And Another Thing... the BOOK.

Some of you may remember a blog called "And Another Thing..."

It was a bunch of my thoughts over 2005/2006. In an effort to try out an online publisher for a book I am trying to finish, I have published my posts in a book form.

Of course, it costs money, but of you want one, here's the link:
http://www.lulu.com/content/1064486

Community over Self

There is no such thing as private Christianity. Following Jesus cannot be done on your own. As Paul says in Romans 12, “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. In a society that values privacy and self-sufficiency over all else, that statement is about as upside-down as it gets.

Belonging means more than just feeling included, or “being a part of something”. That is only the beginning. Real community is discovered when all the members belong to each other. There is a sense of ownership, or at very least some authority and accountability alluded to here. And that goes against the grain of modern society, doesn’t it? We don’t want to be owned by anyone. We don’t like accountability - yet we want to belong. We don’t like loneliness, yet we want to be left alone. Again, self-sufficiency is king – and the irony of its’ effects are evident in our troubled existence.

Valuing the community over self is a prerequisite to experiencing what community is all about. If the reason for “belonging” is to get what you need instead of give what is needed, nobody goes away benefiting from the experience. On the contrary, if everyone approaches the group in order to give and meet needs, the whole community is strengthened. But it means more than just giving to others, or giving of our talents and gifts to the whole, and staying at a distance. It means the giving up of our very selves. It’s one thing to help others by using our gifts for the benefit of the whole, but to expose our real self and our needs seems counter-productive to the average person. Popular wisdom would say that we must only give our strengths to the group in order to make it strong, but this is another time when we must think “upside-down-ly”. The giving up of ourselves is the act of selflessness that will make the community truly strong and vibrant. It is in our weakness that we discover the strength in community. Our collective weakness makes fertile ground for the Spirit to move and people to discover a depth of connection not found elsewhere.

Here in the west, we have bought into the lie that those who have really “made it” never need to ask for help. Self-sufficiency has become the unofficial pinnacle of success. We have an ethos that encourages us to horde wealth and resources all our lives in order to avoid asking for help. "Every man for himself"– that’s what we used to call it on the playground. Who knew it would become the mantra to live by…

And most of the time we feel good about it. We feel we are doing the world a favour by taking care of our own problems. We pride ourselves in not “burdening” anyone. If we can go through life without putting anyone out, we figure we’ve done a great deed. But what if that’s all wrong? What if the whole idea and purpose of life together on this planet is to care for one another instead of desperately working towards the absence of reciprocity? What if we were meant to depend on each other? What if we were made to need each other? What if avoiding the need for help robs others of their true purpose for being alive? It might explain the alleged increase in middle/ upper-class depression over the last century. Maybe the more individualistic we become, the more we lose the deep meaning of both giving and receiving. We have preached relentlessly about serving others, but seldom talk about being vulnerable enough to accept a helping hand. Do the math – it doesn’t work. Those who finally get to the place where they need no help realize they are desperate for someone to care enough to see their need.

Think about it - the very way we live in the West is testimony to how we feel about individualism. We whole-heartedly embrace it. We have gated communities, fenced yards and rules for conversation and eye-contact on sidewalks and elevators. We actually have to entice people with faster commutes to get them to ride with someone else on the freeway. And heaven forbid you strike up a conversation on the commuter train. Advertising companies love us for it. They know we would rather stare blankly at an ad for Vagisil than talk to someone right next to us. Yet within this drive towards self-sufficiency, we sit in our individualism with a profound sense of feeling alone. We hole up, watching movies like The Lord of the Rings, longing for the kind of companionship we see on the screen. The irony of our existence is evident; “leave me alone, I’m lonely”…

Now

My generation is more interested in the idea of a fallen creation that is being renewed by the presence of Jesus than it is about heaven and hell. It makes some people really ticked off because we don't talk enough about eternal judgement and being right or wrong, and about getting people "saved".

It's not that I don't think hell exists in some form. And it's not that I don't think heaven is coming. It's just that I choose to concentrate on the fact that the Spirit is here - the kingdom is invading this cursed earth. And the gospel is defined by His renewing presence. I am not saved , I am being saved. I am not a Christian - I am becoming Christ-like.

Only looking to eternity has done the Kingdom no favours.