In last week’s edition, we wrote about Christ and the Christian. The saving work of God becomes visible in the Christian congregation. There sounds the only Name through whom we can be saved. That name becomes a banner. Through Christ, God enlists the people in his battle. The Spirit involves the people of God in the battle for salvation. In total agreement with the promise of Genesis 3, it is a battle of the seed of the woman, which is the people led by the man Jesus, against the serpent and his seed. But just as it was God who announced this declaration of war, so also it is God who conducts this battle; the man Jesus is God’s Son.

Christians carry the mark and the banner of Christ into their lives, involved in his battle and changed by his salvation. They carry his repugnance for sin and his love for what is good. It is impossible that the style of Christ’s work would not show in their lives. Jesus declares his name in the life of the believers, but through the life of the believers, also to others. Anyone who encounters a believer retains an impression, however vague, of Christ and his work.

Edge and Edge⤒🔗

It is within this framework that I want to speak about the edge of the congregation. This expression can bring about a misunderstanding. When we speak about the “edge of the congregation,” it is usually understood as the brothers and sisters who are not active participants. We often say about such brothers and sisters that they exist on the edges, or the margins, of the congregation. We should not be happy about such an edge. It is not complimentary when it is said about a congregation that it has a wide edge.

However, you can also speak about an edge that a congregation may be happy about, especially when it is said that this edge is wide. There is, namely, not only one edge in the congregation  — the brothers and sisters who live very close to the outside edge — but also the edge around the congregation. By that, I understand the people who do not belong to the church, but who do know Christ and his congregation, Christ and his work of salvation through the church members with whom they are acquainted. They have all kinds of personal and business relationships with their believing neighbours, with believers at work, in sports associations, in town councils, in their circle of customers, and among their suppliers. Just think of all the contacts that a normal person, who participates in various functions in society, can have.

Such an edge, or periphery, can be found in every congregation, although we may not be used to thinking about it or considering it. It seems to me that it is a good idea to spend some time thinking about this. Every believer contributes to this periphery. He or she pretty much always has one or more unbelieving people whom they know well, and with whom the topic of faith has come up. This is the periphery of unbelieving “neighbours.” That periphery surrounding the congregation has, to this point, not received much interest. It is also logical to be busy with the margin within the congregation. Much pastoral and diaconal, as well as brotherly and sisterly, energy is devoted to that edge. From the center of the congregation, we all work together to keep the margin inside the congregation as small as possible. That is absolutely right.

Attention for the Edge←⤒🔗

We may, however, also ask for attention for the edge around the congregation. In the Bible we do hit upon something that resembles this. The Jewish people in the exile, at a certain moment, entered a mission situation. Their objective was to make the Word of God known among the peoples. That was expedited when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, and many congregations of the dispersion became Greek-speaking. Many among the peoples became interested in the Jewish faith, without proceeding to requesting membership in the congregation as proselyte or Jewish associate. We read about them in Acts as “people who fear God” (Acts 10:2, 22, 35; 13:16, 26, 43, 50; 17:4, 17; 18:7). They formed the edge around the congregation when the apostles ventured into the world. At that time, this edge was very wide, and there appeared to be an open ear for the Christian preaching. As long as the church grew, a comparable edge around the church accompanied this growth. In the first centuries, there were, at times, many catechumens, people who requested baptism and, in preparation, received instruction. There were catechumens in various stages of progress. They were withheld from a portion of the worship service as long as they had not yet received the sign of baptism. For example, if you look at our church Handbook at the Korean churches or churches in Sumba, you will see that listeners, catechumens, Sunday school children and regular attendees are mentioned there. The edge, the periphery, is then sometimes broader than the church itself. Now that it is becoming steadily spiritually emptier in the Netherlands, and all around us, it is to be expected that such an edge, also here, will exert a greater impact. Believers will — if they are determined, whatever the cost, to not keep it to themselves, in their faith and their involvement in the work of Christ (a difficult thing to do) — attract more and more attention, as the world around the church desires to ignore the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. As the world becomes spiritually emptier, the man or woman who speaks or acts in ways contrary to the norms of the world will stick out more.

Such an edge, a periphery, already exists today. You can point to the children in the youth club, to regular attendees at thematic lecture evenings, or those following Bible courses. These people all fall within the reach of evangelism work.

