this is a neat article i found the today, very sober view of community.
In the past few years, the word “community� has replaced “fellowship�
as a favorite Christian buzzword. We use it all the time, especially in
our churches. We know we probably need it—especially since we’re always
talking about it. But what is it? Friendship? Potlucks? Sharing a
common purse? Letting people see who you really are? Where does it
happen: just inside the church, in our neighborhoods or wherever we hang
out with Christian friends? And even if we figure out what community
is, how do we get this elusive commodity?
When we don’t want community
Sometimes we think we don’t even want it. We know true community will
require a lot of work, and we don’t see the value in this romanticized
and vague concept. Communal laziness abounds in our culture—including
among Christians. Facebook wall posts are about as far as we get. We may
have Christian friends, but we never really open ourselves up to a
broader community of believers.
Sometimes, though, our apathy is not laziness. It simply hurts too
much to engage. We put in the work of transparency, confession or
ministry and don’t get anything in return—or worse, we get hurt. Or
we’ve seen this happen to our parents and we swear we won’t turn into
them—the kind of person who becomes a ministry doormat. So we combat the
idealism with cynicism or lofty ideas of how church “should look.� In
reality, though, we close ourselves off because engagement is scary.
Life in the church, communal living, is hard. It takes a lot of work.
And if it doesn’t, it might not be real community. True community, the
kind we see in the Acts church, goes deeper than friendship that fills
our relational buckets. It’s even more particular than a common bond
with those who claim Jesus as Savior. Although there are deep shared
realities between all believers—a knowledge of heaven, a filling of the
Spirit, being baptized into new life—these realities don’t necessarily
equal daily communal living with other Christians.
“The way of Jesus Christ�
Take church hunting, for example. First of all, the concept is kind
of creepy. People should hunt for birds, not faith communities. More
importantly, it implies the process is completely in our control. It
also implies church is about me: my needs, my theology, my kind of
people. We scout out the options, then point and shoot our spiritual
rifle at our destined target. It seems like God almost has nothing to do
with it.
In a church we try to find perfection, which is often the case
when faced with many options, most of them good enough. Our frame of
thinking can easily become, The preaching doesn’t “feed� me,
or, The music isn’t good enough or, I can’t see myself
hanging out with these people. But community isn’t there to meet
all our needs. It’s not there to make us feel good, or “feed� us, like I
assumed. And it’s never perfect.
When we realize the true nature and purpose of community—faithfulness
to Jesus and serving those in need—we open ourselves to authentic
discipleship and lives that are focused outward. And ironically enough,
this is often when we experience real biblical community most.
Realizing the imperfect nature of the Church, and our tendency to
want the Church—instead of Christ—to fix us, are the first steps in
allowing God to heal the communal wounds that have cut us deeply, even
if those wounds are simply apathy toward community. This realization
doesn’t justify those hurts; it doesn’t mean forgiveness is easy, but it
forms us into people who know what community in the Church can offer: a
chance to live in the best way, in transparent communion with Christ
and one another.
Taking off our shoes
The hardest part about this confessional, transparent way of living
is the fear of shame or hurt. Because the Church is just a bunch of
people, it—or they—might hurt us, even if the purpose of this group is
especially holy and God-ordained.
The Church can’t fix us, but being in the Church is really the only
place there is for a Christian to examine and heal from those
misunderstanding and wounds, that rejection of community. God’s deepest work in us is to teach us how to love. And love doesn’t
mean much until it’s tested by someone who is cranky, narrow-minded,
bigoted, critical and harsh.
Wonderful and awkward, fumbling and flawed, this is the Body of Christ. The body of Christ, faulty as it may be, is
part of what it means to walk with Christ. He never promises this path
will be easy or won’t hurt, but He does always promise resurrection,
even amongst the most broken situations. To let community in is to open
ourselves to the fullest life and communion Jesus offers when He calls
us to Himself.
from relevant magazine by Bonnie McMaken
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/23335-does-community-really-matter
