I hear from all points that the church is not doing community. Community is missing from the church and is an essential ingredient to kingdom growth.
Yet, I see churches “committed to” building community… community is even in their name and kingdom growth is not happening to any appreciable extent.
I’m sure I could Google community and find many valuable definitions, characteristics and points to be made about what community is and how to do it.
Here’s mine.
I believe that community is like the wall on which a mosaic is cemented, the fabric on which a cross-stitch is sown. Community is an environment – not un-like the agar in a Petri dish… wholly conducive and pristine for growing the things desired. (Oh, and by the way, you can’t make things grow!)
In our contexts – the world and the church – community is the medium in which kingdom growth occurs most verdantly, freely and purely.
Community is life-on-life intimate relationships among Christ-following believers. It is characterized by, in a word, love.
In Christian community there is sacrifice, investment.
Community comes at a high price.
Community is messy, mysterious and frustratingly unpredictable.
Community is not something that can be forced or hurried.
Strategies and tactics are often of little use in the grand scheme of community. A thorough look at the life of our Community Exemplar – namely, JESUS – and one sees very little “plans” and “process.”
That is because community nearly defies a recipe! (By the way, don’t forsake planning, setting goals, praying for results, making outlines and lists! Recall: The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9)
Jesus chose some friends, allowed them to live with Him, gave them things to do commensurate with their readiness for ministry and then he … kinda just … LIVED. And DIED that others might live.
And his friends – having been in community with Jesus and having grown to trust and obey Him because He had been found to be TRUST-worthy – began to act like Jesus.
Better yet, they began to LIVE like Jesus did. Outsiders “recognized them as having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13) – community was successful, and the kingdom of God grew.
Ya just gotta get in there and get dirty!
Yet, community is the only environment in which true Kingdom Growth can take place. It is where believers practice new and godly forms of behavior with acceptance, patience and encouragement from others.
It is not simply an act of our will. Yet, we must simply will to be with Jesus. Willing community is skipping a step. Community is only possible in and through those who have experienced the personal acceptance of Jesus (both in solitude and community). Then and only then do Christ-followers have something (namely, love) to give to others.
In sum: For those who want to do and be about community.
1. “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim 4:7b). I would suggest this where you decide to do things like pray, be alone with God, listen, fast, read your Bible, go to church, worship and so on. Seek both to learn about all these things and to practice each of them deeply, earnestly and regularly.
2. Pray for God to direct you into a true experience of community – the kind in which you can give and receive true love.
3. Live life with other Christ-followers.
4. Seek others – particularly those outside the faith – with whom you can influence as you live an intentional godly life.
Yet, I see churches “committed to” building community… community is even in their name and kingdom growth is not happening to any appreciable extent.
I’m sure I could Google community and find many valuable definitions, characteristics and points to be made about what community is and how to do it.
Here’s mine.
I believe that community is like the wall on which a mosaic is cemented, the fabric on which a cross-stitch is sown. Community is an environment – not un-like the agar in a Petri dish… wholly conducive and pristine for growing the things desired. (Oh, and by the way, you can’t make things grow!)
In our contexts – the world and the church – community is the medium in which kingdom growth occurs most verdantly, freely and purely.
Community is life-on-life intimate relationships among Christ-following believers. It is characterized by, in a word, love.
In Christian community there is sacrifice, investment.
Community comes at a high price.
Community is messy, mysterious and frustratingly unpredictable.
Community is not something that can be forced or hurried.
Strategies and tactics are often of little use in the grand scheme of community. A thorough look at the life of our Community Exemplar – namely, JESUS – and one sees very little “plans” and “process.”
That is because community nearly defies a recipe! (By the way, don’t forsake planning, setting goals, praying for results, making outlines and lists! Recall: The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9)
Jesus chose some friends, allowed them to live with Him, gave them things to do commensurate with their readiness for ministry and then he … kinda just … LIVED. And DIED that others might live.
And his friends – having been in community with Jesus and having grown to trust and obey Him because He had been found to be TRUST-worthy – began to act like Jesus.
Better yet, they began to LIVE like Jesus did. Outsiders “recognized them as having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13) – community was successful, and the kingdom of God grew.
Ya just gotta get in there and get dirty!
Yet, community is the only environment in which true Kingdom Growth can take place. It is where believers practice new and godly forms of behavior with acceptance, patience and encouragement from others.
It is not simply an act of our will. Yet, we must simply will to be with Jesus. Willing community is skipping a step. Community is only possible in and through those who have experienced the personal acceptance of Jesus (both in solitude and community). Then and only then do Christ-followers have something (namely, love) to give to others.
In sum: For those who want to do and be about community.
1. “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim 4:7b). I would suggest this where you decide to do things like pray, be alone with God, listen, fast, read your Bible, go to church, worship and so on. Seek both to learn about all these things and to practice each of them deeply, earnestly and regularly.
2. Pray for God to direct you into a true experience of community – the kind in which you can give and receive true love.
3. Live life with other Christ-followers.
4. Seek others – particularly those outside the faith – with whom you can influence as you live an intentional godly life.
5. Read the New Testament and pattern your life after Jesus’. Find out how He lived, who He chose to hang out with, what He saw as important, what He did, then … go thou and do likewise!
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