The exit

For eight years I stood outside of churches and free churches. I was a solo Christian. Based on these few years, I can reliably say: Yes, you can exist as a Christian without a church or community. I came out of that time refreshed and stronger.

During those years, I cultivated community in a different way. It was a good time of reflection and reorientation. I have not lost my faith, but have rediscovered the freedom of faith. In return, I was able to better sort out some impressions, separate the wheat from the chaff, and received a healthier foundation of faith.

Why do I mention this here? Well, there are opinions according to which one could not be a solo Christian. That would be dangerous for the life of faith. Those who remove themselves from the congregation would thereby almost automatically fall out of the faith. It would be the beginning of an inevitable descent, so the opinion goes, and one would very quickly fall into the clutches of Satan. Does that sound fun? Unfortunately, it is not. Anyone who has heard this before knows the fear-mongering that goes along with it, the lack of freedom that is pulled over the community as a heavy blanket with such and similar statements.

Those who leave a community may do so, of course, because they do not like a particular Christian culture, because the teachings are perceived as abstruse, because the community culture is experienced as too narrow (or, conversely, as not narrow enough). Some will actually leave the faith, or realize that they were never really at home there. This is a sober view of this world. This should not surprise us. Rather, it is true that God loves this world, and not only the people of a certain expression.

However, people stay away from churches for other reasons as well:

• Not everyone can stand large crowds, and sometimes no church services for that reason.
• People evolve. Sometimes the journey must continue alone or in another form of church, another denomination.
• Some have experienced a breach of trust, or abuse (sexual, emotional, religious) and protect themselves by leaving.

Those who seem to be solo Christians usually have a history behind them that has led to this.

Every Christian a Solo Christian

Is it possible to get this term solochrist out of the negative corner and give the expression a positive connotation? I’ll give it a try, because those who have a power of faith within themselves are automatically less dependent on churches. Wherever there is a warning against being a solo Christian, it goes hand in hand with being patronized by a community. What would be the alternative?

I became aware during my exit that for years I had nurtured a certain Christian subculture that almost stifled the vitality and truthfulness of an authentic faith. Get out of the confines! As a fruit of this time of being alone, I learned to distinguish faith from a subculture. This is helpful for a neutral assessment and the prerequisite for being able to take new paths in a well-founded manner.

One can only believe for oneself (Romans 14:22). That’s why everyone is responsible for themselves first, no matter where you stand. Thinking for yourself, trusting yourself, thinking for yourself, taking responsibility for your own well-being – all this is significant and healthy. It is independent of whether one is involved in a church, free church, house church or somewhere else (not). Wouldn’t that be the core of a healthy Christian understanding?

Therefore, every Christian is in a sense a solo Christian. Seen in this light, the ability to think and believe for oneself would be the characteristic of a mature faith expressed in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Would that be a positive view or something to be suspicious of? Not everyone sees it the same way. Is that “worldly thinking”? Of course, independence is also an expression of the spirit of the times, but it could also be justified from the Bible (“And the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where are you?“ Gen 3:9). The human being – every human being – is important.

The normal case would be: Learn to stand on your own two feet, become an adult in faith, then nothing will shake you so quickly (Eph 4:14). A healthy church culture leads there (Eph. 4:15-16). This is the image of the solo Christian that I envision. It is someone who has matured in life and in faith, who is therefore stable enough to carry responsibility and to be a support to others, whether inside or outside a community.

Independent, but not alone

As a rule, it does not stop at being a solo Christian. If I’m honest, neither was I during all those years “between communities.” I maintained lively contact with other Christians, used the time to clarify important questions and was able to look at them detached from the previous environment for once. All this was very helpful and by no means “alone”. It was only different because it took place without a typical community. I couldn’t have done that in the community setting I knew because there was no culture of learning there.

Think of the solo Christian as someone who can stand on his own two feet and therefore function independently. This may well be perceived as threatening by church leaders or other fellow Christians. It seems that dependence on the community is being eroded. That’s right! It is someone who can live without community or with community because he trusts in God. He lives the freedom of Christ (Gal. 5:1), whereby he is able to choose to do all the good works that God has prepared for him or her to walk in (Eph. 2:8-10). Whoever stands in faith in this way does not want to play church, but to be church – in the form that is appropriate at the moment. Such a person is independent, cannot be manipulated, resists paternalism, but reliably takes responsibility by living out God’s love.

I discovered that many people travel like this. I was not alone. Hooray! I had realized all this only belatedly.

Being on the road together

After a few years “without a church,” I very consciously rejoined a community. I had gained distance, processed my questions, clarified my faith, and could therefore rejoin liberated. The time without the church was healing and necessary. But now it was important to give the experienced freedom a direction again.

The good thing about community is that you can share the same vocation, the same Lord and a great confidence. I don’t think most people thrive without community – quite the opposite. A church or parish, a home group or Bible study group or anything else can provide that fellowship. Perhaps a community also takes place unconventionally. For some, social media have become meeting places. Let’s not fix fellowship in a particular way. It’s not about “jumping into the Christian fray,” but seeking valuable fellowship.

As social beings, we are designed to encounter. That is what makes us human. We meet and enjoy it, albeit differently. We talk about God and the world so that we can see our faith more clearly and practice it in community. Community is a high priority, not because we are believers, but because we as people like to share. We experience our faith only as part of our human experience. It is logical that we come together. Let’s make something of it and let other people go their way.

There are many-sided references in Scripture to people coming together religiously. Jesus gathered disciples around Him, as many preachers did at that time (Matt. 9:14), and taught His disciples. The Jews and early believers also gathered in the temple (Acts 2:46; Acts 5:21), in the synagogues (Acts 13:14-15; Acts 17:10-11) and elsewhere (Matt. 5:1ff). We read of Paul engaging in conversation with people in the marketplace (Acts 17:16-17). People also met each other in other ways (Acts 20:7).

We learn from each other and from each other. Paul writes that only together can we fully know:

“So that Christ through faith may be fully in dwell in your hearts and you rooted and grounded in love, may you grow stronger to To grasp with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height (to know also the love of the Christ that surpasses all knowledge), so that you are being completed to the entire completion of God.”
Eph 3:17-19

It only works together. There is great promise in this. However, this by no means has to mean that we all have to sit in church on Sunday. Because that’s not what it says at all. Nevertheless, it means “with all the saints”, that is, “with all those called by God”, or casually, “with all believers”.

Solo Christians have discovered valuable things for the community.