Effective collaboration stands as the cornerstone of every meaningful achievement. Whether examining ancient cathedral construction, social movements, or family life, success depends upon working in harmony toward shared objectives. This principle applies to individuals, corporations, and most critically, the Church fulfilling its divine mandate.
Yet the modern Church finds itself increasingly outmaneuvered by secular forces in the very arena where it should excel—forming devoted followers. This might sound paradoxical, since discipleship has long been considered uniquely Christian. However, examining the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) reveals that discipleship consists of two processes: establishing genuine commitment and cultivating obedience to authority through active participation in that authority's endorsed lifestyle.
This understanding shows that discipleship extends beyond church walls, creating opportunities for individuals to become devoted followers of ideologies or figures other than Christ. To accomplish the Great Commission, the Church must maintain internal harmony and strategic alignment, preventing secular forces from hijacking its purpose.
The body of Christ requires transformation from its current state—resembling an adolescent struggling with growth spurts—into something like a seasoned performer whose movements demonstrate precision and elegance. While the body maintains eternal unity through Jesus Christ, this spiritual reality must manifest through practical coordination that discipleship enables.
Working alongside others represents a fundamental component of discipleship because certain endeavors cannot be undertaken alone. Scripture illustrates this through Elijah's experience, when he believed himself the sole remaining faithful servant, only to discover God had preserved seven thousand who "refused to bow before Baal" (1 Kings 19:18). Without encouragement from coordinated community, we become susceptible to avoiding the hardships and discomfort characterizing authentic discipleship. Such community considers "how to motivate one another toward love and good deeds, refusing to abandon gathering together, but offering mutual encouragement, especially as we observe the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25).
While coordination remains vital to discipleship, two significant obstacles undermine the Church's capacity for unified action. First, coordination requires creating shared understanding through communication—speech, writing, art, and public rituals. Everyone needs the same information while knowing others possess it too. This demands resisting what economist Timur Kuran calls preference falsification or "embracing deception"—"the sacrifice of authentic self-expression under social conformity pressure." Our inclination to avoid social tensions, whether online or in person, can lead to reluctance in expressing genuine beliefs.
When we "embrace deception" (despite internal conflict), we reduce communication essential for shared understanding. This produces two harmful outcomes: we diminish coordination around authentic convictions we're concealing, and we contribute to "shared understanding" of beliefs we privately reject but publicly support to avoid backlash. Choosing deception to avoid consequences implicitly encourages others to adopt the same approach.
Second, as explored in "Christian Resistance," the Church has occasionally depended on secular coordination systems to maintain public ceremonies and strengthen shared understanding approximating the "biblical worldview." The Supreme Court decision in Engel v. Vitale eliminated school-sponsored prayer, removing coordination mechanisms embedded within public education's administrative framework. Once schools ceased coordinating prayer, the Church proved unable or unwilling to assume responsibility, largely embracing President Kennedy's "simple solution" of private prayer.
Discipleship serves as the Church's fundamental coordination mechanism. Drawing from Gibson's "The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception," discipleship functions as the overarching "environment" within which all activities find proper place. Daily routines should be embedded within discipleship so various pursuits are conducted with a discipled mindset.
However, recent studies including "The Great Opportunity" and Pew Research Center findings indicate declining Christian identification, particularly among younger demographics. While not directly identifying a coordination crisis, they suggest one by implying reduced Church influence as a coordinating force and growing influence of education, media, and government. When lives are no longer embedded within discipleship as primary coordination, they become embedded in alternatives. For Christians, no political stance or educational philosophy can substitute for a discipled approach.
Christians confront complex contemporary challenges. We inhabit an environment demonstrating increasing sophistication in crafting narratives that either reject God or marginalize Him by reshaping Him according to human preferences. In "Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge," we find: "Challenging an established system represents a coordination challenge: individuals become more willing to participate when they know others will join... Established systems focus censorship on public communications through which people receive messages and understand others receive them too."
The Church faces an established system against which it's called to stand. Our struggle is against "the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers governing this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). When we fail to commit fully to discipleship, we permit secular forces to outmaneuver us strategically, reducing our capacity to demonstrate God's "multifaceted wisdom" (Ephesians 3:10) as we patiently endure a world so broken only divine intervention can restore it.
The path forward requires reclaiming the Church's role as primary coordinating force in believers' lives. This means moving beyond individual spirituality toward collective action reflecting shared commitment to Christ's authority. It demands honest communication building genuine shared understanding rather than superficial agreement based on social pressure. Most importantly, it requires recognizing discipleship not as one activity among many, but as the foundational framework giving meaning to every aspect of Christian life.
The world has become remarkably effective at coordination around secular values. Social media coordinates public opinion, educational institutions coordinate worldview formation, entertainment industries coordinate cultural narratives. Each demonstrates coordination's power to shape hearts and minds. The Church possesses something more powerful—Gospel truth and the Holy Spirit's transforming presence. What remains is coordinating this truth effectively in a world needing to witness the unified body of Christ in action.
