the church

I'm really no theologian, and I'm no church historian, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the church and its focus. [when I say church, I'm referring to The Church in general, not any particular church]. For the most part, the church I've always know has been very focused on individual change; repentance within your own heart, changing your ways, personal "salvation", etc. Certainly the concept is important, but I wonder if the church should go about it a little differently.

Shouldn't we be focused less on our individual souls, and more on what kind of A People we are? As in all of us... a group of people. What if our focus shifted from 'me being more like Christ' to 'us being the People of God'? Trying to live as God created us as A People? Can we really live as God created us by our self anyway? We weren't really designed that way, it seems to me.

Now I understand the idea behind this individual focus: that if everyone has internal change, then this will cause systemic change across the board. But does this ever happen? Or do we just kind of think about how proud we are to have changed and kind of gloat about it, whether silently or publicly?

But if we got on board with being the people of God, maybe that would stir people's hearts in a more serious way, causing internal change.

If I'm right, when Paul said things like "repent" (which I've heard many times literally means to 'rethink the way you're thinking'), he was talking to a group of people.

When we are focused on our individual change, it seems to breed a bit of competition; a scoring system for how much each person has changed or lives the way of Jesus. But a group trying to live as Jesus, or as God designed them, now that's a group with a common purpose. That's something that I can see people getting on board with. That's a group of people that is there for one another. I have to believe that bigger things can happen when this type of environment is fostered.

Maybe more on this to come later...