Happy Independence Day to all who celebrate! There is much to be said for independence. I want every person and every nation to be free and self-determining. I’m not here to shame anyone’s patriotism or put out anyone’s fireworks today. Let’s celebrate the blessings of liberty and the gifts of our country.
But I do think it’s worth acknowledging that America has been guilty of taking a good thing like independence and turning it into an idol. The danger has been there from the beginning. But some were able to hold the tension between personal liberty and “we the people” who make “mutual pledges” for a higher cause. Alexis de Tocqueville famously pointed out the risks of American individualism and the need to balance it with vital voluntary associations. Counterforces like the Progressive Movement and Civil Rights Movement rose up when America strayed too far. And yet, we are always at risk of making an idol of our individualism and independence. Before long, we are “bowling alone” and seeking friendship and therapy with A.I. companions.
Sometimes this mentality of radical individualism can unconsciously influence our meetings & churches. We attend worship as separate individuals instead of the “blessed community” that Thomas Kelly talked about or the “beloved community” that many others have put forward. We approach our meeting or church like a consumer good, seeking to “be fed” or entertained or mystically transported away from the older Friend coughing in front of us or the noisy child playing behind us. We overload staff or pastors with tasks since they are paid while neglecting to nurture the gifts of the whole community.
What if we declared our interdependence?
What would that mean for our meeting or church?
How would that shift the energy?
If we declared our interdependence as a spiritual community and committed to nurture that perspective and practice, what would be different?
Maybe we would begin to shift from:
- Self-sufficiency to generosity
- From a community of consumption to beloved community
- From needs-focused to mission-focused
- From charity to mutual aid
- From staff-structured to gifts-based
- From individual meditation to gathered worship
- From democracy to discernment
- From self-protection to vulnerability
- From isolated prophets to a prophetic community
- From quietism to holy experimentation
- From a private inner light to the Body of Christ
To be clear, I’m not interested in erasing individuality. There are dangers in that direction as well. Each of us must declare our independence before we can declare a healthy interdependence. I think we need a robust sense of interdependence that includes our individuality while also transcending it, in the same way that a healthy unity can affirm diversity.
This is lofty, I know. But maybe a good place to start is to recognize the practices of interdependence that already exists in our spiritual communities. Consider these:
- Baby showers
- Wedding showers
- Poundings
- Potlucks
- Communal decision-making
- Waiting worship or unprogrammed worship
- Committees, affinity groups, or small groups
- Meetings for clearness
- Sharing joys & concerns, holding others in the Light
- Weddings (and marriage certificates) & memorial services
- Fundraisers, bake sales, offerings
- Pantries, benevolence, and mutual aid lists
These may sound like boring, banal churchy practices but they are much more than that. They are declarations of interdependence. Practices of belonging, mutuality, and spiritual community. And they are more radical than you realize. In a culture of isolation and individualism, it is a radical thing to redistribute resources, make decisions as a group, share communal meals, spend your Sunday mornings worshipping with “peculiar people,” even singing together…
Our interdependence can be a witness to the possibilities of beloved community, creating a living picture of that thing we call the peaceable kingdom. And, as ironic as it may sound, that interdependence will only come about with intentional leadership.