We have community centers, we have coffee shops, we have social networking sites, and we have clubs and organizations. All of these have something in common. In all of these people go there to find community. Their purpose is for likeminded people to get together and experience community. As human beings we need community, it is how we were created. One of the worst punishments for a criminal is solitary confinement. It is the removable of the person from all contact with society. People will start to go crazy after being in solitary confinement for so long. We need other humans. The same goes for Christians. We need other Christians. Christian community is one of the most important parts of the Christian walk. Christians are moving further and further away from the idea of community. In general people are moving away from community. Rarely will neighbors talk to each other and strangers will not say hello when they pass by. Our culture glorifies the self-made person. The person who can stand on their own two feet and doesn’t need other’s help. This however is a far cry from what we are told to do in the Bible. A Christian who is not in communion with other believers is in a very dangerous place.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 says “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
I think of the Christian walk as a tree. Each Christian is a tree in a forest. When a Christian gets involved in church, Bible studies, and one on one discipleship times they put down roots. Each time a tree puts out a root it can gain more nutrients that are vital for the tree to survive. The roots also keep the tree grounded. When Christians are able to establish themselves in a good community then they have many strong roots. However, the Christian that bounces from church to church and from group to group never has the opportunity to put down deep roots. They are only able to gather surface level nutrients. Putting down deep roots is hard. It requires time and many times hardships. Only when the tree has put down deep roots will it be able to grow into the full size tree that it should be.
In Christian community there is
- Building and strengthening
- Healing
- Unity
- Accountability
- Giving
- Carrying of other’s burdens
Grover
A few months ago I was working on a final paper for school at Panera Bread. After about half an hour a guy came up and sat down in the chair next to me and began working on his computer. A little after that I overheard him on the phone requesting a John Piper book from a Christian book store in town. When he was finished with his phone call I started up a conversation with him about Piper. His name was Grover and he had just recently moved back to Colorado Springs. As soon as we started talking his eyes just lit up and you could tell he had an intense passion for the Word of God. The longer we talked to more excited he became. We had a great fifteen minute conversation about Christian books and studying the Bible. I came away from that conversation greatly encouraged. Even though he was a complete stranger we were able to talk as if we had known each other for years because the most important thing in our life we had in common. Our faith in Christ created unity between us. It transcended our racial, age, and background differences. We had Christ in common and that was all we needed to have community. I thought about Grover a lot in the preceding weeks. I wanted to have the same passion for God’s word that I saw in him. About four months after I met him I was at Starbucks doing some devotions and He came in. Immediately we recognized each other and gave each other a hug. Even though we had only talked for fifteen minutes four months earlier it felt like a reunion with an old friend. We were only able to talk for a few minutes, but we were able to encourage each other. I do not know if I will ever run into Grover again. If I do it will not matter how much time has passed or what has happened in our lives, we will still have Christ in common, and therefore we can have community on the deepest level.
Myths about Christian Community
When I have talked to people about Christian community and fellowship there are always a few myths that many people hold on to. These myths can be detrimental to fully experiencing community.
Myth 1: I regularly attend church therefore I am experiencing real Christian Community. False. I have been part of a church for my entire life. My family always attended on Sunday mornings and my parents had us involved in many other church activities throughout the week. Even though I was in the church several times during the week I rarely experienced community. The conversations I had with friends rarely touched on a deep level. They were surface level conversations about our weeks and nothing more. Just because you are in church and around believers does not guarantee that there will be genuine community. It provides a great opportunity for it to happen, but it takes initiative.
The second myth is closely related to the first myth but with a slightly different focus.
Myth 2: Whenever my Christian friends and I get together we are having Christian fellowship. False. If your time with your friends looks no different than what non-believers are doing then it is not Christian fellowship. Two non-believers can go and get coffee together and have a great time. They may even be encouraged by each other. It is not any different than two Christians having coffee together. However, if the Christians spur one another on, and they bring God glory in their conversation then it is true Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship is the interaction between believers to: edify, encourage, challenge, strengthen, and pray for one another.
Over-connected
Texting, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, blogs, and numerous other things are being utilized now like never before. You could say that this generation is the most connected generation there has ever been. In ten seconds we can read through someone’s profile and know everything about them in the past week. We can gather information about others almost instantly. We have become so connected on so many levels that we have lost what it means to have deep relationships and go beyond surface level relationships. We no longer bother to spend the time to dig down deep into someone’s life. Sure we know what type of music, movies, and books they enjoy and what their latest status is, but we don’t know what they are struggling with or what God is teaching them in their lives. When we are only connect on a surface level we can not bare one another’s burdens as Paul encourages us to do. As this generation exalts the individualistic mindset it starts to become the mindset of many Christians, and they try to walk alone. They may not even realize that they are walking alone. A Christian who walks alone is in a very dangerous place. I do not want to see any Christian walk alone, and I want to see those who are walking alone turn and join the beautiful thing God has created in Christian community.
