We’re continuing our series answering whether or not a person should attend Church. As part of answering that question, we’ve looked at different facets of the Essence of the Church. This article will continue to explore the Essence of the Church by looking at Community within the Church.
What is Community? To put another way, what is a biblical understanding of Community?
To start, let’s answer what biblical community is not.
Biblical Community is not:
- Merely an altruistic gathering of like-minded individuals. In other words, biblical community is not communism, social activism, revolutionism, political-party-ism, nor protest-ism.
- Merely a gathering of birds-of-a-feather. In other words, biblical community is not ultimately concerned with connections based upon passions, tastes, hobbies, interests, dispositions, predilections, cultural upbringing, quirkinesses, and the like.
- Merely a fellowship gathering around food, fellowship, and fun. In other words, while fellowship, food, and having fun are all part of biblical community they cannot uphold nor sustain it. People, at some point conflict and disagree…and that’s rarely fun.
- Merely a place of mutual encouragement and edification. While organizations such as AA have tapped into something unique and special to help break cycles of addiction, they are not ultimately structured to maintain a life of health and wholeness. Those type of organizations all end at some defined point in time.
So, what is Biblical Community, and how does it relate to someone investing their lives in a Church?
Biblical Community is…rooted in and built upon the Bible, and is practically lived out in a dynamic, organic, local context where emotional, physical, and spiritual needs are met in reciprocal relationships forged in forgiveness and a willingness and commitment to journey through life together.
Let’s dive in…a community within a church–a biblical community–has the following attributes:
- Biblical
- Any human civilization will find a way to survive through some semblance of community. Even in the most despondent of environments, there are community-type experiences to be had and known. People most always join other people.
- So, for the Christian, biblical community has to have its moorings or its roots in something outside of human experience, tradition, or morality. In other words, a Christian community built on anything but the Bible will ultimately collapse. Why?
- Without the Bible, a human can’t ultimately know: (1) where they came from, (2) where they’re going, (3) what they should be, (4) how to be saved from their everyday sin and grievances to themselves, others, and society, (5) who God is, (6) how to grow as a person, and (7) how to make an eternal impact. To be sure, science (and philosophy, et. al.) tries to answer these questions, but even the so-called “scholars” and “experts” don’t agree. There must be something outside of empirical, social, and psychological analyses.
- Thus, when a biblically-based Church community gathers, they center themselves upon the Word…they find their ultimate questions answered in the Bible…they run to the Bible to know how to live, learn…and they forgive and forget. Really, they build their lives and the lives of the community upon the Bible.
- Dynamic
- Most often, people gather with people that look like them, act like them, talk like them, eat like them, dress like them, listen to music like them, watch movies like them, etc. However, a community that is rooted in the Bible is a community comprised of every nation, every tongue, and every culture. Biblical community is not nationalistic nor segregated.
- It’s easy for anyone to fall into a rut of just doing things to do them. This happens most often when we either (1) find success in doing something or (2) get comfortable. In biblical community, this never should happen. Why?
- In eternal matters, success is supernaturally subjective. In other words, human measures by design are insufficient to evaluate things such as heart-change, motives, and humility.
- Comfort usually finds its source in laziness and self-preservation. We just don’t like change.
- Organic
- Ever been a part of a small group where you felt forced to join? I have. It usually doesn’t last. Why? Practically, anything forced or obligatory becomes a burden and not a blessing. Can this be overcome? Sure, but it’s starting things off with some major obstacles to clear.
- So, what does organic in the biblical community sense mean? It means natural. What does natural as it relates to organic mean? It means derived from the ground. How does this fit into biblical community? Organic biblical community is neither manipulated nor made by man. It is not obligatory or forced by organizations, but is instead born out of necessity, need, and natural surroundings. Organic community arises out of geographic proximity (see next point), and happens naturally through mutual love, respect, and need of one another.
- It’s important to point out that organization and structure around biblical community are not in-and-of themselves bad, unless they become ultimate. In other words, if a Church elevates their particular form of organizing and structuring community above allowing for it to occur naturally, they run the risk of diminishing their effectiveness in cultivating organic biblical community.
