Saturday, February 2, 2008

Community

I've been thinking about community quite a bit lately.....the Christian community in particular, I suppose.

What is it?
Why do we have it?
Are we dependent upon it?....and for what?
What makes it work?
Are people drawn to it innately?
What is important about contributing to community?....and why do we sometimes shy away from contributing in any way to it?
Are we dependent upon one another, as the Body of Christ, enough to help one another through rough times?
Are we in close enough relationship to Christ, to offer "helpful criticism" to one another?
If Christ is within us, as a community, why do we find it difficult sometimes to minister to the down-and-out, the "outcasts" of our society? Didn't Jesus come to do that, in particular???
Did Jesus come to welcome us to worship every Sunday and say at the end of our time together, "see you next week?"
Why are there those folks who chaff against the leading of the pastor, when it is the pastor whom God has called to serve and lead us?
Why do we come together every Sunday? and when we do, if we have Christ within us, why is it that we come with negativity, mistrust and a judgmental spirit?
How can we love one another, as Christ himself has loved us?

Ya, those are some questions that have been rattling around in my brain the last while. Husband and I had quite a lengthy discussion in this regard today. We talked about all of those questions and came away with many answers.

The common thread of course was, relationship. Relationship to Jesus.

Sometimes we wander off, far away from Him and community and we don't even realize it....until someone asks the question:

"How is your walk?"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do believe that community is important, after all we are humans and part of our nature is that we need others. However, having said this, I am not sure that I believe that Church in the form of a building with themes like "tradition," along with fights over how one should behave - as to fit the role of a "good" christian, and the majority of the money collected going towards building, bills, and other payments of that nature are what the Church of Christ is about(at least not for me). Or maybe that it is true that in this 20th century (the century of change as it appears to be) is what the church needs to be about anymore. What if people who simply just love people and believe that they want to help those people in need, you kow the ones that might be out there on the streets, got together as fellow christians, and met in houses, in coffee shops, wherever available - and used the money collected to just give to those kinds of causes. Would that mean that the needy would really get touched in A bigger, more immediate way and that the importance of what we as christians are really supppose to be about in the eyes of Jesus - we would be doing??? This is what I have been busy thinking about in the last couple of months. I do not feel like my heart belongs in the traditional church where one is all to many times reminded of our inadequecies. If I had a choice I would choose to be among those who are really sinners like me. In saying this my goal is to say What if? I may be generally mis-guided in my thoughts, who really knows!!!

Sharon Kent said...

Lots to think on, anonymous. I like your thoughts. The church somehow has been a beacon - good or bad. I would like it to be a place for sinners like me....I guess it is in that respect. It may take a while for us to see beyond buildings, the structures people see as the "church". WE are the church after all.....not the structure. The money part of it all too, is something eventually, we who choose to contribute towards, may have to reconsider. As you have said - human needs vs. human structures.

I shall continue to think upon the things you have said here. Thank you.