The hunger for community is a legitimate one, but to pursue it for its own sake is the mistake. When we seek to build community without the experience of liminality, all we end up with is pseudo-community that pervades many churches.
Michael Frost, Exiles, p. 121

Many Christians have the sense that the church must balance an outward focus with an inward focus. In other words, they see mission as competing with community. The reality is that a commitment to mission is the soil out of which community grows.

The idea of worshipping with fellow believers and then bidding them farewell for the week in the parking lot—“See you next Sunday”—is the very antithesis of the experience of the earliest Christians.
Michael Frost, Exiles, p. 288

Community has an inward focus.
Communitas creates a feeling of belonging because the group has the common experience of being outside society.

Community focuses on encouraging each other.
Communitas focuses on the mission.

Community tries to create a “safe place.”
Communitas seeks to transform society making it more just and good.

Community is something to be created.
Communitas is a serendipity that happens in a state of liminality.

Community requires homogeneous groups.
Communitas cuts across all sorts of cultural, ethnic and ideological boundaries.

Communitas is most familiar in the form of battlefield camaraderie. It is what Henry V describes in Shakespeare’s play:

And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Henry V, iii

Communitas is what allowed a tax collector and a zealot to treat each other as brothers as members of Jesus’ inner circle.

Frost quotes from a soon to be published book by Alan Hirsch:

Communitas in the way I want to define it is a community infused with a grand sense of purpose; a purpose that lies outside of its current internal reality and constitution. It’s the kind of community that “happens” to people in actual pursuit of a common vision of what could be. It involves movement and it describes the experience of togetherness that only really happens among a group of people actually engaging in a mission outside itself.

Instead of liminal communities, most churches are private clubs designed for the comfort of their members, members who like to discuss religion in their spare time.

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”