The I in Community...

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching~ Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV

I am blessed with a close friend who is exceptionally bright and well read. She and I can converse on nearly any subject. On the rare days we are lucky enough to spend an afternoon together, we break out the coffee and cookies and proceed to cover just about every topic imaginable. Our chats have a definite pattern to them.

We begin by catching up on trivial matters. We compare notes on books we’ve read, discuss the activities of our husbands and what our kids are up to. The subject of kids inevitably leads to gossip concerning whom our kids are interested in at the moment and whether or not we think it might be serious.

 Once we exhaust the trivial our conversation inevitably drifts towards the political. We delve into political policies, the economy, how we feel about the president, which candidates we hope run in the next election and the mess in the Middle East.

Eventually we weary of solving the worlds’ problems and our conversation turns to Church and spiritual issues. We discuss sermons we’ve heard, things we are learning and what’s going on in our respective Churches. Whenever the subject of church comes up, certain topics tend to get hashed and rehashed.

Community is one of those issues. Community is a critical aspect of Church that Christians long for but seldom find. Absence of community is one of the primary reasons named for leaving local congregations. The model for healthy church community is presented repeatedly in the New Testament. Acts chapter two gives us the most detailed description of the ideal Christian community…

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved~ Acts 2:42-47 NIV

I am convinced that friendships built through Christian community are the key to healthy spiritual growth. Without a strong sense of community, personal spiritual growth is stunted and congregations wither from the inside out.

Absence of community in a local congregation is as much of a personal issue as it is a church or societal issue. As individuals we often make decisions and foster habits that prevent the growth of intimacy within our churches. I have concluded that there are three habits that prevent the growth of Christian community.

 Absence of community begins with…

Refusal to deal with our personal junk~ Colossians 3:5-11

Colossians 3:5-11 gives a list of behaviors remaining from the old way of life that we are told to kill. Included on the list are sexual sin, prejudice, lying, slander, rage, malice (meanness) and foul or careless use of language. As unalike as these behaviors appear to be on the surface, they share one critical commonality: They all produce conflict and prevent healthy relationships from forming. Healthy community begins with healthy people who are intentional about dealing with their own personal demons. 

Intentional Isolation~ Hebrews 10:25

According to the Gallup organization, 77 percent of Americans call themselves Christians. A study published in 2005 in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion found that only 17.7 percent of Americans attend church on a given Sunday. There is a huge disconnect between what we claim to be and what we actually do. The early Church built community through consistency in meeting together. We will never have the type of Christian communities we long for until we are willing to consistently drag our hindquarters out of bed on Sunday morning and meet with God and His people.

Harboring offense~ Colossians 3:13-14

 Proverbs 18:19, tells us that there is nothing on earth more obstinate than one who has been offended. That truth is proven in the fact that more Christians leave their local churches because of a personal offense more than any other reason. The sin of harboring offense makes relationships impossible, and relationships are the key to creating community. Like it or not, we are going to spend eternity with our fellow Christians. Eternity will be a lot more fun if we learn to let go of the petty grievances now.

In recent years there has been a sharp decrease in Church attendance. In an attempt to lure people back into the fold, leaders have attacked the problem with coffee bars, shallow preaching, fog machines and cool music. Perhaps the problem could be solved with something much more basic: healthy functioning community.

Healthy community begins with healthy Christians who are actively dealing with their junk, eager to make an effort to connect with others and prepared to forgive petty grievances.

 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity~ Colossians 3:12-14