Kendall Smith, No-Div
Kendall is an elementary science teacher and an avid lover of books, nature, and long walks. She is easily distracted by thunderstorms and loves a good conversation over coffee.
If you are an Enneagram aficionado, then you may know that 6’s have a slight issue with authority. Here’s the deal. We have a love/hate relationship with it. We can be distrustful of motives, unsure of where we stand in an organization, and at the same time, feel this bizarre sense that within this person lies our security. Therefore, we may feel too attached and loyal to an authority figure. In college, I participated in a Ministry Inquiry Program, where my cooperating pastor pointed this out in me. “You don’t like to follow authority, do you?” he asked with a grin. The truth is, not until I trust them.
While in college at a small, liberal arts school near me, I had a run-in with someone in authority. She was the professor of Bible and Religion at the time. And she happened to be making audacious claims that community was at the center of the Christian religion. To be honest, I sat in her office and argued my point: Jesus was at the center of Christianity. But twenty years later, I get what she was saying. And I’ll concede that maybe she knew something that I didn’t...and maybe we are both right.
Tyler and I have been sharing over the past few months how the Church has caused us hurt and pain. And we know from conversations with many of you that you’ve experienced some of this, too. If you’ve read the tagline from our website, you’ll see our claim: “Sometimes, churches give really bad answers to really good questions.” There is no doubt that churches--in reality, any organization run by humans—have the capacity to hurt and wound.
But what is equally true is that the Church--Jesus’ Church--is the hope of the world. And we don’t claim this because we simply believe it, but because Jesus believed this. As far-fetched as that can sometimes seem, the community of Jesus-followers has the power to bring healing and hope to those around us. And we want to be a part of that! In fact, we want to invite you, over the next few weeks, to re-imagine with us what a healing and hopeful community of believers can look like. (For now, I won’t even use the C-word)
Here is why I think my religion professor was onto something: God exists in community--the Father, Jesus (the son) and the Holy Spirit. Before there was a world, there was love in a community. God created the world and all that is in it for the purpose of community. With God, for sure. But even with each other! We were made to experience the fullness of love and acceptance, joy and laughter together. This “sharing in joy and laughter, pain and sorrow” together is actually how we show our love for God! So yes, Christianity is all about Jesus. But Jesus wants our lives to be all about God--and each other!
As a first step, perhaps one claim we can make about what this community of believers looks like is that we demonstrate real, tangible love to each other. We invest in each other’s lives. We coach each other’s kids in ball games, we cheer each other on in their passions, we share meals with each other, we help each other see how God is working in and around us, and we care and pray for each other when we are hurting. And it is these things that set us apart as the Body of Christ. Not church membership. Not attendance on Sunday mornings. (Although these aren’t bad things!) The Body of Christ should stand out in the world because we, through the power of God’s Spirit in us, are embodying Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. And these characteristics are hard to display to one’s self. They are only possible in community with others.
We’d love to hear your ideas. How can we be the Body of Christ? What does the Church, re-imagined, look like? Comment below, or on any of our social media platforms. We can’t wait to hear from you!