Chapter 17 leads off with an unfortunate story that probably many can relate to: tragedy that is handled well by the community of believers.
Shane tells us that he’s had the opportunity to witness first hand the power of the Body of Christ and it’s positive affects that can occur when we come together to support one another. He ends this portion by stating:
The church is God’s medium and message.
That’s great. I agree to a certain extent, and as if Shane knew the follow-up question (or concern) he begins to drill down on how difficult it can be to describe what the “church” is. Shane suggests that it’s probably better (or easier) to describe the church in terms of it’s “impact on the world.” And it’s impact, according to Shane, is best understood in a terms of the corporate body, not the individual.
And this is perhaps one of the larger issues that I have with this chapters; Shane says explicitly that:
[..] the Bible was not written to individuals for their personal faith journeys. It was written to groups of people hoping to live as communities of faith.
I understand his point, and he provides support from Pauls’ letters which were addressed to the local church, not specifically individuals, but I have a hard time believing that the application and/or principles can’t be for both at the same time.
In addition, I think he suffers more from me when he uses absolutes like “every time” and “only”… and isn’t “You” made up of “Individuals?” The Church will forever be what it is. Period. But it’s made up of individuals and we, individually, have a responsibility.
But I get his point and what he’s trying to accomplish here, and which he states explicitly at the near-end of his book: to make us aware.
[Image by GariBaldi]
***Stay tuned for a Final Overview and Poll to gather some more info from you guys…! It’s been fun! Hope you guys learned a thing or two…***
@phillipgibb says
I get what Shane is saying when he says that Jesus was the message, that we are the message as well because we are part of the Body of Christ. And I get it that as community we are more effective than a lot of individuals trying to be effective.
I take a bit of a guarded stance to Shane's notion that the Bible "was written to groups of people hoping to live as communities of faith" – technically – maybe, but that does not mean it is not personal (for the individual). What applies to the group applies to the individuals in the group.
As for the medium is the message, well – if you use the Church as an example, even Christians individually, in the lives they lead, in the way the Church responds in it corporate role to challenges – then you have a resounding agreement from me. But it will take more to get me to budge on the medium-message thing when it comes to the Word of God itself and the Truth therein. (Emphasis and Focus excluded for different cultures and settings)
human3rror says
word up. that's exactly what i was thinking.
Susan_Stewart says
I also think there's more to the group (church) living as communities of faith. Whether the group is a formal church or informal as this blog group, it is the individuals that make the group.
This group project would not have been of any value if we had each decided to go our own way, read or post chapters when and where we felt, or even read a different book. I think the same is true of the church. It's each individual following Christ, serving the world as described in the Bible, and living the message that holds the whole thing together. A church is a motley band of individuals that have the one thing of Christ in common. (I speak of the church as the body of Christ – not the separate buildings in which we meet.)
These final chapters have many chunks that I need to chew on.