Keep a Balance

The Challenge of Purity and Proximity in the Church

As I’ve mentioned before, most communities are comprised of 20 percent having a Christian commitment and about 80 percent being unengaged in their faith. Engaging the 80 percent requires keeping a balance between purity and proximity. Jesus prayed about his followers being in the world but not of it in John 17:14-18, but putting that concept into practice is a truly difficult thing in the church. Purity without proximity is judgmental, separatist, sheltered, and conceited. It becomes a hotbed for self-righteousness and finger pointing. Churches bent in this direction love to curse the darkness and talk about the good old days with longing affection. These churches may try to satisfy the requirement of proximity by being a “sending” church. “Sending” might be defined as a predominately traditional church that is comfortable with the usual. It is a predictable congregation committed to taking care of its own needs and giving to established mission works. They fulfill the obligation of proximity from a distance with their checkbook.

A church that practices proximity without purity is indistinguishable from the rest of the world. They really have nothing spiritual to offer as they have sacrificed life change for worldly relationships. Many of today’s megachurches have resorted to proximity tactics like shock to bring in an audience. One church printed billboards advertising a sermon series called “My Lousy Sex Life.” XXXchurch.com interfaces their parachurch ministry with churches using a program called “Missionary Positions.” While these and other provocative ideas might attract people, tongue-in-cheek phrases might blur the line so much between the spiritual and worldly that the unchurched won’t be able to distinguish a difference. Some might water down clear teachings from God’s Word in an effort to bridge the gap. Paul admonishes us in Romans 14:22, “Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (New International Version).

This tension between purity and proximity reveals itself in our personal lives as well. Some choose home schooling their children in an effort to protect their purity while others send their children to public school with an expectation that they will shine their light and influence the culture around them. Within this tension lies our movie and entertainment choices, our spending priorities, our closest friendships, and our time commitments. Many Christians have found their best solution in pretending . . . by acting one way in church environments and another in our social or work life. This solution neither honors God nor fools the world.

How Jesus Balanced Purity and Proximity

Jesus taught about this tension and reactions to both his and John the Baptist’s ministry in Luke 7:31-35. When John came on the scene, his no-compromise approach directed listeners to repentance, striking a chord of revival in their hearts. He established proximity by the power of his message as people flocked to him. While sinners came to John, Jesus came to sinners. He called Matthew from his tax-collecting table, Zacchaeus from his tree, Simon from his boat, and Lazarus from his grave. He never compromised purity in his proximity. Even so, the perceptions of some were skewed.

To me, the most perfect picture of the balance between purity and proximity is Jesus on the cross. It reminds me of the time I was standing in the Sistine Chapel looking at the famous depiction in the center of the ceiling. Both God and Adam are reaching out for each other with a small-unpainted space between their outstretched fingers. Jesus closed that gap on the cross, one hand nailed in the direction of God, and the other in the direction of man. I see him there with his body in tension, holding two worlds together in proximity and purity.

As the local church might endeavor to break out of the pack in pursuit of the 80 percent, it must remain ever mindful of this tension and keep a balance. We must remember that God’s perception is the one we must be concerned about. We must avoid lazy ways of building proximity at the expense of purity as we venture out into the deep water of our culture.

Author: Jerry Harris

Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard and former teaching pastor at The Crossing, a large, multisite church located in three states across the Midwest.