Time

Here is a title that literally has nothing to do with what I am writing, other than that I apologize for the amount of time I have taken to get back to you all and also to thank you for the time you have spent reading and praying through things thus far.

I spent the last two days at First Baptist in Woodstock, GA at their national Sunday school conference. It was good to see an old friend and catch up. Sometimes in our ultra modern, transient society, we lose touch with people who have made a dramatic impact on our lives. There will always be those people that we pass by and they leave a finger print on our lives...that's not who I am talking about. I am referring to those who we have at some point built a lasting relationship with, but due to our fast moving, highly technological society, we rarely take the time to stop and talk with them about life and continue that relationship. This guy has been probably the best friend I have ever had...since we were two, but now we speak infrequently and rarely at real depth.

This has gotten me thinking about our innate need for community. No matter what our walk of life is, we all need community of some sort. Many try to find it in isolation from real society, but live vicariously through the internet in various chat rooms, blogs, and avatars. Many try to find it by keeping themselves in the public eye, indulging in all of the lusts of the flesh. Others try to find it in a tribal grouping based on violence, drugs, and sex. No matter where they look, they are trying to establish community. Here's the problem: none of these communities offer depth in the human experience or relationship. An internet blogger performs for an audience and feeds off of their attention, but inside is still alone if that is all they have. A celebrity tries to surround himself with all of the who's who of society with big parties and impressive events, but at the end of the day goes to bed alone (whether accompanied by a one night stand or not) because community has not been developed. The same with gangs. I don't mean just black or latino thugs. Whitey has his gangs too. But, the problem with gang mentality is there is no depth in the relationship because it is always built on what can I get from you, which makes you expendable whenever you are used up as a source.

I am convinced that the church was started to be that community, but has failed to maintain the atmosphere. I define community in this way: a place or group where people are comfortable to be who they are and share in life with others on the deepest levels of human relation; where everyone does their part for the good of others, setting their personal desires aside for the building up of another; a place that welcomes outsiders with love and comfort, extending fellowship to the least of these. Man, I sound like a hippie, don't I?

I think that the church in America has gotten away from this community and created a place where people are afraid to come and be themselves and confess their sins without fear of judgment. The church has become a place where my sin does not matter but yours does. The church has become a social club that welcomes you with a cup of coffee and a handshake, but does not address the matters of heart change and allow you to voice your hurts and come around you with a love and devotion to see the wonderful power of God transform you and heal you. The church has become a place that would rather systematize you into one of their programs and label you rather than to come alongside of you and walk you through healing with Scripture. It is no longer a community.

The churches that are growing and reaching their world with the Gospel are the churches that get this. They have rediscovered that the people in our world want community. Its no wonder that facebook and MySpace are as popular as they are...they create community. Why can't the church do the same? Churches that have not gotten it yet look to churches like FBC Woodstock, The Village, and others and ask what they are doing to grow and reach their local areas. The answer is the same: we have created community in our churches, using small groups, teaching the Bible, and fostering open communication and confession. The problem is those churches that don't get it don't want that answer because it means they will have to change and that change might disrupt the stagnation growing on the top of their ponds.

When will we all wake up and see that our world is lost and dying, headed for hell? When will we get past ourselves and embrace change for the sake of the lost community around us? What will it take?

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