The Extended Community of Faith

As we look at the Biblical Community of Faith we see a very different social

environment to that we experience today. While the church in Jerusalem may be
considered a “Mega Church” today, by 70 AD, after the Diaspora when the Romans
sacked the city and created a whole nation of displaced people there is little
evidence of the number or size of individual Communities of faith.
I am using Communities of faith because of the abuse of the word “church”. It is not
my intention to bag the church but I believe we need to refresh the concept of Faith
communities. Faith Communities are clusters of Christians, or Jesus followers, in a
given area say a part of a suburb. Individual Christians, even a block away, may not
be connected in the perception of those around them; sometimes even attenders
from a different church may not recognize a brother in Jesus.
This is different than we find today where it is common for people to live in one
suburb, perhaps work in another suburb removed by time and distance, and on
Sunday travel in an entirely different direction through more suburbs to a church
building that suits the personality of the family, or individual. The result of this is the
Faith Community becomes dislocated and is more a community of individuals who
create relationships based on affinity or “personal interests” rather than location.
Of course this may not be a negative, a person who does what I just described may
be able to develop three faith communities, one around the family home, another
based loosely around their work place, and the third being located around the
Fellowship Centre. The risk in this could be that you become so stretched between
the three that you cannot do justice to your involvement.
It is important that our Faith Communities are seen to work. In the New Testament
narrative, the Faith Community did not proselytize so much as draw people to the
Master by the quality of their lives. They lived their faith and loved their fellow
believers in such a way that it was written into history as well as the Bible. Even a
casual reading of the first five Chapters of the Book of Acts will see a loving, sharing
community that looked after each other and people were drawn to that community.
Sadly for the church, today, this dislocation has the combined fruits that universally
the family is increasingly breaking down. This is the situation for nonbelievers and
believers alike, and more importantly because of the dislocated nature of life our faith
life becomes less visible because the people we would be seeking to extend God’s
good news to just do not get the message. This is because we do not have sufficient
investment in their life, not for lack of trying but because they simply do not have the
evidence in our lives. We may be friends but as often as not we are strangers where
it matters when it comes to representing our Master.
“The early church is not necessarily a good model ... However it does illustrate the sort of
spirit that should exist in all genuine Christian fellowships. We do need to be united, to
meet together for sound teaching, discussion and prayer and to care about and love each
other. If this was the case then it could be said of us: All the believers in (add your Churches
Name) are one in heart and mind, much grace is upon them all. There are no needy
persons among them. They meet together with glad and sincere hearts and enjoy the
favour of all the people roundabout.” - JOHN REED
The above quote by John Reed is the concluding paragraph of one of the advance papers
to Capetown 2010, the Global conversation currently being run by the Lausanne
Movement. I find it has a challenge as well as a promise if only we can find the balance
between our faith life and sharing our faith in our daily life.