Community or Not Community?

So what I'm going to say is probably going to make some of my friends feel uncomfortable, and I really am sorry for that. It's not my intention at all. You know I keep coming back to the church discussion.  A few years ago I was really struggling with my feelings on church in general, and I'm taking the next step in that journey here.  Before you go any further, just know that I'm basing this solely on my own experience and personal opinion. Okay? So here it goes.

I'm kind of over the new, super cool, relevant churches that are popping up everywhere.  Although a lot of passionate Christ-loving people are a part of this movement, I think it's slated to be another fad that fades in another 10 years when the next generation comes up and tells us what we've all done wrong.  Ironically, the biggest weakness I've seen is what is touted as their strength.

COMMUNITY
  ***BUZZ***  This seems to be the top churchy buzzword going around right now.  Everyone wants to have community. Be in community  (Not the community, just community). Pastors are  encouraging (there's the churchy way to say it) their members to get involved in community.  I've spent the last nearly 3 years of my life working in a similar pursuit. I have been super-saturated in community speak, and do you know what I've realized?  Everyone talks and talks and talks about community, but it's not really happening in the church. Instead I see a contrived, pseudo gathering that is labeled as community.  I wonder if our talking about it so much gives us the emotional payoff we need without actually having to do the real work.  "We must be doing community right because we talk about it all. the. time.  #ilovemycommunity!"

Real community is getting involved in people's lives beyond the shallow chit chat before or after the service. It's not cut off because it's time for the babysitter to go home, and it doesn't have babysitters all the time to keep the kids away!  It's hanging out for an extra hour because you're in the middle of a great conversation. It's being available to people when they need help or someone to listen to them. It's being involved enough in each others' lives that you've earned the right to be able to gently help someone if she's struggling in a certain area and you expect that help in return. It's eating meals together and letting people into your life. Not the nearly perfect life you publicize on facebook, but your real life. The messy life that has laundry piled up, dishes in the sink, no dessert for your guests because you were too busy trying to pick up the toys in hopes that no one accidentally steps on a lego hidden in the carpet.  The side where you admit that yes, you yelled at your husband over something ridiculously stupid 10 minutes before you walked through the church door.

When moms are unable to go to church because their children are a "distraction" in the service, that's not okay, and it's certainly not a community. When people can come and go anonymously, virtually unnoticed, that's a real problem. I don't know why we have to make this so hard. What did Christ followers do in the early church? They met, they ate together, they sang some songs, they read and discussed the Word of God, and they lived their lives together. It's not a secret, and it's not complicated.


And why am I thinking about this now? Because in a few months we'll be in a new city looking for a church to become our church family. And I still don't know where we belong. We don't belong in the First Baptist of "We've been here for 200 years and we've always done it this way!"  We also don't fit in the NOUN churches either. You know the ones. Summit Church. Potential Church. Envision Church. Elevation Church. Even...yes, even Journey Church. We just don't fit there. These churches are full of great people that love Jesus, but our vision for church and our journey in Christ don't fit those churches. Obviously they've rubbed off on me some because I'm using the words "vision" and "journey" in my vocabulary. =) 

Oh well, I think I've offended enough people for today. Who knows where we'll end up next. I'm sure it will be an adventure all its own.



















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