The faithfulness of Solo-Christianity.
Solo-Christianity, the idea of a Christian that does not attend assembly, is one of the more hated things among today's clergy.
Why would that be, and why would I defend it as faithful?
First Why Solo Christianity is Hated:
1. Hated Because of an Inflexible Definition of "Church."
First, the idea of Solo-Christianity implies a Christian is a Christian whether he attends somewhere on Sunday, is on a membership roll at a local church, or whether he is in a community of other believers. This is uncomfortable for those for whom Sunday attendance, membership rolls, and Christian community IS what “church” really means. For them, the idea of a Christian without those things is not a Christian at all. They cannot begin to conceive of a genuine Christian behaving that way, or if one does, they don't call them a faithful Christian but a disobedient and unfaithful one. This is due to the iron categories of those who believe Church = gatherings, or Church = church membership, or Church = community. Those who don’t fit in those categories are outside of their idea of Church.
2. Hated Because it Sounds Dangerous.
Second, Solo-Christianity implies that a believer can be secure, content, and God honoring, without the fuzzy benefits of being around other Christians regularly. After all, being around others means they know your dirt and can "keep you accountable." After all, being in community means you're not lonely. After all, going to church means you hear the preaching of the word. After all, being around others in a community of the word helps you grow. To these being outside of these benefits can't be anything but dangerous: "look at all you're missing," "you might fall away," "you won't grow," and on... They believe that the benefits of this communal-concept of church are so lofty that to live outside of these benefits is inconceivably deadly.
3. Hated Because of Self-Interest.
Third, for the clergy, church attendance means people listen to you talk, likely to treat church leaders as authorities with power. How often in today's world does that still happen? Church attendance also means you are more likely to put food in the mouth of the professional clergy and pay their seminary debts off. Church attendance is what gives clout and importance to the local church, when it's de-emphasized, the local church stops existing, and they close the doors. Gee, that's the worst thing possible right? All of these reasons are the sort of shadowy, Freudian subconscious reasons why today's clergy hate the idea of solo-Christianity.
4. Hated Because of a Spiritualized Institution.
Finally, as a kind of idea-mixture, there is a confusing of the church as an institution with the work and mission of Christ since Solo-Christianity is institutionless and happy about it. The Institution Spiritualizer clergy think of "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her" (Eph 5:25) is approximately equivalent to "Christ also loved the Institution/Local Churches/Denominations/Groups of Christians and gave himself for them." For them the first category of an iron idea of church graduates into apostasy when one becomes anti-institution in one's walk with God because they feel the Institution is the eternal love object of Jesus. They cannot begin to think of church primarily as the individual Christians who will be with Christ forever, some of which are driven out of the institution, some of which leave because they love Christ and not religion. For them, Christ died for gatherings and to not attend is to controvert the work of Christ.
So I have tried to understand why the hatred of Solo-Christianity has arisen.
Now for the reasons it's faithful.
I. Faithful Because The Solo-Christian is Church.
This is a response to the iron-jail of an idea of Church as a community. It is also a return to the bedrock of "what is church?" At its most basic component part, Church is not a community, but is comprised of a soul saved out of the gates of Hell and made into an individual, fully autonomous, Temple of the Living God. One single believer is a Temple, for Christ promised, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). Christ also promised the believer is so sufficient that he doesn't need to be in church to worship God: "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father...the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." (John 14:21,23b). And the individual Christian is able to hear from God and follow him without a church community, "but the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you" (1 John 2:27).
II. Faithful Because Solo-Christianity is Christlike.
In Christ's earthly ministry described in the four gospels, he is constantly hounded by the religious authorities who feel that Christ is rocking the boat, desecrating the sabbath/The Law of Moses/ Judaism, and their security as rulers of it. For the Jews of Jesus day, THEY are the Lord of the Sabbath, THEY are the final word when it comes to interpreting Moses and the prophets, THEY are the rulers of God's people and those who disregard THEM are false by definition. Don't you see that the solo-Christian is in the same boat? The Solo-Christian walks into church and feels that God is not present because the Solo-Christian is Christian not for warm squishy benefits associated with gatherings but to know and be with God. Jesus loved people, sought them as though lost lambs, was faithful to serve people, but at his foundation Jesus is most at home alone with his Father. So is the Solo-Christian.
