There are generally three types of Christians, when it comes to relationships with the church and the world.
Before I continue, allow me to define here what I mean by church. I mean here the local church, a single congregation of believers committed in covenant with one another. That is your church. Yes, there is also the Church universal, which I greatly believe in, but for the sake of this post, I mean the local church you to which you have (or possibly have not) committed yourself. So, in no particular order …
Type A: these Christians go to church but really don’t know anyone at their church. If they do, it is only in a very peripheral sense, handshakes at the door, in and out. They do, however, have a very extensive group of friends outside the church. These are the people they feel very close to and probably have very little spiritual conversation with. They generally consider their religion a private thing and not to be shared in any real sense.
Type B: these Christians go to church and their closest friends are there in the church. They have little to no contact with those outside the Christian subculture since they can find nothing in common with them, and their inclination is to be judgmental to those outside of their belief system, even other Christians.
Type C: these Christians might go to church but have little to no contact with anyone in the church. They also have little to no contact with the outside world. They’ve isolated themselves from both the community of faith and the world around them for a myriad of reasons, but it has generally progressed from losing friends through other life transitions and not being intentional about replacing that void with healthy ones. So they have none.
Type D: a relatively new type of Christian over the last few decades (although possibly this type has existed before throughout history … I’m going more on my own experience here), this Christian has some friends in the world and some Christian friends but does not truly commit to any one fellowship, all in the name of a lofty idea of the Church universal. These Christians generally treat churches and ministries like consumers – they like the praise at this service, the preaching at this other ministry, and the fellowship over at that small group. They have a hard time committing to one group out of either a fear of being controlled, limited, or missing out on something someone else is doing that they might like.
If this isn’t clear to you by now, I believe all of the above types to be unhealthy. There may be a time of transition where a person may live in one of these types (I have been all of these through short seasons in my life), but over the course of the life of a Christian, none of these should be normal. I realize that this may cause offense, since most people within these categories are convinced that it’s working for them and deny any challenge to their personal choice. Well, it hasn’t stopped me before …
What is normative, biblical and healthy for a disciple of Christ is the following:
Type E: these Christians have their closest relationships within the local church. They are a family with those in the community of faith. The relationships within the church are where the Christian finds his or her refuge and safety. They are not separate from the world, however. They regularly have contact with their physical community, be it neighborhood, school, job, etc. They are friends with those outside the church and have a good reputation among their community for being kind, generous, full of integrity and a contributing member of the society around them.
This is spiritual maturity, which by nature more than implies the others are spiritually immature (again, understanding some may take offense). It takes great spiritual maturity and discipline to maintain a pure Christian witness, being intimate with other believers, and fostering a good and respectful relationship with all of humanity. This balance is only maintained through being properly intentional in each area – and constantly seeking God and being humbled by Him. Otherwise, extremes persist and one of the other types become the new norm.
There is great wisdom in being “in the world” and yet not “of the world.” It is a powerful thing.
Peace.




My good friend John has been writing some good stuff on his blog … and believe it or not, some of our posts have been related … that’s what happens when brothers are listening to the same Voice … although we might express it differently and uniquely depending upon our gifts and roles in the Body.
I shared a while ago about the biblical idea of justice, but a recent movie stirred the pot with me again.
You can’t minister to the Church unless you love her.