Spiritual Transformation Through Christian Community

Introduction: Community and Spiritual Transformation

The broad theme of this research project is the extent to which community is necessary for spiritual transformation. Transformation can be understood on many different levels, including both personal and corporate dimensions. It is reasonable to assume that every individual in the Body of Christ must align themselves fully on an individual basis so that they are in a position to make their optimal contribution to the community, and so that the church can move in the fullness of its power and purpose. However, it is also reasonable to believe that the power of the collective Christian community is far greater than the sum of its parts—that, ultimately, there should be a Christian community transformation that functions as a light to the local and broader earthly community.

Every individual believer must come to terms with their responsibility to acquire a Kingdom mindedness and learn to mitigate any personal ambitions that deter from the pursuit of that perspective. The research question can thus be stated as: "How does the connection of the individual to the community facilitate spiritual formation on all levels?" It is the responsibility of the local pastor and elders to empower the people to strengthen those bonds in both directions and to work together with the empowering provided by the Holy Spirit. With these foundational assumptions in mind, the thesis of this paper is that the community of believers, as a collective unit, plays a foundational role in each individual's spiritual development and in the transformation of the community on a collective and holistic level.

The Importance of Community for Spiritual Transformation

Purpose

Bonhoeffer (1959) poses some tough questions about the role of community in The Cost of Discipleship:

"When Jesus came to his first disciples, he came to them with his word, and was present with them in bodily form. But this same day Jesus died and rose again. How is his call handed on to us today? To call us: 'Follow me,' Jesus no longer passes us in bodily form as he passed by Levi the publican . . . Who are we to come forward and volunteer for such an extraordinary and unusual life? Who is there to tell me and others, for that matter, that we are not acting on our own initiative and following our own wild fancies?"

If we compare the experiences that the first disciples had with Jesus directly to the circumstances that congregations must face in today's contemporary period, there are obviously substantial differences. The scriptures represent the only witnesses we have today of Christ's presence in the material world as it existed in human life, and our faith rests on the unity of Scripture: "Who tells us that the Pauline Christ is as alive for us today as he was for St. Paul?" (Bonhoeffer, 1959). Indeed, if people were forced to rely on Scripture alone, it is reasonable to suspect that their understanding of Christ's presence would be limited to a small segment of the population. Not everyone can access, interpret, and understand the meanings that lie within the texts of the Synoptic Gospels, for example. Even for adept biblical scholars, unlocking symbolism and metaphor can make it difficult to extract the underlying messages that allow these texts to speak on their own terms (Volker, 2015).

However, if we have accepted our personal calling to serve God and believe that every person is a child of God created in the image of God, then through the scriptures we must by necessity define our own faith in terms of our community. The writer of the letters of John emphasizes how important it is to treat each other as brothers and sisters who love one another (Dyck, 2012):

"If anyone boasts 'I love God' and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both." (1 John 4:20–21, The Message)

Fortunately, the Christian tradition has been passed down with far more than the written word alone. Also accessible to all individuals are networks of other followers who have congregated and founded communities in the name of Christ to help expand personal faith and facilitate spiritual growth in others. The bond that Christ can offer men and women from all walks of life is unprecedented in its power of attraction. There are different levels of community that can be postulated—from the local community we are most intimate with, to the global community of believers, and then to all of humanity. Although there must be tactical considerations for engaging at any level, the basic underlying principles of integration apply across congregations of differing sizes and scopes.

Accountability

The bonds that form in a community do not always manifest without conflict. Each individual, despite having a unifying faith at the deepest level, may also have points of departure in their personal interpretation of scripture or even broader themes in Christianity itself. To overcome such challenges, Dyck (2012) has developed a system of empathizing with the perspectives of others as a route to restoring collective cohesion in the community of God:

"Holy conferencing isn't for convincing others that we are right. It is for listening to others in such a way that we understand better why they hold their beliefs. The scripture's observation that someone might be 'strong on opinions but weak in the faith department' could apply to any of us! It's the next line that holy conferencing seeks to draw out: what part of another's history brings them to their perspective?" (Dyck, 2012)

Every community of faith can disagree internally about the ideal ways in which the church can follow Christ's presence. However, in building the types of communities that can provide the foundational role needed to foster spiritual development at differing levels, these challenges must be identified and overcome.

Principles

People come to the church from many different circumstances and walks of life. Assuming that you know where an individual is in their path along their own personal spiritual development can be one of the most fundamental mistakes in fostering relationships with Christ. Dyck (2012) recalls a lesson learned from Bishop James S. Thomas, who said he used to believe the truth was clear to him when thinking alone, but that it was in the presence of others that things grew complicated—and that he had to confer with others to see more sides, angles, and perspectives on whatever matter was at hand. To face these challenges, one must first develop a sense of tolerance and humility in one's own internal perspective before one can genuinely relate to the perspectives of others.

Process of Growth

John Wesley believed that we first need to "order [our] conversations right," and he was no stranger to confrontational, emotionally charged conversations about deeply held beliefs (Dyck, 2012). Whether engaging in discourse with other believers or with those holding a non-Christian worldview altogether, there are bound to be sources of conflict at almost any level of spiritual growth.

Wesley emphasized the need to converse "always in grace"—to give the other person the benefit of the doubt, to assume the best instead of the worst, and to listen deeply ("Preface to Sermons on Several Occasions," §9–10, in The Works of John Wesley, Vol. I, Sermons I, ed. Albert C. Outler, Abingdon, 1984).

