From time to time various critics have warned that the church was on its way down the wrong track. Historically, the church, in its almost universal position of power, has been slow to change, so power shifted from the church to a new ruling class of mostly wealthy old men and lawyers, the state.
While still in power, the church ruled almost every aspect of our lives. Then the state assumed that role. Both have missed their positions of power to create a world that would benefit all the people. Will a new tech-savvy generation have an answer to rapid and out of control change? Will life in their hands be better or worse? Will they remember the lessons from the past?
Largely in obscurity and on the fringes of the chaos, a movement of innovators has emerged experimenting with alternatives, some treading lightly, others more radically and revolutionary. A few have survived, but many have failed.
What they all have in common is faith in the power of community. That is a radical departure from the prevailing worldview based on competition and survival of the fittest. The opposite worldview, that cooperation, not competition, is the fuel that drives the ascent of successful species. Articulation of this view is relatively recent, but I will argue that it has been part of the human story for many, many thousands of years.
The gospel writers may not have had the vocabulary to describe it, but it is definitely present in everything Jesus taught. Luke describes the early church in the book of Acts. You might argue that it failed. I say that it didn’t. It changed because the people failed to follow the teachings of Jesus. They failed to surrender to the community and to put the interests of others ahead of their own, the two simple commandments Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:37 and 39.
Community has been a hard sell in the halls of power for a while now, but I see hope in the new generation emerging from the sidelines. They may not have the language yet, but they do have the heart for community. They also have a powerful motivator, the sins of the past.
We do have the heart for community!
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