You can also draw a wider circle. We can find all kinds of people who know of Christ in the periphery around the congregation. It would be good to differentiate. Globally, we can distinguish among people who are moving towards church membership, those who are moving away from the church’s members, and those who are in a neutral position towards the church. The first group knows of the faith, of Christ, and of the congregation, and is interested in it. They respect the faith of the Christians whom they know, consider it, and at times appreciate further enlightenment. Their curiosity has been awakened. Often, something will grow and develop between them and the believer who awakened their interest. This is fed through holiday greetings, an informative booklet on a birthday, mutual acknowledgment in the discussion of specific topics of current social interest, visits to the sick, and so on. Especially when it involves neighbours, close colleagues, or friends, a great mutual trust develops, but also an increasing level of comfort with the Word of God, with the battle of Christ, and with the separations throughout this world.

The second group also exists: the people who are decisively standing with their back to the church. Their experiences are often negative; they often spread angry or bad rumours about the church. Fortunately, they do not all do this at the same time and often not directly against Christ and his work, but his name still suffers damage through them. Here we find those who have left the church, those who have been cut off, those who have withdrawn themselves, people who have personally suffered much and blame the church for it, people who have had to endure much from fellow church members, or people who have felt themselves neglected in the congregation and have been disappointed by it. There are still all kinds of connections with church members, but these exist under great tension. Relationships with these people require great wisdom.

The third group is more neutral. They know much; they are curious, but their interest is not fed by a spiritual motive. The nature of their interest can be pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, it can be in the line of a hobby, or it can be based on a business interest. All three groups are more or less involved with what happens in the congregation; they empathize in one way or another. They form an opinion and judgment whenever they become aware of an issue in the church. Often, we ourselves are to blame for that, for the information and partially also for the judgment.

In this article we will not discuss those whom we have indicated as belonging to the second group (those people who have turned themselves against the church). We will, however, focus on those who are interested: family members, neighbours, and friends of church members with whom we have an open relationship.

Does the Bible Recognize This Periphery?←⤒🔗

Must we occupy ourselves with these people? Does it have anything to do with “church life”? The answer to the question stands or falls with the Bible. Does God have an eye for them? Does he show this in his Word?

The Heidelberg Catechism says in answer to question 86, that Christ “renews us by his Holy Spirit to be his image.” This answer points out three goals. With this renewal, Christ has as his purpose the praise of God and the comfort of the believers. As the last goal, it is stated “that by our godly walk of life we may win our neighbours for Christ.” The power of Christ’s saving work and his renewing work though his Spirit becomes visible in our “good works.” Our “godly walk of life” is transparent with the work of Christ and the Spirit. We need not win anyone for ourselves, but we do for Christ. Browsing through several of the Scripture passages cited here by the Catechism is educational. Noteworthy is how often the first letter of Peter is cited. In 1 Peter 2:9-10, the believer is given this precious word: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

This causes us to think of Matthew 5, where Christ calls his disciples the light of the world and couples exhortation with it: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The “winning for Christ” of the Catechism stands under the umbrella of glorifying the heavenly Father. The Son does not work for himself. In the course and as the result of his work, his Sender is glorified. The first goal of Christ’s renewing work, the praise of God, carries the following two with it: the assurance of the believer (see 1 Peter 1:6-7) and the winning of the neighbour for Christ, bringing glory to God.

The proclamation of the great deeds of God fills the agenda of God’s people; it is their mandate. The believers are “chosen,” “anointed,” “sanctified,” and “committed,” in order to proclaim the great deeds of God. Peter develops this more specifically and concretely: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). This is followed by the direct application for household slaves, for women and for men (1 Peter 2:13-3:12). Noteworthy is that the women are told they must be submissive to their husbands in order that the husbands may be won for Christ, without words, through the conduct of their wives: “when they see your respectful and pure conduct” (1 Peter 3:1-2).

It is remarkable that Peter’s letter limits itself to relationships within the household. Precisely there, the believer becomes painfully aware that he or she is a stranger and an exile. As you proceed in the letter, it becomes clear to you that the Christian of those days was received with grave distrust and a certain maliciousness. They could count on a hostile attitude.