While most people might naturally shy away from such conflict, or at least feel an internal sense of righteousness in the presence of conflicting ideas, the greater the conflict, the greater the opportunity for spiritual growth. We should not fear those who think or interpret scripture differently than we do; rather, pursuing dialogue grounded in empathy, understanding, and above all love can overcome virtually any crisis or conflict that works to divide a community.

Biblical and Theological Foundations

Jesus Christ

Ultimately, all things must be rooted and grounded in the Word of God, as it is the only foundational truth to build upon. Anything that does not align with what God says will eventually collapse. Although there are many different interpretations of biblical foundations, for Wesley the ultimate goal of sanctification was "to renew men's and women's hearts in [God's] image" (Dieter, Hoekema, Horton, McQuilkin, & Walvoord, 1987). Wesley's views were based on his understanding of the works produced by the early church fathers, which represented a unique line of interpretation compared to other scholarly traditions.

Wesley taught that sanctification begins at conversion, when the Spirit regenerates the heart of the believer, and that it is appropriated by faith in the same way that salvation is. Sanctification is "faith working by love": not merited but appropriated by faith. When a Christian appeals to God in faith for the power to live a life of godly love, the Holy Spirit takes away his or her "bent to sin" and replaces it with a "bent to loving obedience" (Dieter et al., 1987).

Wesley believed that man is completely and utterly depraved until, through grace, they begin their journey to God through the recognition of their inner moral compass as an indication of God's grace—the first step towards salvation:

"…the beginning of the process by which God begins to lighten the darkness of the Fall for all men and women; it will bring those who faithfully receive it to saving grace, sanctifying grace, and grace for the life of love." (Dieter et al., 1987)

There will always be room for a Christian to develop in maturity, but after the path towards salvation begins, believers must rely on a range of various assets to enjoy a greater degree of freedom from the works of the devil and of all sin. Wesley took his interpretation of the role that sin plays in the lives of Christians very seriously, as one of the cornerstones of the foundations of the Church itself:

"Is there then sin in him that is in Christ? Does sin remain in one that believes in him? Is there any sin in them that are born of God, or are they wholly delivered from it? Let no one imagine this to be a question of mere curiosity; or that it is of little importance whether it be determined one way or the other. Rather it is a point of the utmost moment to every serious Christian; the resolving of which very nearly concerns both his present and eternal happiness." (Wesley Center Online, n.d.)

Wesley grappled with early interpretations of sin compared to those of later scholars, including German theologians who argued that sin in the flesh and sin in the heart could be differentiated. One interpretation concerns "inward" sin—the sin of thoughts and inner workings—and "outward" sin, the types of sin that manifest in the material world. The dialectical nature of these two forms of sin serves as one of the most central biblical foundations defining the role of community in the Church's transformative work, setting the most fundamental of all objectives in the path toward salvation.

Love

If one ever wants to find an example of anything, Jesus Christ is that example. Central to his message of salvation—a message that resounds above all others in virtually all texts—is simply one of love:

"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." (Luke 6:35)

"The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.'" (Mark 12:31)

If we accept that love is one of the central guiding paths towards salvation, then the question becomes how to best understand love and apply it not only to our most intimate communities and churches, but also to those we might consider as enemies. This implies that on some level, a sense of community is not limited to the Church. However, for the Church to engage with broader society in an efficient and effective manner in its effort to spread salvation, it must function as a cohesive body that operates with some degree of unity. Jesus Christ is that example; his life highlights the power of love as demonstrated toward all community.

Conclusion

In an age in which the biggest social trends are marked by growing inequality across virtually all measures of society, overlooking the ideas of pioneers such as Rauschenbusch would be an act of pure hubris in the wake of contemporary social conditions (Christianity Today, n.d.). The insights of Wesley, Bonhoeffer, and Rauschenbusch together affirm the thesis that the community of believers plays an indispensable role—both in the spiritual formation of each individual and in the collective transformation of the broader community as a witness and light to the world.

References

American Experience. (n.d.). People & Ideas: Walter Rauschenbusch. Retrieved from God in America: http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/walter-rauschenbusch.html

Armstrong, C. (2008). How John Wesley changed America. Retrieved from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/how-john-wesley-changed-america.html

Barton, R. (2011, January 6). What we believe about spiritual transformation. Retrieved from Transforming Center: https://www.transformingcenter.org/2011/01/what-we-believe-about-spiritual-transformation/

Bonhoeffer, D. (1959). The cost of discipleship. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Christianity Today. (n.d.). John Wesley. Retrieved from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-wesley.html

Christianity Today. (n.d.). Walter Rauschenbusch. Retrieved from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/activists/walter-rauschenbusch.html

Dieter, M., Hoekema, A., Horton, S., McQuilkin, H., & Walvoord, J. (1987). Five views on sanctification. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Dyck, S. (2012). Eight principles of holy conferencing. Retrieved from The United Methodist Church: http://mnumc-email.brtapp.com/files/eefiles/documents/holy_conferencing_study_guide_2012.pdf

Saenz, R. (2005, May 11). Bonhoeffer on community. Retrieved from Dry Creek Chronicles: https://drycreekchronicles.wordpress.com/2005/05/11/bonhoeffer-on-community/

Volker, R. (2015). The Holy Spirit and ethics in Paul: Transformation and empowering for religious-ethical life. The Journal of Theological Studies, 1–3.

Wesley Center Online. (n.d.). The sermons of John Wesley. Retrieved from Northwest Nazarene: http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-13-on-sin-in-believers/