Anyone who has watched the movie “Finding Nemo” knows that clownfish live where? “In an anemonenene”. The symbiotic relationship between the clown fish and the anemone is truly beautiful. The fish constantly feeds on small invertebrates that potentially kill the anemone, and the anemone protects 
the clownfish with its stinging cells. If either of the two organisms is not present, the remaining one will struggle to survive and probably die.
A healthy church has a similar relationship between the sodalic and modalic structures. Examples of sodalic organizations are Youth for Christ and Campus Crusade, while most churches are examples of modalic structures; this is where people are primarily fed and grow in their faith. In simple terms, sodalic organizations bring many new converts into the church, while modalic structures nurture and develop these new converts into servants (which often results in sodalic servants). Do you see how this symbiotic mutualism is similar to the clown fish and the anemone? The modalics feed the sodalics and the sodalics feed the modalics. An example would be a small church that is also a Youth for Christ center. The YFC center would constantly be bringing new converts into the church and the church would reply by developing these converts and placing them in the YFC center. When both organisms are functioning together, life flourishes.
However, in America this symbiotic relationship is rarely found. You see churches all over the place trying to function and draw people in on their own, and you see sodalic organizations converting people and then trying to “place” them in a church (which is similar to transplanting a killer whale into a mountain lake in many cases). Since these two categories in the church are not functioning together, both are struggling to survive on their own. It is similar to a clown fish trying to survive without the anemone; while the fish may survive, it will not be healthy and will constantly be attacked by its enemies. This is all because the clown fish is not living the symbiotic mutualism that God designed it to live in……. and the same is true about the church.
We will talk about how the two connect toward the end of the class. Note: All of the parachurch folk that attended are deeply embedded and supportive/supported at a local community. It can work beautifully.
So true. That both sides, the ministries outside the church and the church – the building and all that happens inside and moves outward -, can benefit one another. Sometimes these ministries play the role of the church in certain communities and the church can help do what outside ministries might normally do.
I think that there is something prideful for a lot of people in both parachurch and church organizations. The church as institution thrives on tradition to defend its place, so you get people criticizing organizations that feed starving children in Africa because they aren’t being run from a building with a worship service. At the same time, social justice organizations criticize organized church because they aren’t meeting the needs of the world. Christ didn’t expect one to live without the other, because he expects us to trust that he works through both groups for His glory. Walls of pride need to be torn down so we can see the benefit and NEED that Jesus explains of both groups.
I really like the illustration. I agree that it is so important to have both aspects present in the church, but it seems so much easier said than done. At least personally, after learning more about the biblical basis for the church as a people sent by God, the need for both the sodalic and modalic aspects of the church is obvious, but my question is how we share this with those who have lived their whole lives in a solely modalic church and do not have the opportunity to take a class on the missional church. How do we get other people excited and involved in this Christ-centered vision of the church without resorting to the same purely attractional pulls that we are trying to get away from?
You make excellent points…and I completely agree. The Church can only flourish when both modalic and sodalic aspects work together.
Think how much of an impact local churches could have if they combined the nurturing aspects of the modalic church body with the social impact of sodalic elements! This is truly how the Church should function.