Community

There's something innate about our need for community.  You see it in the animal kingdom.  Lions gather in prides, fish school, gorillas live in harems and hundreds of Emperor penguin colonies huddle in the subzero temperatures of Antarctica to mate and incubate their eggs.  Everywhere you look you can find community.  Churches, recovery groups, professional affiliations, neighbors, golf club members, musicians, co-workers, athletic teams, investment clubs, academic and extracurricular school groups and much more.  Community is everywhere.

God embodies community by His very nature.  Community originates with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The triune God models community for us and Scripture states that we are created in His image.  So if God is in community at the most intimate level (the Trinity), not to mention His being in community with those who follow Him, then why wouldn't we share the same desire?  We do, even those who aren't willing to admit it.

Everyone wants to be part of something:  a family, tribe, team, small group, etc.  Deep within we all have a desire to connect with others.  You may not do it in the context of the local church, but give me five minutes of your time and I will be able to show you where you are living in community, even at the gym, or in your neighborhood, or workplace.

I think far too long the church has relied on the "big" community experience (weekly worship) to

provide what can only be found in smaller settings.  The intimacy, trust, support, growth and encouragement we experience in smaller communities cannot be replicated in weekly worship and that's okay.  Large gatherings have a different purpose.  If we are doing it right we are coming to them out of relationships within smaller communities and celebrating what God is doing in and through us as a larger community.  Talk to pastors, especially small group pastors and you will find their biggest challenge is connecting people to smaller communities beyond the Sunday worship gathering.   Too many churches boast massive worship attendance numbers, but in comparison have woeful per capita attendance when it comes to small groups, community groups, Bible fellowship groups, etc.  

I'm not bashing corporate worship.  In fact I love it.  But it cannot replace, or provide the level of personal growth, encouragement, support, service, confidentiality/trust, connection and accountability found in smaller communities/gatherings.   It's numerically impossible to expect large settings to do so.

Over the years we have had the privilege to be part of many special, small groups and most, but not all were usually tied to a single church, or ministry.  My small groups/community connections are precious to me.  I've gotten to know some really interesting people through the incredibly diverse groups in which I regularly participate.  I've grown as a person and in my faith because of them.  They are the people who know my heart and I know theirs.  There are people within them who share different opinions and values from mine and yet we not only respect one another we listen to each other.  There is a genuine sense of caring that goes in within them, not to mention the networking, resourcing and practical help we receive within them.

Having recently resigned as a lead pastor we are in a different season in terms of community.  Right now I can identify 3 distinct groups of which I'm a part.  None of them are "under," or tied to a single church.  Two of them are tied to the church (small "c") and are made up of Christ-followers.  And while the third group is not explicitly tied to, or originated out of a church context, it respects the church and people of faith.  It also gives me the opportunity to share from a faith perspective.  All three of these groups support me.  I wouldn't hesitate to call anyone within them if I needed help in the middle of the night.  They would be there for me just as I am for them.  We look forward to meeting together and sharing our stories.  We know our family members' names and what's going on in each others lives.  We celebrate our joys and share our challenges and defeats.  We have a genuine affection and love for one another.  We are invested.

Therein lies the rub.  To be part of a community you have to invest things like your time, energy, and resources.  You have to be willing to be vulnerable and transparent.  You have to be willing to love others, even those with whom you disagree.  That takes time and you may have to be a part of several communities before you find just the right one.  You can't force community either.  It sort of evolves, but it can organically evolve with intention.  By the way authentic small groups/communities are not always "safe".  Meaning you can't control everything and you aren't going to agree on everything.  But once you take the leap and invest in the group that's the "right fit" for you, you realize that you receive far more than you ever contribute, and you learn far more than you have to share.  You grow.   Dive in and find a community where you can love and be loved.

Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his classic on faith and community entitled "Life Together," observed: The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.