III. Faithful Because Solo-Christianity is Safe.
So much of the argumentation against Solo-Christianity tries to pit all the cushy fuzzy benefits of community against the Elijah loneliness of the solo-Christian. Jeremiah was told, "You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink" (Jeremiah 16:8). Before the contextual police pull me over for pitting Jeremiah against the New Covenant, what's this I find in Paul: "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one" (1 Corinthians 5:11). Why would God make Jeremiah leave the covenant community? Isn't there SO much benefit to be with them and SO little gain to be without them? In the same chapter (1 Cor 5), Paul gives the reason for safety of avoiding the corrupt community: "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (v.6). Is this not the problem with contemporary churches - that they are fully leavened?
IV. Faithful Because Solo-Christianity is Selfless.
The solo-Christian does not avoid gatherings because it's fun, or because he spiritualizes his introversion. The solo-Christian obeys the command to "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues" (Rev 18:4), and "Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord" (Isaiah 52:11). It is a lonely thing to cry out in sincerity, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:10). The solo-Christian knows God's answer to Elijah is that they are not alone, but the solo-Christian also grieves that God did not give Elijah a road map to those 7000 knees that didn't bow to Baal. This is selflessness, to avoid the cushy benefits of community to remain faithful, pure and set apart to the true God instead of false religion.
V. Faithful Because Solo-Christianity is Prophetic
When God called the old covenant prophets to depart from the frolicking of popular religion, He did so knowing it was lonely and desolate, but also necessary. When Jesus says that John is the greatest man born of woman, but that the least [new covenant believer] in the kingdom is greater than the greatest prophet of all time lets not handicap the replacement of the Old Covenant. Nathan didn't walk up to David and say "YOU ARE THE MAN" only for the new covenant people to be babies that always need community to be healthy and faithful. The New Covenant is beefier, scarier [in the way God is scary], they are closer to God than the prophets of old-not further from Him. Why are you so called ministers trying to tie up those who follow Jesus to Sunday morning? Why try to make bible studies the sign of spiritual health. We are meant to judge angels (1 Cor 6:3) and you can't go without gatherings? We are going to judge Caesar: "Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world" (1 Cor 6:2), and I'm supposed to sit and hear you talk about the bible ("preach") or I'll fall away? Away with baby Christianity, it's an imitation of the real thing. I will set meat before myself whether you will serve it or not. So will the solo-Christian.
VI. Faithful Because This is A Unique Time In Church History
The same God that commanded Solomon to build the Temple (2 Samuel 7:13) also commanded Jeremiah to prophesy it into ruins (Jeremiah 7). The same God that commended circumcision (Genesis 17:10) later said it was useless (1 Corinthians 7:19). The same God that called Laodicea a church (Revelation 3:14), also said he would spit them out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16). The same God that plants a vineyard, pulls away its protection and destroys it (Isaiah).
Our God is not a play thing for our comfort. If we do not continue in faith he uproots, destroys, ruins - even the thing he built.
Amen! Lots of great insights Pastor Nathan, rightly dividing the word of God. God bless you!
Interesting read. Some really good points about the institutional church. Breaks my heart how we misrepresent God and His love for us through Jesus. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love, one for another. His Love through us is our calling card, our identity, we should not be first identified by our address, our pastor, our building or ministry, or the sins we hate. Have you spent much time looking into the organic or simple churches? Good ones provide the opportunity to fulfill all of the “one - another” commands of Jesus, but without the short falls you point out. I don’t think we only have two options, institutional churchianity vs solo. The simple, organic churches where everyone brings something and exercises their gifts, and Jesus leads the meeting, that sound more like what we read in scripture.