A Thought For The Week Of August 17, 2015

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." (Luke 10:1) It's all about teamwork. I look at this verse and I realize that Jesus did not send his disciples out as lone wolf evangelists. They were always part of a team - in this case they were sent in pairs; never alone, but always with someone else there with them. That's an incredible contrast to the problem of "lone wolf Christianity" that I'm seeing so much of today, which is shown in the growth of the "spiritual but not religious" movement; it's seen in the rebellion against the idea of what's referred to in increasingly dismissive terms as "organized religion." How many Christians, I wonder, don't bother going to church and aren't even especially connected with a church except perhaps on paper? Their objection will be that you don't have to go to church to be a Christian. And I agree. Being a Christian means (in some way) believing in Christ. But if one chooses to believe in Christ then I'd suggest that one has at least some obligation to follow the example and teaching of Jesus. Jesus himself was never a "lone wolf." He acted in partnership. He created a community. Yes, he took time away for himself but he always came back into the community. Among other things we know from the Gospels that Jesus attended synagogue on a regular basis. He likely didn't always agree with the teachings he found there, but he was there - regularly. So how is isolating oneself from the church following the example of Jesus? Synagogues were, among other things, "organized religion." And in this verse we discover that Jesus expected his disciples to work together - they were sent in pairs; they were partners in God's work. That's how it should be with Christians today - working together in the community that is the church. I get the reasons people have for rejecting the church and maybe just starting their own fellowships. Christians don't always act like Christ and churches don't always fulfil Christ's call or mission very well. And sure, there are times when going to church will seem like a religious club more than a community of disciples. I get that. The church isn't perfect - because Christians aren't perfect. Not even lone wolf Christians are perfect! I'm sure that those pairs of disciples that Jesus sent out into the world didn't always agree with each other. But still. Two by two. Community. Yes, you can be a Christian without being in the community of the church, but something important is missing.