Acts 2: 42-47
Those who had come to follow the way of Jesus continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers. Awe came to every soul. And many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common. They sold their property and goods and distributed them to all, according to their need. And continuing daily with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.
This is the second in our “Imagine the World with More ...” series and today we are stretching our imaginations to create a world with more Community. Community is a multi-layered word with a lot of similar meanings.
Broadly, it means a group of people sharing a common point of identity. It is often determined geographically: “the group of people living in that valley over there”, but in today’s internet connected world one can be connected by a shared interest or belief without ever sharing geographical space with others in the same community. A group of scientists worldwide who are all working together to find a medical answer to a pandemic can be as much a community as a small group of neighbors fighting to preserve a local historic building.
A church is a community. A school is a community. People who love dogs often form instant community when they meet other dog lovers. Anyone who uses social media can find themselves members of unintentional communities when they keep finding themselves sharing interests and showing up in the same feeds. The point being, there are a great many ways to experience community.
So—what is it we actually mean when we try to visualize ‘more community”? In biblical days the good of the community was prioritized above the good of the individual. One was born to a community or tribe and the preservation of that community was the most important value.
Much of our culture in the western world today is built around the idea of individualism—a concept which grew out of the Age of Enlightenment in 18th century Europe. This was a time when people began to question established beliefs, such as the authority of kings or of the Church, in favor of reason and scientific proof. Without those absolute authorities, the thought also developed that everyone was of equal value and had equal rights, leading to such worldwide events as the French Revolution and the establishment of the United States of America.
While this is, as a whole, a good thing, bringing balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of the collective culture, recently here in the US many have grown to value the individual more than our collective culture, to the point where a belief in equal rights has morphed into a belief that “my opinion is equal to your facts”. We all carry some of this “I can do it myself” individualism with us whether we are conscious of it or not, because we were born into a culture saturated with it.
Scripture provides a counter narrative, where the early church imagined a world where God’s limitless love shaped the way we gathered, care for one another and structured ourselves to share resources.
How might imagining our current world the way the early church imagined God’s world change our perspective? If we take this question seriously, what does it mean about how we practice our faith?
Take a moment to consider what communities you are a part of—not including church right now: school, neighborhood, family, social groups, volunteer organizations. What do we receive from the communities we participate in? [conversation] What do we give? [conversation]
Our church congregation is community, even in this culture that emphasizes the individual. What are some of the ways that we care for each other here—ways that we build community among ourselves? [conversation]
There’s one last word of caution now that we’ve looked at ways we might create community from our churches. We must always be aware that building community within the church might actually keep us from serving the community beyond the church. While “we take care of our own” might sound good at church but doesn’t offer much help or security to anyone not yet “our own.” If we ever begin to see ourselves as “us in here” and “them out there” we are already closing the gates.
How might our church keep from becoming too inwardly focused? One of the biggest problems experienced by some churches is an unwillingness to be changed through the addition of new contacts, new members, new ideas. How do we reach out to include others in our greater community if we aren’t willing to hear their ideas and welcome their changes along with their presence?
Do we truly want to reflect scripture’s image of an open and welcoming church, one that strives for the health of the whole community or do we actually prefer our culture’s ‘cowboy ethic’ or the brave loner—saving the world—before riding off into the sunset—alone?
Which vision of a world with more community do we really with to create – God’s or ours?
Broadly, it means a group of people sharing a common point of identity. It is often determined geographically: “the group of people living in that valley over there”, but in today’s internet connected world one can be connected by a shared interest or belief without ever sharing geographical space with others in the same community. A group of scientists worldwide who are all working together to find a medical answer to a pandemic can be as much a community as a small group of neighbors fighting to preserve a local historic building.
A church is a community. A school is a community. People who love dogs often form instant community when they meet other dog lovers. Anyone who uses social media can find themselves members of unintentional communities when they keep finding themselves sharing interests and showing up in the same feeds. The point being, there are a great many ways to experience community.
So—what is it we actually mean when we try to visualize ‘more community”? In biblical days the good of the community was prioritized above the good of the individual. One was born to a community or tribe and the preservation of that community was the most important value.
Much of our culture in the western world today is built around the idea of individualism—a concept which grew out of the Age of Enlightenment in 18th century Europe. This was a time when people began to question established beliefs, such as the authority of kings or of the Church, in favor of reason and scientific proof. Without those absolute authorities, the thought also developed that everyone was of equal value and had equal rights, leading to such worldwide events as the French Revolution and the establishment of the United States of America.
While this is, as a whole, a good thing, bringing balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of the collective culture, recently here in the US many have grown to value the individual more than our collective culture, to the point where a belief in equal rights has morphed into a belief that “my opinion is equal to your facts”. We all carry some of this “I can do it myself” individualism with us whether we are conscious of it or not, because we were born into a culture saturated with it.
Scripture provides a counter narrative, where the early church imagined a world where God’s limitless love shaped the way we gathered, care for one another and structured ourselves to share resources.
How might imagining our current world the way the early church imagined God’s world change our perspective? If we take this question seriously, what does it mean about how we practice our faith?
Take a moment to consider what communities you are a part of—not including church right now: school, neighborhood, family, social groups, volunteer organizations. What do we receive from the communities we participate in? [conversation] What do we give? [conversation]
Our church congregation is community, even in this culture that emphasizes the individual. What are some of the ways that we care for each other here—ways that we build community among ourselves? [conversation]
There’s one last word of caution now that we’ve looked at ways we might create community from our churches. We must always be aware that building community within the church might actually keep us from serving the community beyond the church. While “we take care of our own” might sound good at church but doesn’t offer much help or security to anyone not yet “our own.” If we ever begin to see ourselves as “us in here” and “them out there” we are already closing the gates.
How might our church keep from becoming too inwardly focused? One of the biggest problems experienced by some churches is an unwillingness to be changed through the addition of new contacts, new members, new ideas. How do we reach out to include others in our greater community if we aren’t willing to hear their ideas and welcome their changes along with their presence?
Do we truly want to reflect scripture’s image of an open and welcoming church, one that strives for the health of the whole community or do we actually prefer our culture’s ‘cowboy ethic’ or the brave loner—saving the world—before riding off into the sunset—alone?
Which vision of a world with more community do we really with to create – God’s or ours?
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