- Local
- When we have to drive miles and miles to reach our community gatherings, we usually find excuses to not be long in that community. In other words, when our designated communities are in other towns than where we live, then we usually will not be “available” for those within our community.
- Geographic proximity really does make a difference in establishing and upholding community.
- Reciprocal Meeting of Emotional, Spiritual, & Physical Needs
- In a day and age where most everything we need for survival (food, water, clothing, shelter, and the like) are met outside of actual people within our local spheres, we really no longer have a direct need of receiving and meeting other people’s needs. The globe has become our backyard.
- This all changes when we avail ourselves and our needs to others within our spheres of living. Being local makes that a lot easier. Sure, we can text, call, email, or FaceTime, but that doesn’t compare with face-to-face and eyeball-to-eyeball interaction. “…Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away…” Proverbs 27:10b
- At some point, we all deal with difficulties in our lives. And, we all respond differently with our emotions. Is there a safe place to work through those emotions? Yes, it’s biblical community.
- What about spiritual struggles and questions? What about just plain-old help moving or work on the house or yard? Is there a group of people that can meet those needs together? Yes, it’s your local biblical community.
- This was common-fare many years ago. Times were hard, but people met people’s needs in reciprocal relationships, because they had to in order to survive. Biblical community still–even in the 21st Century–provides that to you, but you have to avail yourself to it.
- It’s like this, “…you got a need, I got a need…because you’re my brother [or sister] in Christ.”
- Forgiveness
- People hurt people. Conflict is inevitable. We’re Christians, but we’re still humans–saved from the power of sin, but not its presence. Most conflict happens through misunderstanding, and the Christian must battle daily against his own sin. What’s different with the Christian is, we must forgive. There’s no other option. Jesus doesn’t allow grudges, bitterness, nor revenge. Why? Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” -Matthew 18:21b-22
- In other words, the Christian is to forgive others as much as they have received forgiveness from God. That is to say, full, complete, and entire forgiveness.
- Forgiveness leaves neither room for bitterness, nor long memories. To forgive means to forget. It means to not hold a grudge against. It means to leave retribution in the hands of a loving and just God. It means to move past and move beyond.
- Hard? Of course. It’s impossible. That’s why biblical community is supernatural. Meaning, only a community whose hearts have been changed by the gospel can truly live this out.
- It’s at this point–forgiving one another–that true and biblical community rises above all other communities as being essentially from God!
- People hurt people. Conflict is inevitable. We’re Christians, but we’re still humans–saved from the power of sin, but not its presence. Most conflict happens through misunderstanding, and the Christian must battle daily against his own sin. What’s different with the Christian is, we must forgive. There’s no other option. Jesus doesn’t allow grudges, bitterness, nor revenge. Why? Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” -Matthew 18:21b-22
- Commitment
- Our human instincts are to cut and run when we face struggle. It’s the fight or flight syndrome. We see it all the time with employees, spouses, parents, children, pastors, etc. No one likes to have their fur rubbed the wrong way. Leaning in and pressing on during and after conflict or tension is not easy, to say the least. But, we have an example to follow–One was committed all the way to the end.
- Jesus Christ’s commitment is enough to supply every Christian with the commitment to sustain them within biblical community. He could have lived a long quiet life as a carpenter. He could have avoided the cross. But, He didn’t. He endured the physical toll, He endured the spiritual toll, and He did it because He was committed to His mission of redemption.
- Biblical community is comprised of followers of Christ who are on the same mission of redemption as their Lord. That means that their hearts are changed–by grace through faith, they are now supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit–and not merely their own strength, and they are “…steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your [their] toil is not in vain in the Lord.” [1 Corinthians 15:58].
Does this exist? Does this type of community with all these attributes really exist? It does. It does within each individual Christian. Each follower of Christ has within them the power to cultivate this type of community.
However, when you–follower of Christ–are not present when other follower’s of Christ are present–whether on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, or for your community gathering–you’re missed, and so is the opportunity for another Spirit-filled Christian to cultivate biblical community.
We miss you. We miss you, Christian. We miss you follower of Christ, when you’re not here at Church with us. Why?
Because, it’s one less person–one less Christian–to cultivate and build biblical community.
You–follower of Christ–have more potential for good than you realize.
We miss you. We need you.
— April 24, 2019