Greetings,
I've been thinking about the concept of "community" and it's place in a human being's life. Questions like: How many people do you need to be a community? How is a community different from a group of people with something in common? If you accept the idea that a group is different than a community, then what's the definition of community? Is "a community" or "the community" different from "community". I know - pretty stupid musings, but my mind just takes flight sometimes.
The reason I started even musing about the idea of community is the "social occasion" that we just had last week at St. Paul (my church for you non-St. Paul readers). It was a big success - and the reason was that the vision that organized the set-up made it so that everyone had to talk to one another. In fact, I emphasized that the mission was to talk to at least two people you didn't know. People were really buzzed, and I think it's because they felt reconnected to the St. Paul community. Our community is powerful and empowering.
The dictionary defines community as people who live in an area, an environment, or who have something in common. I think St. Paul qualifies on the third definition - they have Christianity in common, and further, they try to practice the WWJD ethics when dealing with one another.
Therefore, as a member of the St. Paul community, (and you have to do more than just "join") you never have to face life alone - whether your child dies (which has just happened for two of our members - to my St. Paul readers: don't forget to lift them up both spiritually and actually - remember: "Love is kind." (1Corinthians, 13:4) or your daughter gets married, or if your life is going gloriously good, bad, or indifferent. The interaction - the feeling that "somebody cares" is getting to be a rare commodity in our frequently fragmented, isolated, on-line society. Yes, being in a caring community is all good.
However, community also carries responsibilities - you actually have to leave your comfort zone sometimes. Because the St. Paul community is a Christian community with a specific set of ethics to live by - you know the two biggies (love one another, love the Big G with all your heart, soul and mind), you have to shed your prejudices and face your shortcomings. Then the community holds you accountable - especially the small community of St. Paul. (Off the subject: I think that's one of the big appeals of mega churches - you get the illusion of community, but not the accountability.)
You can't consistently act in a non-Christian manner or have your own agenda (instead of the Holy Spirit's) and get any respect in the St. Paul community. Oh, that doesn't mean that we won't love you, but we won't respect you, and ultimately, we won't follow you. So..............community gives and takes. If you choose to be part of the St. Paul community, then you are going to be asked to not only take solace, but also to offer it, to not only participate, but sometimes to lead, not just offer opinions, but also to listen to opinions you don't want to hear. The big questions........................Is it worth it? Why do you belong to a community that asks so much of you?
On a lighter note: My better half (Drake) did something so incredibly stupid today that I've laughed until tears came to my eyes. Tinkering around with the fax system, he managed to change the language into Russian! Then he was unable to reverse his tinkering because Russian uses a different alphabet. He couldn't even figure out where the menu was to change it back to English. The look on his face was priceless. When I started laughing, to his credit, he began to laugh too. What a priceless screw-up. We tried to find the Russian words for "language" and "English" using an on-line translator (which was very cool, incidentally) - and that sort of worked. However, he finally had to call the HP help line and confess his stupidity - "Duh, I had my finger up my ass and changed everything to a language I can't read......." He finally got it straightened out, but it was a great laugh, let me tell you. I swear; the ways the computer can mess with you is almost diabolical.
Finally, I pass onto you a web site you might want to look at. A friend sent me this, and she asked my opinon which I gave her. I'd like yours. The web site is: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=418_1176494781 What do you think?
Grace and Peace.
Find someone to be kind to today. Not only do they need the kindness, but so do you.
