A 2006 Barna survey suggested that only eighteen percent (18%) of people professing to be born again Christians “firmly embraced the idea that spiritual maturity requires involvement in a community of faith.”
Only 17% of adults said that “a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.” Even the most devoted church-going groups – such as evangelicals and born again Christians – generally dismissed that notion: only one-third of all evangelicals and one out of five non-evangelical born again adults endorsed the concept. Only one out of every four adults who possesses a biblical worldview (25%) agreed with the centrality of a local church in a person’s spiritual growth. [1]
Such a survey makes one wonder whether or not there is any value in the concept of a spiritual community.
In the six years that I worked with the Berryville church of Christ, I spent five and a half years getting up on Tuesday morning and going to the local community center to do volunteer work. My role was primarily sitting at the front desk, greeting visitors, and answering their questions. It was a good opportunity for me to get to know the people in the community as well as conduct evangelistic efforts for the church. From this practical experience, I learned that there is value in the concept of community.
“It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18).
We consider community to be essential to the life of a healthy person. When community becomes disparate, we invent new ways to be social. The advent of social web sites offers the experience of a community in a mobile world that geographically divides friends and families over vast areas.
We have institutions that reflect our need for community. The existence of government implies our social nature and our desire to maintain orderly communities. The foundation of society, the family, is a social entity. It is part of God’s created order, the primal community.
“Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).
Christian societies have three basic social structures: the family, the government, and the church. The family’s emphasis is upon raising children to be successful adults. The government’s emphasis is upon maintaining order. Though only spiritual truths may successfully guide these institutions, the role of community in both of these institutions is primarily physical in application; that is, it pertains to this world. Neither geographically delimited governments nor physical family relationships will persist in eternity (Revelation 20:1; Matthew 22:30).
The church, however, provides a community experience that is primarily spiritual in nature and which will continue beyond this world (Revelation 22:3-4). The Old Testament addressed community in terms of “carnal ordinances” (Hebrews 9:10); the New Covenant addresses community in terms of spirituality and spiritual development (2 Corinthians 3:6). Humanity’s need for community is at least one premise behind the formation and maintenance of Christ’s church.
Our need for community transcends the physical need of survival. Animals may display such a physical need for community, but humans are above and beyond the animal world. Community is the basic outlet for our expressions of love and freedom (Matthew 22:39; Galatians 5:13). It is the place where one may demonstrate true altruism (Luke 6:35). A community is also needed in order for absolute humility to be practiced (Philippians 2:3-4).
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25).
In that regard, human community is fundamentally a spiritual need. When we use community in a mere physical way, we reduce ourselves to the level of beasts. By recognizing the spiritual aspects of community, however, we are enabled to become something better and higher; something spiritual. Such a need can be satisfied only in the midst of like-minded individuals who foster an environment that nurtures such growth – the church!
In God’s eternal wisdom, he foresaw man’s need for spiritual community and set out to establish the church (Ephesians 3:10-11). This fundamental spiritual need for community underscores the instruction of Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake the assembly. Why anyone would forsake their need for a spiritual community or deem it unnecessary speaks to carnal motivations.
[1] http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/267-americans-have-commitment-issues-new-survey-shows