December 3

Day 264: Community

It's not hard to read the words of Job's three (later four) friends, and not agree in large part with what they say. They're convinced they're right; they're convinced they're orthodox; and they're convinced they're helping.

Job has lost everything dear to him. He's been made a pawn in a contest between God and Satan; Satan wanting to prove Job's faithfulness to God is based solely on what God has given him. Take it away, and Job will fold. God allows the story to unfold.

The three friends come to offer comfort and hope. They come to function as Job's "community of faith," to encourage even disciple him through his hard times. They come with baggage full of wisdom bombs to drop on Job's already downcast head.

Their message to Job is simple. Confess your sin, and things will be better. They believe the ancient pagan wisdom tradition that says all troubles are punishments for wrongdoings. Everything cause and effect. Our behaviors ultimately control our outcomes.

Problem is, they were not correct. In reading their respective words they seem so close to right, but not close enough in further investigation. There remained the notion that bad things and hard times happen to the man or woman of God, because it's God's will that they happen. God could have purposes in our suffering aside from retribution.

If there is a danger in small group "community," it's not in the relational trust established with each other. It's not in the desire to grow and encourage others to grow in their relationship with Jesus. It's not in finding one's self in an "family" environment where we can discover and exercise our spiritual gifts to the benefit of others. It's not even in grieving with each other when those times come.

The potential danger in small group "community" is simply the potential for error. Words, statements, actions and reactions that can sound so gospel-centric, and yet be right or left of center. Wisdom can sound like wisdom, until subject to further investigation.

You gotta like the Bereans in Acts 17. I do. They receive the word "with all eagerness." And then they would each go home daily to "examine the Scriptures" to see if these things were so.

The word "disciple" means follower, or sure. But the same word also means "learner."

What is the effect our theology has on others, and in the specific case of Job's friends the theology of suffering, if it is wrong? It's highly possible we will influence others to be wrong also.

J.T. English raises another concern. "Disciples who are in community but are not learning run the risk of loving their neighbor but not God. Disciples who are learning in isolation run the risk of loving God but not people." He goes on to say we need both community, but we need gospel truth too.

If your background and experience includes a nice church full of nice people who provided nice events and nice memories...but didn't proclaim and teach the gospel of Jesus, and you look back and realize just that, you know of what I'm saying.

Many of us came out of church experiences that taught us what Job's friends wanted Job to believe - bad things happen to bad people, and good things happen to good people. Or, you may have come out from a church experience that communicated that what we believe is not nearly as important as being nice. And being observably moral, of course.

We can be nice, and also be wrong. If we view being in small group community as the end game, we run the risk of loving people but not loving God. If we do not seek Jesus in our small group communities, we've missed the plot. And we run the risk of being well-intentioned heretics.

Gospel community is only gospel community when everyone in that community is committed to gospel truth, learned and applied.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church Juneau