A Return To Community

I once read a great book on community called The Kingdom of Couches. I was reminded of the book as I was staying up late talking with Wes and Steve last weekend. Steve was talking about just struggles he was having with feeling out of place at the church and I mean, I had stuff in my head that I could have said but for some reason I had this feeling that these words would be of no real help to him. So I prayed that God would give me what He had to say and what came to mind eventually was community. And so I began to examine our community of singles at the church and just how we hang out. We are really good at hanging out but what's missing is a spiritual depth as a group. I am truly amazed at the spiritual depth of singles in our church but it doesn't seem like we go deep together. I wonder how necessary this is because I know that many would respond to this by pointing out that they have a couple special people that they feel comfortable sharing their lives with. Surely that is necessary as well but something inside me feels that during our hang-out time there should be almost a tangible eagerness to engage each other spiritually and care for each other. And so I must pray on the matter and prepare myself to be amazed at what God is going to do.

Wednesday night, the guys in our care group got together and talked about pornography and lust. I'm always amazed to hear people talk about their struggles who I would have never expected. It's amazing what we can keep hidden from others. As I considered my own struggle since I turned that wonderful age of 12 or so, I realized that my only victory over pornography and lust came through community. In community you are reminded of the beauty of others. Something so impersonal as pornography then becomes sickening having tasted something so personal as community with others.

Community becomes an idol for me though when I begin pursuing community instead of pursuing Christ through community. I have been experiencing this recently and it has required some adjusting in how I experience God's gift of community. As John Piper pointed out to me, our tendency is so often to worship God's gifts instead of God himself. Rather, God's gifts are meant to be the wings that carry us to God. This is definitely evident with community. Community as a gift provides a place where we can build up our faith, practice our gifts, and hear from God so that we are then able to reach out into the world and ultimately point ourselves and others to Christ. Community allows us to come out of hiding so that our exposed hearts can be both seen for what they are and then healed. Then we can respond by hiding in Christ as a body.