did someone say COMMUNITY?
did someone say COMMUNITY?
Dec 30As we stand on the brink of our next church campus, I find myself surrounded with thoughts and conversations about Christian community… this term ‘community‘ is sort of a buzz word among the modern, emergent, missional (blah, blah, blah) church today. But what does it mean? Are those throwing the word around really that original? No, I don’t think so… check out this quote:
In a Christian community, everything depends upon whether each individual is an indispensable link in a chain. Only when even the smallest link is securely interlocked is the chain unbreakable. A community which allows unemployed members to exist within it will perish because of them. It will be well, therefore, if every member receives a definite task to perform for the community, that he may know in hours of doubt that he, too, is not useless and unusable. Every Christian community must realize that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the fellowship. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I’m attempting to spiritually process this whole thought of “community/fellowship” – I want to be deliberate & accurate about this in our Real Church campuses (wow, I love talking about RC in plural terminology)… I would imagine it needs to be worked on everywhere. It seems like you hear about this topic on book covers & blog posts and it’s featured at numerous conferences, but do we really get it? Or maybe the question is: do we really get Him (and His Word)??
Last night I hung out with a man that knows Detroit (specifically Midtown) better than anyone I’ve met. He has a heart for our city and is doing whatever he can to facilitate assistance & hope. I’m so glad I got to spend time with him and look forward to connecting again in the near future. He gets ‘community‘ and he has an understanding of ‘church’ but I don’t think he’s ever seen a healthy combination of the two… I plan to change that. I think he would like to see that too. Ahhh, so much to do!
Maybe in simple terms, community means having a ‘common unity’… agree? That means we have to let go of some of our ‘my way is best’ mentality and seek the greater good! Jesus is our common unity, right? So stop trying to act like Christians and start living like Christ. Whoa, that’s like a slap of community to side of the head!! I was reading in Psalms tonight (via the Message) and this verse jumped out at me:
Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live,
or chase after phantoms of evil and die. Psalm 11:19
That sounds simple enough doesn’t it? I find it painfully ironic that Bonhoeffer knew more about community while living in a nazi prison cell 50+ years ago than most of us do today in our abundantly “free” country & culture. Let’s change that!
Ultimately, I think it starts with a community of ONE.
… I’ll go first, Chilly
Who’s next?
I’ll be a link in the chain and I’ll bring some with me too. God is building an amazing community here in the D. He’s changing everything.
The American church totally lacks community. And a big reason for this is because of religious freedom, and monetary success in America. Whereas in Nazi Germany, if you believed in Christ you risked your life. So German Christians had to rely on each other and Christ even more. Their faith was actually risky. No one in America when they become a Christian are afraid that they will die. They are more afraid of what others will say and think. This obviously isn’t the case every time, but an overall consensus.
Community is lived out when people have to rely on Christ and work with those in the church. Usually the mindset is for the church to work for them. And I need to break this mindset. I need to rely on Christ.
“A community which allows unemployed members to exist within it will perish because of them. It will be well, therefore, if every member receives a definite task to perform for the community, that he may know in hours of doubt that he, too, is not useless and unusable.”
This is very similar to when Rick Warren talks about everyone being created for Ministry, and how a successful church community has a place of ministry for every member. I think, with the opportunity to cultivate a community from the ground-up, we should be thoughtful of “everyone is created for ministry.”
That Bonhoeffer quote is so good, because I think my tendency is to go “Well, we don’t need to include them if they don’t want to.” But every person is a necessary link in the chain. No one should be excluded – just prayed for, challenged, and hopefully joining the journey as a church.
Thanks for this post! That quote is messing with me like crazy.
wow. what really stood out to me is that the strong need the weak to survive. without the weak, the community dies.
that’s encouraging when it seems easy to get discouraged looking around seeing a lot of weak people! God’s power is made perfect in weakness.
strength AND WEAKNESS are essential to community.