In Day 17, Warren emphasizes the need to belong to a church for a number of reasons, including identifying yourself as a believer, developing spiritual maturity, and finding support to prevent backsliding.
I have mixed thoughts on this chapter. On the one hand, we all seek community with people who share our values, beliefs, world view, etc. Choosing to belong to a church is one example of that, and it makes sense that being surrounded by people who share your beliefs will help you better adhere to them yourself. I haven’t personally experienced these benefits in the “churches” I’ve belonged to, probably because I never really felt like I belonged and was never open to inviting these people so intimately into my life in the first place.
On the other hand, I think Warren’s definition of “church,” which is the standard definition, is narrow in relation to the purposes a “church” is meant to serve. For example, the verse “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” is used to justify the assertion that belonging to a physical church “identifies you as a genuine believer,” but Jesus called on us to love everyone, not a select group of people. Taking the Biblical perspective on God and spirituality, you build Jesus’ church by loving others – all others – not by creating in-groups and out-groups.
“If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor” is meant to support the idea that belonging to a physical church helps prevent self-centered isolation. But, if we’re all members of the body of Christ – which I described here as simply being members in the body of “Good” – then the whole world is our church, if we let it be. Yes, those who share our beliefs and values will help us adhere to them when the world seems cold and uncaring and the whole thing seems pointless – I’ve drawn so much strength from kindred souls I’ve connected with along my way. But, those who do not share our beliefs and values have much to teach us as well. There is a Buddhist concept that says we should treat all others as if they were Buddhas, teachers here to instruct us in perfect patience or perfect love. Even if you have a hard time seeing others as Buddhas or Christs in the flesh, believe that God (however you conceive of that concept) sent each and every person in your life to you to grow you up spiritually.
If we are all members of one body – which I believe we are, whether you call it the body of Christ or whatever – then we have much to learn from everyone we encounter about love and acceptance. A lung doesn’t tell a kidney to be more lung-like. It doesn’t get angry at or attack the kidney for being different, for having a different purpose, for doing different things – or doing things differently – from the lung. The body needs all its disparate parts to function as a whole. It’s a wonderful thing to draw strength and support from fellow spiritual seekers, but that needn’t happen within the narrow definition of a church. And we mustn’t discount what others – people we disagree with, dislike, don’t understand, etc. – have to teach us about what it really means to live a life of love.
Warren says “Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other.” You don’t need to go to a church to find ordinary, imperfect people to connect with and depend on. Warren said in Chapter 16 that life is all about love – for a Christian, showing love for any and every imperfect human being builds Christ’s church. It’s not necessary to define a physical space or group of people as your church. The world is our church, and we are all members.
TL;DR: No tl;dr for virtual book club posts.
