What would it take to build the perfect society? What would that even look like? John Lennon’s song “Imagine” tries to picture it by describing a world at peace without the barriers and divisions of religion, nationality, borders, and with people who are unattached to material possessions. But “Imagine” is an appropriate name, because it describes a utopia, which is defined as “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.” The Bible describes such a state of perfection in two places – at the beginning and at the end of human history, but it is realistic enough to help us know that it isn’t going to happen anytime in between. Yet it seems like there has been a lot of political and spiritual energy put forth throughout history in trying to build the perfect society. I got that impression during and after a coffeeshop conversation with a young man named Dan, who told me about his beliefs in the power of meditation and universal consciousness, and his work in organizing an annual gathering of like-minded people in Indiana called the “Breathe” festival. Looking at their website later I saw pictures and videos from recent festivals, and it was impressive how they worked together to create an environment where people are challenged with new ways of thinking about their own limitations and possibilities. I wondered what their driving belief system or ideology might be, but, like Lennon’s song, it was very vague and lacking in the nuts and bolts that reality is made of: “…we manifest an environment for each individual to discover that higher purpose, write their own story, and achieve their highest potential.” The website doesn’t say that creating a new society is that “higher purpose”, but as the festival evolves there seems to be a growing excitement over what may come of it. It reminds me of how the early church, filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost and full of the excitement and wonder at what God might be doing, might have come close to a utopia when “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” But no utopia this side of heaven can last long, and in the very next chapter of Acts after this description of the church in chapter 4, we have the unfortunate story of Annas and Saphira who try to deceive the church with false generosity and receive the wrath of God as a result. Back to the reality that the church is made up of sinful, broken people. Utopia seems like a laudable goal, but if there is one thing you will not find if you walk into any Christian church that is preaching and living out God’s word the way it should be doing, you won’t find a utopia. You will find imperfect people, mostly believers and some not, all at various stages of maturity or immaturity in a variety of ways. They will be at various levels of commitment to Jesus, to the local body of believers, and to the Bible as God’s authoritative word in their lives. There will be disagreements, misunderstandings, and even downright sinful behaviors. Yet the local church is part of God’s process of maturing believers, an incubator and training ground for teaching his children to love, serve, sacrifice, forgive, give, receive, and to lead. It is a place to be encouraged, challenged, chastised, motivated and loved. It is a place to learn God’s word and how to put it into action. It has a Great Commission, to go and make disciples, and some churches are better than others at keeping that mission in focus than others. The early believers met together daily, as described in Acts 2:46. Modern Christians meet weekly, often with smaller groups meeting throughout the week. The Breathe Festival meets for three days of the year, and, from the looks of it, achieves a wonderful sense of community during that time. But the reality of life goes on 365 days a year, and God has a plan to build his people and a sense of connection and community among them all throughout the year, not around some vague ideals but around a specific mission: to know Jesus and to make Him known. And that plan is the local church.
Thanks, Dan, for allowing me to record our conversation! It is found HERE at https://youtu.be/9FEuu26muWc
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