Covenant Over Comfort: Reclaiming Corporate Christianity from Expressive Individualism

When I first became a Christian, I remember hearing the term “Church shopping.” This term was used to describe those individuals who were going from church to church looking for the “right one.” They were looking for a church that fit their specific wants and needs. On the other end of this spectrum, we have the “nones” who gather a few friends or by themselves and live-stream church instead of being joined to a local church. This type of thinking leads the way into hyper-individualization, or expressive individualism; this idea that our personal desires and autonomy are the most important things in life. For the Christian stuck in this way of thinking, religion is treated as a therapeutic choice, or a type of self-help spirituality in which “self” reigns as king and we become our own standard of truth and morality.

So, when a church fails to meet our standards, we leave and begin the journey of “church shopping,” or look for ways, like live-streaming, to engage. This hyper-individualization, or expressive individualism, is the dominant way of thinking in our current culture. This way of thinking is at odds with historic, corporate Christianity, where community is the life of the church. Expressive individualism, this need for personal autonomy, kills community. Before we examine the “how,” let’s first look at the “what.”  

What is Hyper-Individualization

What is this expressive individualism? Charles Taylor puts it this way, “The understanding of life which emerges with the Romantic expressivism of the late eighteenth century, that each of us has his/her own way of realizing our humanity, and that it is important to find and live out one’s own, as against surrendering to conformity with a model imposed on us from outside, by society, or the previous generation, or religious or political authority.”^[1] Essentially, expressive individualism says that I am my own person and I must live out who I feel like I am without conformity to outside factors. “I am who I am, and I will do what I want to do, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Surely, with this in mind, we can see how this expressive individualism is in direct conflict with the Christian faith. First, the sovereignty of God, a foundational pillar of the Christian faith, calls us to submit ourselves to His authority humbly, rather than relying on self-authority. Sadly, the original lie that “you will become like God” (Gen. 3:5) is alive and well. Second, because of our fallen and sinful nature, our deepest need is not that of individual expression, but of redemption; “You must be born again.” (John 3:5). Instead of looking inward for our “true-self,” we are called to recognize that our “true-self” is broken and must be remade into the image of Christ, in righteousness (Rom. 8:29; 12:2). Third, we are not called to live out these private spiritual journeys; rather, we are called to live in covenant community with the body of Christ, the church (Heb. 10:25) in unity. The church is not a center for self-improvement built around our schedule and personal desires; it is the body of Christ in which we build one another up in love, truth, and encouragement every chance we get. So, how do we fight against this expressive individualism?

How the Church Fights Back

In order to dwell in unity with one another (Psalm 133:1) as we are called to do (Eph. 4:1-3), we must fight to uphold the community of the church. Therefore, we must fight against this expressive individualism that upholds personal autonomy and desires over Christ and his church. We can do this in at least three ways: Exalting the Lordship of Christ and man's need for a Savior, reclaiming the covenant community of the church in membership, and emphasizing service, unity, and interdependence in the church and local community.

First, as Christians, we are called to self-denial (Matt. 16:24), not self-actualization. This is a message that is poorly taught in our current culture, but we are reminded of this over and over again in Scripture. Jesus is not a savior who frees us to live as we wish, but a Lord who reigns over our lives, this present world, and the world to come. Because of our sinfulness and rebellion against an infinitely holy God, we need Christ to save us and help us change. This change happens through the Spirit and the church as we renew our minds in the hearing and teaching of the Word, in community and discipleship.

Second, we should seek covenant commitment (membership) over consumer-driven desires and choices. We need practical, mutual, loving accountability and discipleship. This means we seek interdependence over isolation. The community of the church is not for “some of us,” it is for “all of us,” and it isn’t something we do only when we feel like it. To be in community with one another means to gather with one another as much as possible, not because “I like the style of music they have,” but because “I just want to worship God and be with His people.” Get into those small groups, find someone to do discipleship with, and grow with one another. This brings us to a third way to fight expressive individualism.

Third, look for ways to serve, build unity, and build dependence on God through the church. Spiritual gifts are given for the common good of service to the church (1 Cor. 12), and true personal fulfillment comes through using those gifts to serve. Sacrificial contributions in service to the church (giving), rather than consumerism (taking), drive true satisfaction in the life of the Christian. Corporate ministry and community outreach require the community of the church to come together, join other churches, and serve those inside and outside of the walls of the church. We must first be a community if we are going to build a bigger, stronger, healthier community, and expressive individualism has no place in this community.

A Call to Corporate Faith

Hyper individualism, or expressive individualism, is a growing and very much dominant trend in our culture. It drives us into isolation, creates a consumer mentality, and leads us to fall for the old lie that we can become like God ourselves. All of which is in direct opposition to biblical Christianity. If the church is going to fight this mentality, we must ground ourselves in the finished work of Christ, the community of the church, and the power of the Holy Spirit for building us up and providing the necessary change that we are truly seeking.

We must be a people who seek to put off the “Mighty Me” mentality and put on the communal richness of the church. Realize that God is sovereign and Christ reigns supreme, not our individual selves. If we are going to “be” the church, we must be in the church and for the church.

^[1] Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. p. 475.