Community - Last

That I'm even talking about community ought to tell you what I think about it. For all that I don't know about community, which is a lot, I have come to understand that it is important.

And maybe that's the thing, community is essential but we don't understand it very well. We have more questions than answers.

"What exactly is it?" "How do I find like-hearted people?" "How many exactly to constitute community?" "What are some criterion by which we determine if one is one?" "Is proximity really that important?" "How do we grow to really know and love one another, and still be truly missional?" "My life is so busy, how do I make it work?"

I know... ditto for me. But despite all the unanswered questions, and as counter-cultural as it may be to live an interdependent life, I am convinced that I need to bend mine toward community.

We are working on it right now. At the onset of all this talk on community, I shared with you that we are thinking of building community with one family in the area. I'm happy to report that we had an initial dinner to talk about the possibility. God blessed and so we're planning on starting with a Bible study... as soon as we can schedule it. Our fledgling community is planning on clinging to the few things we do know: It's not good to be alone, we will together experience God and honor him in ways we can't on our own, and we can encourage one another and help carry one another's burden in work.

The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves the people around them will create community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

So good. Let's take this to heart. Community is not about my fulfillment. It's not self-serving. It is about the reality of our mutual need, and so its creation depends on loving one another. It is about God, worshipping him and honoring him together. And it is about joining him in the work of bringing his Kingdom here on earth.

And then I bet it swings around and fulfills us in ways we can't imagine. In giving it away, we get that for which we would not even have known to look.