John Harris wrote an interesting piece in The Guardian recently, lamenting the progressive loss of shared spaces and the slow fracturing of our society into groups of people who never really meet each other. The shared spaces he has in mind are things like pubs (approximately 18 close every week), nightclubs (down from 3,144 in 2005 to 1,733 in 2015) music venues (down 35% in 10 years), drop-in centres, youth centres (down by 600 since 2010) and libraries, to name but a few. His point is that the decline of these joint community spaces, where people mix and meet others they would not otherwise encounter, encourages society to fragment further. Technology already plays a part in dividing people from each other – think of the amount of time children spend in front of screens as opposed to playing outside together; or how much shopping is done online, rather than in the company of others. This just adds to that and pushes people further apart physically, and that can only have detrimental effect on our understanding of each other.
He is not unaware that churches have seen declining numbers, too, while certain denominations have experienced significant numbers of closures. But he does not really comment any further on what role churches might have in providing an answer to this loss of shared spaces, except to acknowledge with gratitude that the youth club he went to as a lad was staffed by people from the local Methodist church. What he does not talk about is that there are churches up and down the country who run youth clubs and young people’s Bible clubs for all ages, never mind those that let out their premises for Scouts, Guides and the like. Churches are usually at the front of providing community facilities that bring people of all walks and backgrounds together. Churches provide shared space facilities for groups from the oldest to the youngest, feeding people, teaching and advising, supporting, giving comfort and shelter, and usually at their own expense.
I think sometimes Christians look back to what they think were the golden days for the church when there was nothing in the average town or village except the church and pub around the green. There were no other distractions so the church was inevitably the hub around which community life revolved. We mistakenly lament this loss of status and moan that people are never going to get our influence in society back again. Certainly, we will never get the same unrivalled influence back; there are always going to be other distractions around. But it would be a huge mistake to think that we cannot still be a force for good. (and for God)
As people in society become more and more cut off from each other, places which bring people together will be a huge benefit. Groups which emphasize the good of the community and do so self-sacrificially will stand out. Their lights will shine in the darkness and people will notice. I think of evangelical churches I encountered in Spain when I worked for European Christian Mission and the national recognition they have gained for working with drug addicts. No one else takes this on in such a way as evangelicals have done, and it has gained them, and the gospel, a deal of respect in a country which is still deeply suspicious of cults and sects outside the church. Just apply that to everything that the church might do in a lonely society and you will see that the church can still be a force for good.
Of course, we don’t do this merely to gain recognition, or just to bring people together. The gospel of Jesus aims at reconciling people to God first of all, and then in the strength of that to bring them together. When Paul talks about the “wall of separation” being removed he is talking, sure enough, about that barrier that existed between Jew and Gentile. Communities that were opposed to each other are joined as one. But the context is that both Jew and Gentile had found their peace in Christ, so that both of them together are able to approach God. What this means for us is that shared spaces are good, in as far as they go. But if we want communities to be reconciled and at one what we really need is the gospel of Jesus. It is that which really breaks down barriers, unites people so that we have a true diversity, and provides the glue that holds communities together because its members stand as equals before God, redeemed and accepted by him. That’s what churches represent, because that is what salvation in Jesus brings. So while other shared spaces may close down, church doors – whether house churches, cathedrals, or worship spaces in schools and cinemas – will always be open to everyone
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