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Over time, this balance has been lost. The proliferation of evangelical churches with varying degrees of differences encouraged a focus on the universal for the sake of movement unity. Now, when evangelicals talk about the church, they usually have the universal church in mind. Something crucial is lost in this imbalance.

"Evangelicals have often excused a deep neglect of the order of the church by emphasizing its invisibility," late Presbyterian pastor and Westminster Theological Seminary professor Ed Clowney wrote in The Church. "If only the church invisible matters, there need be little concern about the unity, holiness, catholicity, or even apostolicity of the church."

We might add that there need be little concern for the local church's shared life, either. Overemphasize the church's invisibility, and you may sidestep church discipline. You may neglect practical ways to care for your neighbors. You may become judgmental toward others, especially your leaders. You may not even be able to identify the strangers in your midst. In a highly mobile society, you may drift from church to church, unaware of your soul's need for consistency and deep relationships. Worse, you may conclude that you get plenty of nourishment from books, sermon downloads, and Christian radio. Only too late will you realize that famous authors and musicians don't visit you in the hospital, help you find a job, or babysit your children. Nor can they come alongside and spur you on to practice the faith you profess. A church that is only invisible can hold no one accountable.

No one naturally seeks accountability. But Christians cannot grow without it. The local church is God's gift to help believers flourish in ways they can't on their own. Here they hear the Word preached, partake in the sacraments together, and lift their voices in song to worship the triune God. Here the Holy Spirit sanctifies them as they learn to live peacefully together and serve one another. Here they know and are known by one another. Accountability defeats anonymity, the scourge of urban America. As anyone who commutes or reads the Internet knows, anonymity is sin's best friend. Yet anonymity is what we have sold to spiritual seekers as a benefit of visiting evangelical churches.

"Market analysis has also shown that many people prefer to visit a church anonymously, so seeker-driven churches will often avoid identifying newcomers. Jesus may be among us in the form of a stranger, but we would never know it unless he filled out a response card," Leadership managing editor Skye Jethani writes.

"In our changing cultural setting, is anonymity still the right value for hospitality? Does sensitivity to non-Christians mean having to ignore biblical rites, language, and church traditions? What does it mean in our day to honor strangers as Christ among us? Some younger church leaders, myself included, believe that we need to abandon the seeker/believer dichotomy in the church and practice a 'radical hospitality' instead."

Hospitality and accountability are exceedingly difficult to practice in megachurches and big cities. But they are still possible for many local churches and urban neighborhoods. Indeed, this is why we might prefer all politics to be local, unrealistic though this may be. At this scale, politicians still understand the needs of their communities because they live there. If they nevertheless serve their own interests, residents can look up their phone numbers or even knock on their doors. Embarrassment discourages poor behavior. They can't hide and don't want to move away.

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November (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52