Navigating Community
I remember when I first started attending church, I was raw in my faith, but I was looking to move forward in my life through faith. I would now say that I was slowly growing in my holiness, but at that time, I was looking for a place to belong. I had left a life that was not sustainable for my future and was searching for a new community. Of all the places, I found it in the form of a flag football league at my church. Athletics have always been a significant part of my life, so being new at the church, I joined the league. I went into the season only worried about playing football as a former collegiate tight end. I wanted everyone to know how good I was at football—it seems so naive in the grand picture of life now, but like I said, I was raw in life and faith. But I ended up finding a connection to a group of men searching for the same sense of community. Through those in the league, I learned how one is accepted into the community of believers and the richness that comes from connection.
Matthew 22:35–40 (NASB 2020)
35And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him:
36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38This is the great and foremost commandment.
39The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
One of the foundational pieces of the Christian faith is the community. It is the piece of faith that brings everything together. Apart from the community, the practice of faith is not possible because of the communal aspect of following Jesus. That may seem harsh, but if we were to examine ourselves and how we are wired, we would see that all of us are created for connection. It is deep in our bones—the need to connect with others. From the beginning, God knew it was not suitable for his creation to be alone and that we needed community. (Gen 2.18)
It was Jesus who recognized the importance of people when he called us to love God and people. When the Sadducees were testing Jesus’ understanding of theology, he answered the lawyer with a statement that has stood the test of time and highlights the importance of community.
In this moment of response, Jesus calls all of us into the community. When we follow him, he transforms how we relate to this world, not only in our love for God but also in our love for others. Contrast Jesus’ mandate to love God and others to how it is practically lived out in a community. Jesus is broad in his application of how we are supposed to live out this truth. Sure, we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, but what does that look like in real time in a real community with real people?
One of the magnificent aspects of being connected to a church is the community!
One of the dysfunctional aspects of being connected to a church is the community!
People and relationships are messy, and we as humans do not often get it right—that is why the community is often messy. In his book Spiritual Direction, Henri Nouwen describes how the relationship between forgiveness and community is unparalleled because of our humanness. [1] To grow into a mature love, we need to be willing to forgive those around us and forgive them often. [2] We must be willing to forgive others for not being God because he is the only one with unconditional, perfect love. [3] The truth is people will always let us down, and if we are searching for our wholeness in others, even the ones we love, they will always fail us. So, there lies the tension in the community. It will fail us often. The ones we love will be the main culprits of failing us, yet when done right within the context of following Jesus, it can reflect the coming Kingdom.
Philippians 2:1–11 (NASB 2020)
1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Through these eleven verses, Paul is giving his orthopraxy on Christian ethics in a community—stated another way, Paul is telling the Philippians the right way to relate to each other. Let us look at what Paul believes to be essential characteristics of a faith community centered around Jesus. According to Paul, a community is focused on the same goal through a united spirit and love. (Phil 2.2) The community should reflect humility by loving others. (Phil 2.3-4) How do we know what it looks like when lived out? Paul gives us the example of Christ Jesus as our living example of living in a community. (Phil 2.5-11) Through Christ’s example and the work of the Spirit in our lives, people see the community model for others.
So, what is the goal of the community?
God has given us the gift and desire for community so others can see the Kingdom. Sure, it is a flawed vision of the Kingdom that will always fall short, but it reflects love and forgiveness—the gifts our Father in Heaven has granted us through his Son, Jesus. John Wesley, an eighteenth-century preacher and founder of the movement that would become The Wesleyan Church, is known for his thoughts on social holiness. His ideas on the practice of holiness center around caring for others, and society functions best when others are concerned with the wellbeing of others. His form of holiness tended to focus more on social justice during his life.[4] But the application is valid to us today, and we are better as a society when we are a part of a connected community. Growing in our holiness will always have a social aspect because of our desire for community. Thanks to Paul’s letter to Philippi, we have guidelines for navigating the community as followers of Christ. In the most simplistic, confusing, dysfunctional, loving, and caring way, community is best done by loving God and loving others.
[1]. Nouwen, Henri J. M., Michael J. Christensen, and Rebecca Laird. Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2006.118-123.[2]. Nouwen, Henri J. M., Michael J. Christensen, and Rebecca Laird. Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2006.120.[3]. Nouwen, Henri J. M., Michael J. Christensen, and Rebecca Laird. Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2006.119.[4]. Maddox, Randy L. Responsible Grace: John Wesley’s Practical Theology. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. Kindle.209. “As he once put it, “The gospel of Christ knows no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness.” And as he further clarified, “I mean not only that it cannot subsist so well, but that it cannot subsist at all without society, without living and conversing with [others].”
