Jesus Came to Create a New Kind of Community
Jesus challenged his followers to launch a movement that would change the world. He chose to do this by creating a new kind of community. This new community was eventually called "Church." Unfortunately few churches today reflect the kind of community Jesus had intended.
To create that first new community Jesus hand-picked a rag-tag group of ordinary every day characters that included fishermen and tax collectors. And then he added a variety of misfits and other sinners who would become the new community. The Book of Acts offers this description of what life looked like within the community that gathered in Jerusalem:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. — Acts 2:42-47
What a simple plan: learning TOGETHER, meeting TOGETHER, eating TOGETHER, praying TOGETHER, believing TOGETHER, sharing TOGETHER, laughing TOGETHER, worshipping TOGETHER, reaching out to care for our neighbors TOGETHER. This is the kind of "Community" Jesus intended.
There are places in the world where faith communities are experiencing "Community" as Jesus intended it. But in much of Europe and North American our faith communities have yielded to the values of the world and abandoned the values of Jesus. Fewer and fewer Europeans choose to participate in a faith community. And in America we are slowly catching up to this trend. Some find hope in the growing “Mega Church” movement all around the world. One of the most helpful trends that has emerged within this movement has been the introduction of "small groups" within the larger church. This has helped to gather smaller, more intimate faith communities within the much larger church body. Sadly, the number of those who are willing to take the time to participate in a small group is usually much smaller than those who participate in the larger worship gatherings where it is very difficult to create "Community" as Jesus intended it.
How can we build communities of faith that reflect the values that Jesus cherished, taught and lived by. The very values that began to turn the world right-side-up. The heart and soul values that turned ruined sinners into redeemed saints. The values that enabled ordinary people to gather as creative, caring communities; "Community" as Jesus intended it. What might help to reshape how we think about and work toward creating the kind of community Jesus challenged his first followers to create? Here are a few suggestions:
- If we believe "Jesus is Lord," that means following his vision and values
- Christian community is formed by gathering around his vision and values
- The Bible needs to be viewed through the lens of his vision and values
- Community focuses more on building relationships, than bigger buildings
- Community is fortified by loving and learning from Jesus and each other
- Communities of faith are willing to take the light of Jesus into dark places
- Community as Jesus intended will continue to turn the world right-side-up
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