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Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together is a classic on fostering authentic Christian community. As expected, from any book written in 1938, the language and content may seem a bit outdated but the concepts are full of wisdom and still worthy of discussion. The following is an excerpt that is relevant for today.

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be over-whelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.

By sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for a brief period in a dream world. He does not abandon us to those rapturous experiences and lofty moods that come over us like a dream. God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth. Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God’s sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both. A community which cannot bear and cannot survive such a crisis, which insists upon keeping its illusion when it should be shattered, permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community. Sooner or later it will collapse. Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients. We thank God for what He has done for us. We thank God for giving us brethren who live by His call, by His forgiveness, and His promise. We do not complain of what God does not give us; we rather thank God for what He does give us daily. And is not what has been given us enough: brothers, who will go on living with us through sin and need under the blessing of His grace? Is the divine gift of Christian fellowship anything less than this, any day, even the most difficult and distressing day? Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the communal life, is not the sinning brother still a brother, with whom I, too, stand under the Word of Christ? Will not his sin be a constant occasion for me to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ? Thus the very hour of disillusionment with my brother becomes incomparably salutary, because it so thoroughly teaches me that neither of us can ever live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and Deed which really binds us together-the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. When the morning mists of dreams vanish, then draws the bright day of Christian fellowship.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

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This is the second excerpt from Christian Smith’s excellent book Going to the Root.

The Bible helps us see where we went wrong.  For the Bible makes it clear that the central and irreplaceable medium for communicating the gospel is the quality of believers’ lives together.

Jesus’ last message to his followers was: “Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.  Everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:34-35, author’s paraphrase). Actions, apparently, speak louder than words. The lives of people who genuinely love each other, for all their warts and false starts, will be a truer explanation of the good news than the most precisely pitched evangelistic message.

Peter urges Christians to, “as aliens and strangers in the world, abstain from sinful desires…. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Pet. 2:11-12, author’s paraphrase). Likewise, Paul urges the Corinthians to conduct themselves so that when an unbeliever sees them, “he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!'” (1 Cor. 14:25, NIV).

I recently heard of a Christian smoker who tried hard to keep his smoking hidden so that it wouldn’t “ruin his testimony.”  Not only does this kind of attitude lose sight of priorities (smoking is ruining his lungs more than his testimony), it presumes nonbelievers can be tricked into the kingdom by lives without substance. In fact, the world is not fooled or impressed by facades of righteousness. Would we, in our evangelistic programs, like to see new believers every day? Let’s look at how it happened in the
early church.

These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of the bread and to prayers. The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone. The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed. They went as a body to the Temple every day but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved. (Acts 2:42-47, JB; also see 4:32-35)

No Christian bumper stickers here. They simply lived authentically redeemed lives in community. The depth of that life did its own communicating.

Luke goes to great lengths to tell how Peter and John got to preach to the people at the temple and to the Sanhedrin (Acts 3:1-4:31). They didn’t entice the people into their church buildings with comfortable pews and films. They didn’t even intend to preach at all, but simply to pray. However, “it happened that (3:2, JB). Peter and John were simply living as channels of God’s healing love. It was only after this act of healing and love that they preached as an explanation of what had happened. Evangelism flowed naturally from living out the transforming power of the kingdom of God. No slick techniques were necessary.

Biblical evangelism, then, is not cornering people and confronting them with the gospel. Nor is it charming people with a sweet, easy pseudo-gospel. Biblical evangelism is first incarnating the reign of God in community, then answering the inevitable questions: “Why do you live the way you do? What motivates you to live so differently?” Peter wrote, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord, and always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet. 3:15, author’s paraphrase).

When I first worked on developing my writing skills, a composition teacher offered me a simple maxim: “Don’t tell me, show me.” That maxim is also the best advice for churches interested in responsible and effective evangelism.  The world is sick and tired of being told about Jesus. The world needs to be shown Jesus.

As Christ was God incarnate, God in flesh and blood living in obedience to his parent, so we the church are to be Christ incarnate. We are to be Christ’s body, living out in flesh and blood the reign of God. This is a difficult project for marketing agents, but it’s the basic calling of God’s people.

Sometimes our kingdom lifestyles can bear witness without our intending it. For the past eight years, my wife and I have lived in cooperatively owned, multifamily houses with others in our community. A few years ago we and another family wanted to move together to a new neighborhood.

Our realtor was amazed. “I have never seen cooperative housing last for more than one house!” she exclaimed. “What’s your secret?”

Right then, in a way that would have never happened had I simply handed her an evangelistic tract, I had the opportunity to explain something about the kingdom. “The reason why we live this way is because….”

It is time to abandon our high-tech evangelistic outreaches, pull the plugs on the television programs, and peel off our Christian bumper stickers. Having fired our Madison Avenue consultants and dumped our direct-mail schemes, we can get back to basics. We can communicate the gospel by the witness of our lives. That means focusing our energies on becoming more fully the people of God. It means living lives which are so obviously influenced by an encounter with God that no one can find another reasonable explanation for us.

Christian Smith, Going to the Root

Going To The Root was published in 1992 by Christian Smith and is full of wisdom and great insight. This will be my first of two excerpts from the book.

Discipleship stands at the heart of Christian community. We do not build community primarily for emotional intimacy and social support – although we do experience those things in community.  Rather, we build community primarily to follow Christ and to more faithfully and effectively allow God to reign in our lives.  That is what makes these communities Christian ones and not just social clubs.

Christianity is a corporate as well as an individual faith. Becoming like Christ is a relational as well as personal process. For this reason, God calls believers to make their faith-journeys together, in small bands of people called “church.” For our own well-being and growth, we need the benefit of each others’ spiritual gifts, encouragements, role modeling, and challenges.

