Introduction
Last week we discussed the nature of God. What are our convictions about the nature of God? We also discussed our convictions about self and how we see ourself. Our convictions affect our life so its important to build convictions based on the truth.
This week we are discussing the nature of community. What is community? Why is community important? How do we build community.
Whenever we see anything happening in the Bible and in the early church the context is always community. A community of faith, a community of believers, a community of women, a community of people.
Wherever we are and whatever we do involves community. We live in community. It is not good for people to be alone. God created us to live in communities and share common ground, common purpose and common ownership.
This does not necessarily mean common ownership of personal possessions, but as the early church formed it did. The early church was formed in the context of community. The Jewish people understood community, probably better than we do.
Acts 2:42_47
The Believers Form a Community
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[i]), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity[j]— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
We are a Community of women, doing life together, a community of people. God adds to our number when we are in community.
What is community?
Community is common ownership and participation. Community is taking ownership and participating in it. True community is engaging and life giving. This is the one of the foundations of our life. We are part of a community.
From the previous verses we see a desire in the disciples to live in and continue in community. They shared meals together, they met regularly together, they shared what they had and they did it with joy and a single-mindedness of spirit and heart.
They had a joy and a passion for doing life together in community. A passion to form community, sustain community and build community.
And they did it with great joy.
In life there are lots of communities. There are online communities, banking communities, sporting communities etc. We can be involved in many and various types of communities and I encourage you to do so. Be an active participant.
Community is also about place and belonging; networks of people and tolerance, reciprocity and trust that is natural and does not need to be specifically taught – it tends to be caught. We all need a place to belong.
Why Community?
We can know what community is, but why be part of a community, and more importantly, why be part of building a community. The truth is, we all need a place to belong, a place where we do life with others, where we are accepted.
1. It is good for us
Community is good for us. We were never meant to do life alone. We are not created to do life alone. It is good for us to be with others. It is good for us socially and physically. When we share with others we are doingboursrlves good. There is some evidence to suggest that being with others helps us build healthier neurological connections and healthier thinking.
We are meant to be with one another. A family is a small community. The Bible tells us that God places the lonely in families – why, because we are not meant to be alone. We are meant to live in community.
Psalm 68:6
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
I must look up the reference, but in my reading I came across the following:
Humans are social animals. We need connection not just to survive but to thrive.
Social capital – the connections that exist amongst individuals, can be studied and measured to some degree. The social capital – the value of community – the connections we have will affect how we grow and develop, it affects our health and it affects our economic prosperity.
Those communities who develop stronger social capital do better.
Community offers a sense of belonging (a sense of place), social networks and human connection.According to one paper I read; If you do not belong to a group and you decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying in the next year by half.
Community is good for you.
2. It is good for others
Community is also good for others. Children who live in strong communities with good social capital do better. When we reach out to others and live in community we are helping them to strengthen their sense of belonging to a group of people.
Community gives a place for the lonely to find people and develop networks of people who love them, care for them and embrace them. Community is about relationship and social capital. It’s about strengthening and building people and providing a place where people are accepted and belong.
3. How do we build community
So we understand a little of the what and why. What about the how?
There are many things we can do to build community, and of course there are things that can destroy community. Let’s focus on how to build community.
1. Genuine love for one another
What is genuine love? It is seeking the very best for those in our community and giving genuine care that is real and true. Genuine love and care does not pander to people, it does not manipulate and will not be manipulated. Genuine love and care empowers people to be all God created them to be without forcing them to be.
Romans 12:9
New Living Translation (NLT)
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
The context of this is community; it is using what we have to build one another up and to empower people. It is doing what we can do, and doing it well, taking our part.
Romans 12:6-13
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Let’s not be good at pretending to love one another, but become good at really loving one another. Community means genuine care for people and using our gifts appropriately to do so. This passage is about more than just using your gift, it’s about using your gift to build others up and to bring edification and to work together with others to build kingdom community.
