Three Reasons For Community

Whenever someone tells me "I believe in God, but I just do my own thing in terms of church" I am always perplexed. In all honesty, I feel badly for that person. Being a Christian but living in spiritual isolation does not allow us to enjoy the full faith experience that God intends. By isolating spiritually, we rob ourselves of the profound blessings of living in community.

Here are a few reasons, supported by scripture, but it's better to do faith in community.

1. Bear One Another's Burdens

Recently, I've become acutely aware of my own need to lean on other believers in times of struggle. I've had some challenges that hit me both practically and emotionally, like moving, finishing my book, and small group leadership. God has brought people into my life to provide practical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual support in executing my mission.

Galatians 6: 2 tells us "Carry one another's burdens, in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Don't miss the important second part of this scripture - we fulfill the law of Christ when we live in community!

True confession time now - I had a huge struggle in learning to accept the love, help and support of my brethren in Christ. It all boiled down to one word: PRIDE! But a pastor/friend helped me to see that in refusing the help and blessings of my friends, I was robbing them of the blessing of fulfilling what God prompting them to do to. Realizing that completely changed my perspective, and it's something I've been able to coach other people on.

Of course, we are also called to help others as well. There are few things more fulfilling in life than knowing you truly helped someone who was struggling in their faith by bearing their burden, encouraging them and exhorting them to press on.

2. Love One Another

In John 13: 34-35 Jesus tells us in one of the most familiar passages of scripture in the bible, "A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this will all men know you are my disciples, if you love one another."

There is so much packed into this short passage it's hard to know where to begin. We are commanded to love one another, and the only way to demonstrate our love is to live in community. How can you love others if you are living in spiritual isolation?

The call to love as Christ loved is a high calling, and one it takes a lifetime to perfect. I know I am certainly not there yet. The WORLD will know that we are disciples of Christ when we demonstrate our love. It's that simple, and it's that hard.

3. Importance of Church

One need only quickly read through the book of Acts to discover the incredible power of a church functioning as God desires. This early church model shows a hierarchy of leadership, organized ministry, a plan to train and commission lay people, and a clearly defined mission. The book of Acts is high on my list of favorite scripture, if not at the very top. As a writer, it reads like an action-packed novel, full of rich characters and exciting narrative. More than being entertaining, however, Acts provides a microcosm of how today's church is meant to function.

My life would not be what it is today if I had not been given the incredible honor and privilege to sit under some incredible leaders, trainers and mentors who have poured into my character and helped to course correct my life when needed. Now, we need a good dose of humility in order to accept this correction, and that is struggle for some. But not for me. I'm eager to learn and sit under leaders with more wisdom than myself so that I can grow. I have so much to learn and the heart to lean it and when I do, I see God's power unleashed in my life.

I have only two criteria for selecting my church home:

• Am I growing in my ministry as a result of my church activities, and
• Do I feel loved and exhorted there.

I think one reason I love my current church so much is because I see the profound humility in our leadership, from our Senior Pastor on down through the ranks. In their messages, our pastors talk about their personal struggles and what God has taught them, cast vision for us as a congregation and individuals, and - for me anyway - leaders have poured into me so that I can be better at leading and mentoring others young in their faith.

What Can I Do?

In this very high level overview, we see three reasons why Christian Community is so important: to learn to bear one another's burdens, to learn to love, and to grow in our personal faith.

Here are some practical ways we can each challenge ourselves to grow in our walk:

• Humble yourself before God and ask Him to help you both learn to GIVE and RECEIVE help from the body when needed. For most of us, I daresay the latter is much more difficult than the former! Many of us are good at giving, but challenged when it comes to receiving. Where do you fall on this continuum?
• Define what "LOVE" looks like for you. For myself, I went to 1 Corinthians 13 for my definition: love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious, does not boast, and is not proud. It is not rude, not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not rejoice with evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. Trying to nail this down is a lifetime of work.
• Plug into church. Look for opportunities to serve, to train, to volunteer, and to mentor others. Participate socially and get to know people, so that you can better love and serve them.

Thanks for reading my take on the importance of Christian community, and until next time, Praise Crazy!