Both issues should make us cautious about a too direct application toward the topic at hand. We are not specifically speaking about relationships within the household; our circle is wider. We are dealing with all sorts of relationships within society. Those relationships do not automatically have the intimacy of household relationships. That also infers that an openly hostile attitude is also less likely. We find that we are in a relatively neutral zone.

What does apply is the way you, as a believer, do and must attract attention through your good works. That means that you, in the way you form relationships in society, must be motivated by your faith, must let yourself be led by God’s law, and must have as your goal the honour of God. In short, with Peter’s words, there you also set yourself up as “servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). In real life, that means that the image you display is not one of “he serves himself,“ and to that he makes all else subservient, but an image that shows that “he serves God,” and in the practice of everyday life that looks like “he serves his neighbour, his colleague, his friend.”

Whoever is not motivated by his own honour seeks ways to show clearly that he belongs to the congregation of Christ, and that his motivation flows forth from a unique spring. When a gospel singer receives applause and cheers, you sometimes see him making a gesture that resembles scooping water towards heaven: arms spread out low with open hands, then with palms up, raising the arms and hands toward each other above his head. He gives the praise, which was granted to him, upwards to the heavens. How can you do this in everyday life when you receive a thank-you for your attentive behavior or a bouquet of flowers for your help? How can you pass this praise on?

A Bond with the Periphery←⤒🔗

How can you bring those people who, via personal contact, have some notion of your faith, into closer contact with the church and with the work of Christ, in order to bring the honour to Christ?

This time, I will look for the answer in two directions. In the first place, there is, naturally, the church service. You can invite someone to go to church with you when an occasion presents itself. This may happen on the occasion of a wedding, or the baptism of one of your children. It may happen on a Christian day of celebration or just at any time when it enters the conversation.

You would do well (this is self-evident) to prepare your guest to some extent as to what will happen. This may include some explanation of the order of the church service and the meaning of certain words and gestures, also the role filled by specific people in the church service. Incidentally, it has become apparent that the sobriety of the Reformed liturgy has huge advantages at such a moment. Still, in general, the threshold of a church service remains high. As host, you should really have a specific inducement for a focused invitation. You do not just invite someone. On the other hand, we must also not underestimate how intimate a church service appears to someone who is not used to it. The less acquainted he is with churchgoing, the more he will feel himself out of place and uncomfortable, despite a preparatory explanation.

Can the threshold be lowered? I think so. It already becomes a bit lower when there are more people he knows. For example, a neighbour who has met your brothers and sisters at a birthday celebration already feels less strange. Also, for this reason, it is good to seek occasions to share interested contacts with other church members. It is also good to think about a way to show the person the inside of the church when there is not a church service being held. An open house on the occasion of building completion or renovation is a good opportunity. Other ideas are an invitation for a choir concert or organ recital, an evening of song, a lecture or debate evening, or a bazaar. It depends on the nature of the evening, but in this manner specific parts of the church service can be introduced (congregational singing, almost extinct outside of church; praying out loud; collection). These ideas have merit and it is recommended that consistories and evangelization committees ponder them. As congregation, how can we promote the bond with the edge around the congregation? Can we develop a strategy for that? Can we point out possibilities to each other? Do we create adequate opportunities? Do we not want to win our neighbour for Christ? Do we not wish, for the whole world, what he gives to us in his grace? Certainly, we wish it for the people who have become close to us in all sorts of relationships but are still deprived of Christ! We can pray for them, at home and in the congregation. But we are also allowed to get to work.

The answer to question 86 precedes the whole chapter on thankfulness, also that on the law. That says to us that Jesus Christ also gives us the ways to do good to our neighbours in his name. Then we may take the initiative ourselves to seek ways to do good, rightly, in his Name. Let us be aware that there are many people who observe and empathize with the church of Christ and with his work of salvation through us. Let us also do something with that knowledge: to honour God and love our neighbour. The glory of God is the vocation of the believer, and of the believers together in the congregation. The church has an address, but that is not only the name of a street and a number on the back of a folder. We also are the church. The Spirit lays the task of connection between the pulpit and the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world on the congregation. That connection operates via the members of that congregation. Our speech, but certainly also our leadership in all sorts of practical matters may and must be transparent, giving insight into the mighty power of Christ’s work. Then we may also ask ourselves how we can point out the door to those people who are watching, fascinated, through the window — the door to the inside.