It is largely by sharing our lives in relationship together over time that God strengthens our faith, builds our character, and shapes us into the people we are meant to be. This makes sense, since most Christian virtues and fruits of the Spirit to which we are called-love, service, gentleness, humility, self-giving, patience, kindness, forgiveness-are expressed in relationships, not in isolation.

A key aspect of discipleship in Christian community is personal accountability. In community, we learn to be accountable. We learn, literally, to give an account to others. Accountability means that we can ask each other what is going on in our lives, how we are doing, or what is the state of our souls. And we can expect an honest answer.

Accountability also means that we can confront each other and be reconciled when we disappoint, anger, or hurt each other. Finally, accountability means that when we live irresponsibly or sinfully, we can admonish each other without fear of ruining our relationships.

Accountability in community rejects Lone Ranger Christianity. It repudiates privatized, individualistic faith. Accountability instead acknowledges our human and spiritual interdependence. It admits that our actions and attitudes affect each other deeply. We thus have a basic responsibility to each other.

Accountability recognizes that believers need each other’s help and support in pursuing the kingdom of God. It knows we all have blind spots that others we know and trust can help us with. Being accountable means not saying “Mind your own business” but being instead willing to work through issues and problems until we reach unity and love.

Being held accountable is often difficult. Holding another accountable can be even harder. Accountability is unnatural for those of us raised in an individualistic, freedom-oriented, North American culture. Accountability is not an attempt to bully or police each other, however. It simply aims to build responsible, loving relationships in the context of Christian discipleship. Although accountability may not be quickly mastered, it can be learned through practice aided by God’s grace and the community’s support. And when accountability is exercised correctly, it is not a chore, but a deeply rewarding means to strengthen relationships and foster human growth.

In community, believers gradually relearn how to relate to each other according to the principles of the kingdom of God. They learn, for example, how to really love and serve each other in concrete ways, how to support each other in difficult times. They learn how to admonish and forgive each other for hurts or sins. They learn how to share their resources, and how together to minister God’s mercy and love to broken people in a broken world.

Gradually, as believers learn these things, their communities develop distinct ways of life. They acquire particular patterns of social relations visibly different from those practiced by people in the larger world. The community then becomes a new social reality in which the kingdom of God is expressed, not only in the actions and attitudes of its individuals, but in the culture and social relations of a whole body of people.

By simply living out concrete, alternative social realities, informed by an alternative set of spiritual values, Christian communities witness to the breaking of the kingdom of God into history.  By simply being the people of God in this way, communities stand as concrete signs that God is indeed transforming this world by his love and mercy.

Hence, living in Christian community is both a necessary means for pursuing Christian discipleship and the natural result of a body of people shaping their lives according to God’s kingdom.  Christian community is, in this sense, both the path and the destination for believers.

Christian Smith, Going to the Root

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This short work by Chris J. Jefferies is a summary of Alan Hirsch’s book The Forgotten Ways. This 50 page summary is ideal for use as a small group study guide. Questions along the way help readers navigate from theory to practical application. I have included an excerpt below entitled “Structure For Life”. You can download a free copy by clicking here.

Change or remove anything and everything that stifles real life; good structures are very simple and easy to copy. Think about gardening rather than engineering because gardening involves living things. What is the easiest way to make a city? What is the easiest way to make a forest?

Remember that living things grow by themselves according to the life code (DNA) that is within them. An oak tree cannot produce grains of wheat and an acorn can never grow into a cabbage. In the same way, it’s impossible for the church to produce seeds of injustice and someone who continues to follow Jesus can never grow into a thief. Each grows according to its type. Jesus said we’d be known by the fruit we produce, either good or bad. Aim to produce plentiful, good fruit! (Matthew 7:15-20).

In other words, you don’t need to make the church grow. You can’t! All you can do is help the process start and provide the right conditions. Take good seed, bury it to the right depth in well tilled and manured ground, make sure it has enough water, keep away weeds and pests and your job is done. There will be a good harvest, but it might take a little time and patience.

Make sure leaders give power away, not hold onto it as the world tends to do; leaders should see themselves as servants (Matthew 20:25-28). Encourage every part of your group to think for itself, and give everyone the opportunity to use their gifts and interests freely and fully. What did Paul write about the body of Christ? (Ephesians 4:11-13) Encourage passion and ownership by telling great stories; invite people to act with boldness and ‘have a go’; involve everyone in planning. Celebrate every success; rethink and retry after every failure. Learn from every mistake and look for the positive aspects; never give up.

Share information as widely and openly as possible. Get apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to explain what they do to everyone. Share any problems and talk about them; if possible become part of a wider network; welcome change whenever it’s needed. Don’t try to turn chaos into order but instead see if you can find meaning in the chaos. You may need to change your point of view or encourage others to say what they think.

It’s best to structure things around the passion, energy and life that you see in people. Everyone is a potential power house in their own, unique way so encourage them to be more active, not less. Don’t build ‘windbreaks’ that slow the wind down, instead build ‘windmills’ that harness its energy. Remove obstructions to active life and, when that is not possible, find alternative pathways to get around them. Build mission and church around people’s interests, and choose meeting times to avoid clashing with social gatherings in the wider community. Let go when something is no longer useful, support new ideas and fresh energy whenever they appear in the group.

Shared beliefs and purposes are great at holding networks together. So form common values, beliefs and practices and help newcomers to understand them. Find simple, clear, memorable ways to talk about them. Share the stories of the group’s origins often and in as many ways as possible. Encourage one another and tell people why you value them.

Discuss – Spend some time right now to dig out the stories of how your group got started. Write these stories down; perhaps someone will volunteer to collect them in a notebook or folder or post them to a blog. Also, talk about the ideas in this section. How many of them are you already doing? List examples. Where do you need to do better?

Chris J. Jefferies, Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church