Calling vs Commodity

With our Community Group Leader Training happening this weekend I’ve been thinking about Hebrews 10:19-25, which is a really foundational passage for our discipleship efforts at Bethel. I thought I’d write a couple posts about it to explain the importance of community groups and what we want to accomplish in and through them. I want to start by asking you a question.

Calling or Commodity?

Do you view church community as a calling or a commodity? 

A commodity is something to meet our particular needs at an acceptable cost to us. We commodify relationships when we view them as means to satisfy our own personal desires and agendas. A commodity is all about you, but a calling is not yours, nor is it for you; it’s God’s, and it’s ultimately for him. A calling catches you up into something bigger than yourself. A calling brings intentionality and a sense of purpose. This is the view we ought to have of community. Whereas the commodity viewpoint breeds self-centered consumerism, viewing community as a calling cultivates God-glorifying, others-centered, covenantal love. 

When we view relationships and community as a commodity a natural consequence is that it leads to consumeristic tendencies and transactional ways of relating to one another. Consumerism approaches faith in terms of "what I get out of it” and “what can you do for me?” Transactional relationships say “I put in this much so I should get this much out,” and, “I did this nice thing so I expect you to do something for me in return.” or, “they wronged me in such a way, so i have the right to wrong them back.”

Consumerism makes our faith fickle and fragile. “If it doesn’t meet my tastes and desires then I’m out.” This is an epidemic in churches and it is a result of viewing faith communities as commodities for self rather than as a calling to others and ultimately to God.

the Committed way of Grace

Christ calls us to a radically different way: to a life of love that has been set free and is empowered by the astounding good news of God’s grace through Christ. The way of Jesus confronts the way of the world that is ruled by self-interest, competition, and legalism. Jesus calls us to the way of grace that can transform our relationships even with the most unlovable and broken people among us.

Instead of counting on merits and demerits to earn affection and respect and commitment, we must realize that love is a complete gift and community is a calling. In Jesus we don’t just come to people for what they can offer us, and we don’t try to treat people as they deserve to be treated. We extend the grace that we have experienced from Christ. 

This is so important because if we view community as a commodity we will approach it as consumers; thinking primarily about what we like and don’t like and the benefit and satisfaction we get out of it. Even worse, we will fall into transactional ways of relating to one another

So that when we are not fully compensated the way we think we ought to be for our services rendered or even just our presence then resentment and discontentment will develop and grow until personal happiness is lost. Then the church or small group commodity is no longer fulfilling it’s purpose so it is simply abandoned.

But the calling of Jesus compels us in the way of grace and others-centered unconditional love. The transformative love of Jesus himself. And If our love for our community rests on the promise of Christ’s love rather than an a mere experience of happiness or satisfaction, then if a lack of satisfaction or happiness arises, we may see it as a problem to be solved but not as a reason to leave. 

In Christ we are to view relationships and community as a calling rather than as a commodity, which means that we are called to the non-transactional ways of grace because Christians are not meant to be consumers; we’re meant to be servants…like Jesus. And he calls us to committed participation in community centered around him. As Jesus followers we are called to do Jesus-things in Jesus-ways and Jesus cared about intentional community. He cared about Gospel-centered relationships. And his way of life involved profound non-transactional ways of living.

The calling of relational community

This passage in Hebrews calls us to embody his way of love in the context of a community of faith. This will not come naturally if you view community as a commodity, but viewing community as a calling frees you to selflessly love and to give yourself freely. This passage in hebrews 10 teaches us about christian gatherings but It’s not primarily a large worship gathering, like our worship services, where you can be anonymous and passive. it’s a relational small group setting because it talks about doing these things with and to one another. So there is relationship and mutuality to these gatherings.

Now I obviously believe preaching and praise and larger gatherings are very important, I’m a preacher after all, but just as important are environments like what this passage calls us to  where we are each essential participants who know and love and are known and loved. Where we practice the “one anothers” of scripture.

The foundation of our calling

The author of Hebrews he bases this on the foundation of the gospel. He gets really practical for what christian community ought to look like but the practical elements come after the source and the power that generates them, namely Jesus and the Gospel.

In verses 19-22 he explains what the gospel means for us now; how Jesus’s death and resurrection ought to affect us. He says,

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Now this whole book of hebrews is drenched in Old Testament imagery and this passage is no different. He talks about holy places, blood, the curtain, priests, house of God, sprinkled clean, washed with pure water. It’s a really jewish way of talking about the gospel and it takes some familiarity with the old testament to fully understand. But you do see some clear statements in there, like: we can have confidence to draw near to God with true hearts and full assurance of faith through a new and living way that Jesus’ death opened up for us. 

He is speaking to the idea that through sin and rebellion we have alienated ourselves from our God but Jesus’ death and resurrection forged a path back home, through faith in him we can draw near to the God who made us and loves us. And then he says, because Jesus has done this and made a way through his blood, we should take advantage of it!

Jesus provides us a living way to God so that we can draw near to him without our faults and failures getting in the way. So we should do it! He says “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Drawing near to God through drawing near to each other

Jesus has washed you clean and purified you. Trust in his power and forgiveness have assurance in faith and draw near to the God who loves you. But notice he says “let us” do this. Let us draw near. And then he goes about explaining what this looks like

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

In other words this is a corporate affair. This is something we do together. Our faith is meant to be personal but not private. In fact the author of hebrews is trying to get us to see that we draw near to God precisely through drawing near to his people. And this is so in line with the way Jesus talked isn’t it?

When he says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” And when Paul is persecuting the church he asks him, “Saul why are you persecuting me?” And when he says where two or more are gathered in his name he is present. And he says when you receive a little child in his name you receive him.

Jesus so identifies with and indwells his people that we actually love him and draw near to him by loving and drawing near to his people. 

counter-cultural togetherness

This is so counter to the radical individualism of our day. Well not just of our day. Autonomy is an ancient idol. It’s Adam and Eve eating the fruit, choosing to determine good and evil for themselves rather than on God’s terms. It’s Cain after he killed his brother able sarcastically saying to God “am I my brother’s keeper?” It’s christians in first century Rome who decided they just don’t have to gather with other christians that makes the author of hebrews write to them and say don’t neglect meeting together as is the habit of some. Today it’s “spiritual but not religious” and the “me and Jesus” type of pseudo christianity.

I recently had a conversation with someone who said they found it weird that people who follow Jesus are so devoted to religion when Jesus seemed to tear down religion. I get where they’re coming from because Jesus did want to tear down religion in a sense. He tore down the self-righteousness, judgmentalism, rigid traditionalism, exclusivism, and the going through the motions without a heart that truly loves God. He tore down all these things that are all too often a part of religion. But he was tearing it down to build something deeper and truer and better in it’s place.

A building made of living stones of which he would be the cornerstone. A body of which he would be the head. These images convey the necessity of many distinct individuals united together to be something bigger and better and more purposeful than they could be on their own. Jesus created a community that he would indwell through his spirit

Biblical Christianity is a calling to live life in community. To be with one another purposefully. When Jesus calls us to himself he calls us to one another. And when he calls us to one another it’s to call us to himself