My topic today is Community and I would really love to hear your feedback in the comment section at the end of the blog on today's subject, too. Feel free to share your heart.
Community.
I grew up in a small town further north. Came from a good family where family values and strong communication were always encouraged and expected. I grew up in a small church where everyone knew my name. I liked knowing that I was known and that my family was known. Actually, the whole town knew everyones name. Yes, kind of like that song.
How do you define community?
Connection and community were engrained into every fiber of who I (was) and am as a person. It was taught by example from very early on and expected unconditionally to be lived out and shared.
How do you define community?
It is the filter or lens I look through to see the world around me. It is how I view parenting, marriage, friendships, the Church and anything else I encounter involving people. It's how I view working relationships and serving or volunteering endeavors. To work together as a team. Appreciate each other. Listen and encourage one another. Share each others burdens. Acknowledge each other and not use one another for personal gain. Live with grace and mercy extended to those you are living life with, all while challenging each other.
Balance.
It is a concept I cannot escape. It is a concept that cannot be separated from who I am as a person. A concept I have never wanted to disconnect from or try to "weed" out of my personality….I loved it and it defined my world. Relational. Connected. Community driven & encouraged.
How do you define community?
A couple of weeks ago we were out to dinner with some good friends and church community was pretty much the topic of discussion for most of the night. The need by all of us to connect somewhere with someone, to be a part of a larger group of people we call home. To live life next to and share our lives with. There was a sense of how important this is in our lives.
There seemed to, at times, be an absence of opportunity to authenticaly connect to a body of believers throughout our lives. We tried to figure out why. (Not necessarily the absence of Christian friends because we all have those but more specifically a coming together each week to live life out together…connected more than the occasional dinner or coffee to catch up).
Maybe it is because we are all way to busy, over worked, over extended and stressed out to stop and take time to be involved in one another's lives. Maybe it's because somewhere along the line we had been hurt causing us to pull back from any community. No matter what the reasons were or are, I am sure that is not how God intended us to live….
Alone.
The very nature of God is relational. He is the Trinity. At His very core He is relationship driven and invites us to be the same with Him and with other believers.
Connecting with a community of believers takes some time and effort but the invested time does provide a return…community develops shared experiences while rejoicing with one another and carrying each other's burdens. A very Biblical principle.
Whenever people find it is easier to connect to their work, neighborhoods and non Christian friends, there is a problem. A real problem.
We are suppose to be surrounding ourselves with people where iron sharpens iron instead surrounding ourselves with groups where bad company is jeopardizing good character. Yet, so many churches are so often set up as great places to come on a Sunday morning but do not go beyond that to connect people past Sunday.
They are not challenged to live life together. Sunday becomes a cheerleading service but by Monday morning the lack luster of the pep rally has worn off leaving people to fight the faith alone or worse, not fight at all but rather drag themselves through the week disconnected from any other believer who can encourage, love and walk alongside them.
How do you define community?
I look back on difficult times in my own life and church community experiences both positive and negative have formed my outlook on what Church community should and should not look like. Now, those experiences in a huge way, motivate me to never let someone grieve or go through difficulties alone ever again if it is at all possible by me. I choose to continue to pursue a community of believers willing to live life out together and share in the ups and downs and encourage other Christians to do the same.
If you are a Christian but do not have community of believers you live life out with there is simply put, something pretty big and important missing in your life…. opportunities to share life with other Christians.
So many of us all asking the same question. How can I connect to a community of believers?
Maybe the owness falls on us. How do you connect though when you are not given opportunity? When the world offers a better opportunity to fit in their community than the Church does has become a problem. I grew up knowing what a church community or group of believers living life together should look like. It is what I pursue. It is what I was trying to do with Inspire…..connect lives. It is what I will continue to do for my entire life. Connect people.
How do you define community? Webster defines it as this...
Community defined: A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, goals and faith.
If you feel like you are missing this in your life, I want you to know that is not how God intended your Christian life to look. He does not want you to feel alone with no one involved in your life. He wants you to be connected to a community of believers!