The early church had a bit of an issue as their community got bigger and they had trouble providing genuine care to others. As they worked to resolve the issue, they chose people with gifts that could better administer their food program so that everyone got cared for. (Acts 6)
To build community, genuine care and love for others means resolving issues in a way that builds community and does not destroy it.
Am I showing genuine love or do I just pretend?
How can I begin to show genuine love today?
Conflict is a killer of community – conflict will happen, and it’s not unusual where people gather, but let’s choose to resolve conflict properly and use it as a way to build community, not destroy it. You only have to see what is happening in Ukraine at the moment to realise that conflict pulls a community apart
Matt 18:15-17
Correcting Another Believer
15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
Jesus says – sort out your differences. Note that this is about restoration and bringing someone back into community. The context is Jesus embracing the little children, addressing the issue of lost people mattering (before) and then having an attitude of forgiveness (after).
I think Jesus did that deliberately. He knew we needed to understand that the important thing is unsaved people, and in relationships we need lots of forgiveness ourselves and we are not always good at giving it and offering it to others.
Conflict handled properly restores relationship and builds community.
2. Embrace people
Embrace people no matter where they come from or where they are on their faith journeyBuilding community means:
embracing people
seeing the good in them
seeing the potential in them
seeing them through God’s eyes
Every person is important and matters to God. Everyone is at a different stage in the life journey and their faith journey. Community embraces people wherever they are in that journey just as we embrace family whether they are young or old. A family is made up of a variety of people – so too is community.
Embrace the differences and don’t expect people to be the same as you. Value and embrace the diversity that exists within community while maintaining a unity of purpose, ownership and participation. Don't allow wrong attitudes to develop towards others. As we contemplate this, we can ask ourselves:
How inclusive am I?
What attitudes do I need to address to ensure I’m embracing and including people in community?
3. Intentional in relationship
Be intentional with relationships, they take time to build and community is made up of networks and relationships. Intentional - including people in meals, in groups, sharing together etc. The early disciples were intentional.
Acts 4:32
NLT
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.
The believers began well with community. As the church grew and expanded into Greece people sometimes forgot the importance of community.
The people of Corinth forgot that community is having things in common, and living as community. They forgot about intentional relationships. They forgot about buikding proper relationships and became self focussed. Paul addresses this tendency in us.
1 Cor 11:17-22
Order at the Lord’s Supper
17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19 But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!
20 When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!
The believers in Corinth had forgotten that being in community meant including people – they were even holding fellowship meals including communion and not waiting or everyone to be together. They had lost the intentional aspect of building true community. Some people just got in and ate everything before others arrived – they had divisions among them. Their community had broken down.
Let’s not be like that. Let’s be intentional in building community.
What can we do today to be more intentional in our relationships?
We can be deliberate in building relationship by hanging out with people – not just on Facebook, but by sharing together – sharing meals, helping one another out, sharing/doing life together – sharing of self. Social media can be an obstacle to true relationship and true community. However if used properly, social media can connect us with people. Lets use it to build community, butnot as a replacement for genuine community.
Community is about meaningful connections, not about how many “friends” we have in our online communities. Use social media as a tool to reach out to people, but never use it as a substitute for face to face human interaction.
4. By honouring one another
We see people being honoured in life on special occasions etc. But let’s develop a culture of honouring people every day. Honour in the New Testament meant a good opinion concerning one
Romans 12:10
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.
How do we honour people? We build them up and empower them.
We speak well of them and choose to resolve conflict with them instead of letting it get in the way. We use our gifts to serve them.
We prefer others before ourselves.
Am I honouring other people?
What can I do today to begin honouring others?
Conclusion
Community – common ownership and participation, builds and empowers people – it is good for us and for others.
Building community:
-Requires participation
-Requires us to be intentional if we are to genuinely love other
honour others
-Embrace others and
-Develop deeper relationships with one another.
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