Allegiance to Jesus is communal

Christians, even those in a highly individualistic culture, recognize the communal nature of our allegiance to Jesus when we advocate for church attendance.

When we don’t see a friend in church for a month, we become concerned for their faith. We understand that intentionally meeting together strengthens our allegiance and the loss of community weakens us.

But individualistic cultures like the United States underrepresent how crucial community is to our allegiance to Jesus. Our language makes individual decision centric, while community commitment is optional or even suspect.

In my experience, however, the depth of my allegiance to Jesus depends on my community. It’s not optional to receive encouragement and rebuke from the mother with young kids who nevertheless invites her lonely neighbor to dinner.