Privacy and community
One of the biggest subtle challenges to the gospel in western society is the cult of privacy.
In any culture there are values that Christians can relate to and embrace and there are values that Christians have to resist. Too often, the church has resisted the blatant ungodly values whilst not even seeing the more subtle ones. To my mind, one of the biggest subtle challenges to the gospel in western society is the cult of privacy.
This came home to me on Facebook last week. Someone had posted how they had prayed for someone and that God has done a mighty healing. Inevitably someone then responded asked just what the healing was. The poster responded by saying that they did not want to say as they did not want to violate the person’s privacy.
If only this was an isolated case, but how often have you heard a preacher say that anyone wants to become a Christian should put their hand in the air whilst everyone’s eyes are closed? It’s difficult to imagine Jesus saying ‘‘whoever wants to be my disciple should put their hand in the air whilst no one’s looking’’! Becoming a Christian was a public matter which may have cost you your family, your liberty or perhaps your life.
However the public nature of being a Christian is not just an issue for countries where there is overt persecution. Allowing a person to declare in secret that they are a Christian implies that it is somehow shameful; something can be kept to oneself alongside other embarrassing family secrets. It becomes a light under a box rather than a city on a hill.
The cult of privacy does not simply extend to becoming a Christian. It has crept into the heart of much pastoral work and discipleship. How many churches have versions of ‘‘if you have a problem, come and talk to one of the leaders and no one else will know anything about it. Everything is confidential’’?. The danger of this is that people think that everyone is doing OK except them because everyone seems to be superficially doing fine. They therefore don’t want to admit to any sin or weakness because they think ‘’no one else in the church struggles with this’’ when in reality half the church is getting support with an issue but no one knows about one another.
Such a model also reinforces an old covenant/traditional church model of priest and laity rather than one of Christians being a real body that supports one another. Yes, there are leadership gifts of which pastoring is a key one but those gifts operate in a context where the whole body has gifts from God for the upbuilding of one another.
It’s important not to be misunderstood at this point. I’m not arguing for every fact about every life to be shouted out loud. There are also some people who need very skilled support. However, I am suggesting that in the New Testament, we see a radically different model of mutually acknowledging our temptations and weaknesses and supporting one another in them. Far from confidentiality, we see statements such as ‘’confess your sins to one another’’, ‘’if one you is caught in a sin those of you who are spiritual ought to restore him gently’’ and ‘‘bear each other’s burdens’’. We see the apostle Paul admitting in public letters that there were points where he despaired for his own life. Most of all, we have the example of Jesus who was willing to have it recorded for all time that the night before crucifixion, he was sorrowful and troubled, even to the point of death.
In the New Testament we do not see people keeping their weaknesses secret or putting on a brave face. We do not see people saying ‘’I am weak, but in God I am strong’’ as a statement of bravado to enable to keep their mask on. Neither do we see people whose weaknesses make them draw back from serving God. Rather we see people who know that, though they are weak, one of the ways God makes them strong is by others supporting them in their weaknesses and by them supporting others in their weaknesses.
In a world where so much is built on image, a church made up of people who are unafraid to say that it is OK to admit that we fail and need the help of others will give a radically different message.
Tags: Community, Life, Relationship
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Comments
This is so true. No one wants to admit they need help, no one wants to be exposed. But the truth is, if everyone is exposed together then no one is left exposed. That’s genuine community.
By Kevin. Posted on Monday 23rd Nov 2009 at 12:09
‘.......if everyone is exposed together then no one is left exposed…...’
Love it
By David Capener. Posted on Monday 23rd Nov 2009 at 13:23
Jeff this is stellar.
By Tim Ebenezer. Posted on Monday 23rd Nov 2009 at 15:16
Wow, this is great. Completely contrary to how the world encourages us to act - keep everything quiet, bottle things up, don’t acknowledge weakness. There is so much freedom to be found in admitting our need for support, and in proclaiming what God has done for us. Great post Jeff
By Emma Keenan. Posted on Monday 23rd Nov 2009 at 15:31
Just this weekend I heard of a community church where a couple stood in front of the church, confessed something that affected the church body and received corporate forgiveness from the community. I was so impressed by the balance of acknowledging what was sinful but then showing complete forgiveness - what a beautiful picture of the gospel being embraced. I fully agree with you Jeff, we need to learn how to not only share our struggles but also stand in support of each other as we do so.
By Christy Cordner. Posted on Monday 23rd Nov 2009 at 16:23
individualism logically follows capitalism. in societies that are not capitalist driven, we see much more cohesion and commitment to each other (often in less developed countries). money is the root of all evil? haha. the bearing-all society you dream of can only happen when the community’s interests are placed higher than your own… unfortunately i don’t know many people, let alone christians, who do this. fortunately jesus was completely counter-cultural, and maybe with his spirit…
By acacia. Posted on Tuesday 24th Nov 2009 at 20:37
I agree with Acacia that capitalism will by its nature lead to individualism - in the same way it will logically oppress those at the bottom of the ladder. Capitalism is all about self-gain. Being community-focused is contrary to capitalism - much more of a socialist idea. Although that has its own flaws. The kind of community Jeff is advocating is one I want to work towards - but I do wonder about the extent to which it can be successful beyond our own small group without fairly drastic overturning of our social order! Maybe when we reach the point of turning all our interests (career, finances, relationships) over to the community, then we can be truly selfless. Like you said, Acacia, difficult, but maybe with God’s spirit…
By Emma Keenan. Posted on Thursday 3rd Dec 2009 at 10:57
I think that what the gospel sets out is something far different to capitalism or socialism.
If capitalism at its extremes makes a god of individualism, socialism at its extremes tends to make a god of either the state or of the collective and oppress ideas that challenge the collective ‘wisdom’ or might give one person a higher-profile role than another.
In the biblical concept of being a body, we do not see every part of the body being the same. There is no issue with hands doing something more creative than the pancreas or the feet taking us further than our nose would ever do. A body does not say ‘stop doing that, hands. It’s not fair that you can hold something but the elbow can’t’. Rather a body says ‘we all have different roles but all parts are needed for a body to work well’. The pancreas ma be well hidden and have a little talked about role, but its effect on the body if unwell is drastic. Therefore it makes sense to care for the whole of our body. Far from looking down on the body parts that seem more vulnerable, we treat them with special care because who would want to see any part of their own body come to harm?
Moreover when we see that everything we have comes from God and that we could no more have willed ourselves into being an eye than we could have willed ourselves into being a porpoise, it brings a sense of awe of God and of responsibility to use what God has given us for His purposes, not our own.
By Jeff Featherstone. Posted on Thursday 3rd Dec 2009 at 18:29
Great post Jeff - what a responsibility we have as a ‘Christ community’ to model community.
By David Capener. Posted on Monday 23rd Nov 2009 at 10:03