|
|
|
 Acting Like a Community
by Ray Starks, 9/10/04
Printer-Friendly Version 
Happy Birthday to Edge, happy birthday to Edge…..Wow, can you believe it—Edge is two years old this month! We’ve come a long way from meeting in Glenn and Anita Bridges’ garage on Bottle Rock Road complete with overhead transparencies, a borrowed 4-channel sound system, one guitar and an African drum. We didn’t have much, but we did have community.
Community is a strange thing, and vital to the life of any church. It’s hard to teach; easier to model; and easiest yet to gloss over and call it done. We don’t have a handle on it yet, but here are a few thoughts about community.
Community gives us a sense of kinship—a feeling of belonging. All throughout the New Testament, Christians are identified by other Christians as “brethren.” This word is similar to a biological brother (or sister) but it means much more. More than a sibling; it is a deeper and stronger relationship with people who may not be your biological relative but are your spiritual kin. Having kinship with Jesus Christ and other believers through the Holy Spirit is a bond that is like no other—in your home church or with believers around the world.
Community exhibits cooperation. Things are done for the common good of the group. Those who have, help those who have not; those who are up, help those who are down. Cooperation is commitment mixed with continuance—it is the feeling that infractions and difficulties will not destroy the community; that through cooperation, things will work out for now and for the long run. Then as you grow stronger in your cooperation, there is a realization that nothing can separate the community that is built on God’s principals.
Community is convergence. It is moving inward, not outward. Individuals grow in their relationship with God, move closer together in their relationships with each other, and become interconnected. Instead of fragmented, we experience a sense of being solid; coming together instead of pulling apart. In the word Community, is the word “unity.” In the Bible, unity means “one,” not the lonely single number “one,” but what you get when several agree. It not only represents many who’ve come together but it refers to coming together in strength. A community doesn’t necessarily have to agree in all things to be in unity. In Colossians 3, we are told to “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another; and forgiving each other…” All of these things we are to “put on” would not be necessary if we all became one person in mindless agreement. We are individuals that come together unified to become one strength, agreeing to handle each other with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Later in the passage, we are told to “put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” In this setting, “unity” is considered as a ligament that holds everything together—different parts working in unison for the strength of the body.
The leadership at Edge is committed to the principal that community is easier in smaller group settings. It’s not impossible on Sunday gatherings, but the dynamics make it more difficult to achieve true community. Time constraints; not being able to know 150 people; having to take care of corporate matters etc., all impede community. But when people meet in small groups, in homes mid-week, where time and attention can be afforded each participant, community thrives.
How about you? Are you in a community group? Do you desire kinship with other believers? Would you like to be a part of something that exhibits long lasting commitment; working together in cooperation; growing toward each other and experiencing love in action? If your answer is “yes” then you need to get connected in a Community Group at Edge—you will not be the same. Contact Mike and Laurie Leon and tell them, “I want to be connected!”
We are Edge Community. It is our name, but is it our practice? Are we acting like a community? Let’s make this next year the year we really grow in community. Happy birthday Edge!
|
|
|
|
