Community is not easy. Somebody once said, “Community is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives.” In Jesus’ community of twelve apostles, the last name was that of someone who was going to betray him. That person is always in your community somewhere; in the eyes of others, you might be that person. - Henri Nouwen
Call me old-fashioned, but I’m deeply concerned with Hillary Clinton’s statement denouncing Jeremiah Wright, Jr., suggesting that if she heard his rhetoric as a church participant, she would go shopping for a new church.
Two separate flags go up when I hear responses like this. The first has to do with a lack of sensitivity to the African American experience in the mid 20th Century, and the second has to do with ecclesiology and the consumerization of Christianity.
With regard to the sensitivity issue, Mike Huckabee provided a surprising contrast in a recent statement by pointing out that he, too, would have a chip on his shoulder if he grew up black in the 1960’s Jim Crow South. I’m not an advocate for white guilt; but it would be wise to accept Rev. Wright’s vitriol in his particular context, and instead of denouncing it out of hand, use the opportunity to develop a more truthful relationship with an entire people group who have painful memories from the past. The path to healing isn’t by glossing over pain, or even moving past it, but by reconciliation - and that requires the sometimes ugly truth.
Secondly, and in my mind most critically, is the common misconception that one chooses his or her community based on personal preference, and that it’s perfectly good and healthy, even incumbent upon a churchgoer to uproot and go shopping when personally offended. I have never found a faith community that has existed without friction or disagreement. To pick up and leave, particularly when one is rooted in the way the Obama family apparently is with UCC, would go completely against the grain of what a faith community is supposed to be: a place to wrestle with God and the people we love, even to disagree, and yet to keep the fabric of unity intact. Personally, I tend to grow best when people challenge my assumptions and push my buttons. That doesn’t make me a masochist, I don’t enjoy the process, but we grow when faced with adversity much better than when we continue to demand exacting standards according to the limited world view and baggage we bring with us.
I’m tired of seeing people shop churches for the perfect fit, instead of allowing their lives to be molded and shaped by the influences of our community.
5 responses so far ↓
Art // March 27, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I wish I had said that! Excellent and, of course, I totally agree.
Michael // March 28, 2008 at 6:47 am
But what happens when that community is unhealthy? What happens when you know that you have tried but get burned time and time again. I’ve been in communities and those influences have molded and shaped my life. But what happens when the leadership unhealthy and its just time to go? Are you tired of people shopping for a church after being hurt, abused, exploited?
johnohara // March 28, 2008 at 8:43 am
Thanks, Michael; that’s an excellent point. I would never suggest that people stick around in an abusive relationship in any context. However, I think the story here isn’t abusive leadership but a disconnect on a more rhetorical level.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope you are finding a place of true community.
Anne Grant // March 29, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Yes, we live our Christian faith in the context of community but we should be shaped by the truth of God’s word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I guess my caution here is not to compromise on the simple and hard truths of God Word in the name of community.
johnohara // March 29, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hi Anne, thanks for joining in!
While I appreciate and receive your caution, maybe we’re creating a false dichotomy between community and truth: our understanding of God’s truths are rarely simple (even the most simple aspects of orthodoxy were bitterly debated), and our interpretation of scripture seems always to exist in the context of community, and is in constant revision (our perception of the hard truths of God’s word may have been different a century ago). Where we get into trouble, and where the heart of your cautionary note probably centers, is in giving up our strong convictions for the sake of community. This temptation is underwritten by a belief that community requires total agreement, even sameness, and I’m not ready to cross that line. In fact, I believe that community happens best when we like iron sharpen one another, choose to disagree without being divisive, and learn from each others’ perspectives.
That seems to be the angle Obama has shot for, although I should also say I’m equally concerned about patriotism becoming the foundation block for determining the ethical boundaries of theology. That conversation would take another post altogether.
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