Living Community

A few weeks ago there was an article featured on Brandilyn Collins' blog (www.forensicsandfaith.blogspot.com) that spoke to book sales, and how there is increasing evidence that book covers that feature symbols of community sell better than thoe featuring individualism.

Despite the West's claim on individualism, there is a growing shift towards community, for the need for community in life. Juxaposed to this is the isolation that has been breed through technology, jobs/commute, lifestyle, etc. From ipods that enable you to block out the world around you, to early morning and late night commutes that allow for little interation with neighbors - you could go days without interacting with another, let alone fostering community.

Which leads me to pose the question, that was first posed to me, what does community, "real community/no walls kinda living" look like?

This is a topic that seems to be on the forefront of many people in my sphere of living - a topic that was taught nay preached on this past Sunday at church (as of yet no blog post to link to, but perhaps later at www.danperkins.blogs.com)!

The church in its earliest form existed as a living community. "The Body" - worked, lived, ate, shared together as one. As one entity they were chastized, encouraged, exhorted, taught... As one they sold ALL and gave of EVERYTHING to ONE ANOTHER.

How much am I willing to sacrifice/give to live in community with those in my life? Why should it even be a question of "how much"? It should be how...there isn't a limit to the "much" - like the first Christians featured in Acts it is ALL and EVERYTHING! Which then begs the question, "Who "is" my community?"

But more than the sum of these words, what does living community look like in a pracitical, functioning way? It is far easier to theorize on community and write that living community is being open, etc; that is it living the "one anothers" of the Bible; a lot more difficult to live the words.

The close of the message on Sunday listed the "one anothers" as following:

Welcome one another, show hospitality and serve one another, build up one another, teach and admonish one another wisdom, live in harmony with one another. Care for one another, bearing one another in love while bearing one another's burdens, being kind and tenderhearted toward one another, be humble toward one another, confess your sins and pray for one another love one another.

So I suppose the challenge is to live out the above...how? Not sure yet, but with time maybe, just maybe we as a church can be a living community.