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Theologically speaking, water is thicker than blood. Baptism spiritually grafts believers into the covenant community and transforms their identities, including who they see as their ultimate family. Down deep I’ll always affirm that perspective. However, I’m overriding those convictions. Sorry, Reason, but I’m deprioritizing the spiritual ruminations, lofty biblical metaphors, idyllic kinship, and theological principles you’ve carefully cultivated as a middle ecclesiology to rather begrudgingly let Protection take the lead this time. Moving forward, my ecclesiology is pragmatic.
Somewhere along the way almost all American Christians got comfortable with this habit of over-promising and under-delivering about the expectations for our shared community life together.1 Somehow good intentions came to matter more than actual behaviors. It became OK for the pastor to promise to regularly check in on broken guy going through a soul-crushing divorce, but then not reach out even once during the 18 month ordeal. It became OK for our small groups to collectively pledge childcare, then balk each time the desperate parents reach out for help.2
One of my core life philosophies is under-promising and over-delivering.3 This is because the broader society does the opposite. People talk a big game, then fail to deliver. Life happens. I get it. But dig deeper and fulfill your commitments. Practice resilience, overcome adversity, and do what you said you were gonna do–not because of a monetary reward or a legal obligation but because character matters. Maybe it makes me sound hopelessly antiquated in a post-2016 world, but I believe your word is your bond. Seriously, don’t make promises you can’t or won’t keep.
My pragmatic ecclesiology is now this: I care little about what a local church’s vision is for its life together. I don’t give two hoots how high or low the commitment level and interdependence is.4 It’s all good. Just do not, under any circumstances, over-promise and under-deliver. Do not set misleading expectations at the outset that subsequently cause harm. I’m not playin’ around. My highest ecclesiological concern is that our churches set accurate expectations, then faithfully follow through in reliably meeting those expectations. That seems nothing if not reasonable.
The original beatniks were dubious of capitalistic marketing techniques. Beatnik Christianity shares these misgivings, especially about religious marketing. Let’s face it. Too many of American churches make pledges they have no intention or ability to meet in order to get people plugged into their community, then turn around months or years later and criticize those same people for having standards that are too high. No, YOU set those standards in the first place. Say what you mean and mean what you say. That janky behavior gives people trust issues. Don’t do it.5
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My theory is it’s the direct result of oversaturation with capitalistic marketing techniques.↩
Did you hear me, clergy? Are you pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down, laity? This is important.↩
In other words, be slow to make promises and overshoot the minimum expectation.↩
Is the vision for this church to be the central community, the primary social support network, and the foremost kinship structure in its members’ lives? Cool. Is the vision for the church to not be the primary inner-circle like an immediate family or the secondary out circle like an extended family, but be one part of the tertiary outer-ring alongside your neighbors, coworkers, and Meetup group. Cool.↩
Do not say that your community will be this and do that, then mercilessly screw over vulnerable people who took those words to heart and built their lives around those commitments.↩
