The Obstacles to Authentic Community in the Church
Last week, I highlighted two needs that, for many people in the church, are going unmet—being able to freely sing to the Lord without damaging one’s hearing and being able to sing in unison with the rest of the church because the songs are composed for congregational singing rather than performance. And the lack of true community within our church communities.
You can check out what I wrote last week. I don’t really have anything to add to the worship music issue, but I do want to delve a bit deeper into the lack of community among our church communities.
One of the things I have learned about developing community is that you must be intentional. While it sounds ideal, community, particularly in today’s world, doesn’t just happen organically. There are too many obstacles that we will find difficult to overcome without intentionality. There needs to be intentionality both among people and their leadership.
So, let’s look at some of the obstacles that impede community among us:
Passivity by Design
Think about a typical worship service. There is a stage or platform in the front, on which the worship band plays and the pastor preaches, as well as where prayers are made and announcements given. Chairs or pews face the front with each row of people looking at the backs of people’s heads in front of them. For the most part, people watch and listen without ever interacting with one another during the service. Physically, this is how we typically arrange our places of worship, and we design our worship services to include almost no interaction among the people gathered there. This is what I term passivity by design. Even if we desire to have community and to promote it, this is a huge obstacle that can hinder any attempts to create it.
Time Constraints
This, too, is by design. Both leaders and participants don’t want the worship service to drag on for more than 90 minutes, particularly if another service immediately follows. So, time restraints are a real obstacle, particularly if worship through music is allocated 20-30 minutes and then the pastor’s message another 30-40 minutes. Add on time for announcements, prayer, offering, and perhaps Communion, the 90 minutes are full, and no room is left to foster community.
Attempting Ineffective Shortcuts to Promote Community
Leaders know intuitively that the church needs to be a real community, but the time constraints and their priorities of what should be included in a worship service inhibit it. So, they try by attempting shortcuts to create community. The first step to creating community always is to make a person feel welcome to a group. Thus, much emphasis is placed on Greeting Teams, who stand at the entrances to welcome people with smiles and glad you’re here’s. As I wrote last week, most churches are excellent at this, but the problem lies deeper within the building. As one reader observed, no one spoke to him or his wife after the worship service at one church concluded.
Another attempt is what I have called “the longest minute on Sunday.” The pastor or someone up front will ask people to stand and greet those around them. It is the longest minute for me because I am a very strong introvert (like two points on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator!) It’s awkward and I get the impression that most would rather not be forced into doing it, particularly since there typically is little gained by it except to learn a person’s name and how long they’ve been coming to the church. For we introverts, that is a lot of energy expended for little gain.
Fear of Vulnerability
Deep down, I believe people want community, but they fear that which is necessary to have it—vulnerability. People know they’re messed up, but most don’t want others to know that out of fear they will be exposed as frauds or hypocrites. So, it’s just easier to shut out people, either by interacting around safe subjects or speaking in platitudes, spiritual and otherwise. These keep people from knowing us very deeply. Another strategy is to “cut and run.” Don’t give any opportunity for engagement. Come in late and leave early. You can check the box of attending a church service, but at the same time protect yourself from people interacting with you.
Because of this fear, church leaders are less likely to want to put people in positions where that fear may be realized. The mantra often is that we want people to be comfortable in our church. In other words, we want them to keep coming.
There are likely other obstacles that inhibit community in our churches, but regardless, they must be overcome if people are to experience authentic community in their local churches. That’s truly the challenge before us, whether we are church leaders or participants. Next time, I will address some of the things I think need to be done. Again, your comments are welcome and valued. I want us to be in this together.
Until next time. . .
© Jim Musser 2026
