Eric points to this, which stresses the church as the counter to the “counter-cultural” individualism into which many “propgressives” fall, even those of us who verbally affirm the church as the basis for it all…..until we are actually planted into one of these “leaven” communities, the theological remains somewhat abstract, unitl it is lived in a community.

poserorprophet: Emancipating Individuals Vs. Creating New Social Bodies

A true counter-culture must be one that exists as a very different social body. That is why it is the Church (and not just individual Christians) whose existence must be a counter-culture. It is the Church as a body that lives a very different story — a story that genuinely counters the dominant culture of today.

The church whose “existence is a counter culture”. Not “being countercultural”, but involved and emmeshed in a life that IS counter-cultural. At the moment, I have to say that my “theologizing” about all this has a certain edge to it, since I know that this little critique here is a lament of sorts. It is a lament that I seem to be ever in a mode of “church as eschatalogical”—totally.

One of the books I just acquired this weekend, Gerhard Lohfink’s Jesus and Community, and the soon-to-arrive used hardback copy of Call To Commitment, will be raising these questions over and opver again for me as I continue to be in that “in-between” periods of my journey. The experiences of community have been entirely lopsided to the online side; which is inadequate (and yet I am ever thankful that I have had at least that. In many ways, and based on my last 10 years experience in the church, much of my “online communing” has been of higher qaulity than what has been my experience in the “face to face church”. Which then, is more “real”? More real still will be the combination of a grounded and physical community, joined to the conversations of other “connected” folks, a nd utilizing online communication for the “extension” of offline , ftf reraltionship, and the new discoveries of others who find us via “surfing” the online conversations (many of which; most of which , are based in blogs)