Re-Thinking Community

In my hometown there is a sporting event called El Tour de Tucson. Thousands of cyclists gather to attack the 102 mile course in this annual event. It takes a lot of hard training, some basic skills, the right equipment and lots of determination to finish the route. O, and one other thing: the good sense to work with the other riders, as depicted in this picture above. The single line is called “drafting” and that means cooperating, working together, so that all benefit, conserve energy and finish the race faster and more efficiently. Here’s the point: what if your church decided to become more than a worship/educational center? What if there was an expectation, indeed a requirement, that each of us takes very seriously the concept of “Community?” What if we stopped encouraging personal ministry, sending people out to burn out and finally fall away? And if you say: Well, my church feeds me spiritually so that I can go out and do the work of the Lord, I would reply: “me” and “I” need to be replaced by “we.” Our mindset and our methods matter. Further, the biblical concept of “community” is inherent in our faith. There are lots of reasons to re-think the concept and nature of Christian community as something more than a filling station. I’ll give you one: a lot more can be accomplished by “we” than by “me.” There is a theological principle called “sola scriptura” which means scripture alone is our authority for faith and practice. It’s time for “sola ecclesia” when we call in all the lone rangers and think primarily about “we”, we who are the Body of Christ. Like drafting in cycling, the results, the rewards, and the blessings could be overwhelming if we practiced “Community” seriously and faithfully.

At least, that’s what I think.