The need of Community

When we think about church we normally think of a large group of people in a single location to worship God and study scriptures. This can be described as the facility or institutional mindset of church where the location and size of our facilities has an impact on what we are able to accomplish. While that describes the majority of churches in the world, it has not always been that way. This mind set creates a church that is a place and not a people. Jesus’ desire was for His church to be a people, His body and not an institution. The early church was not restricted by this institutional mindset. Instead churches were based around household communities. It was not until 313 AD that churches became more institutionalized. Prior to that time Christians had a “community mindset” as they predominantly met in homes and shared more time and resources with each other than is typically done today. They lived in tight-knit communities of faith and practiced their beliefs together on a regular basis. They were constantly aware of their need for community and of the needs of the community because they spent more time with fewer people. “A study of Acts reveals that community was fundamental to, not optional for, early Christians (Gorman p. 37)”. For the first several thousand years of man’s existence community was the foundation of identity. Until the last 150 years people did not see themselves apart from their family or spiritual connections. This stands in stark contrast to our surrounding culture today which promotes individuality and self-sufficiency. “Self fulfillment, autonomy, rights, freedom, self centeredness these are the facets of negative individualism and the factors that mitigate against community (Gorman p. 46)”. It is made very clear in scripture that we have a God-given need for community. The first need God noticed for Adam was his need for community. Genesis 2:18— “It is not good for the man to be alone…” God created the very first community when he created Eve to accompany Adam on the earth. Since community is a God-given need and because our culture has done an outstanding job of destroying it, our need for community is greatly increased today. “A study done by Daniel Yankelovich in researching American society found that “a me-first, satisfy-all-my-desires attitude leads to relationships that are superficial, transitory, and ultimately unsatisfying (Gorman p. 47)”. “One of his surveys showed that “70 percent of Americans now recognize that while they have many acquaintances they have few close friends and they experience this as a serious void in their lives (Gorman p. 47)”. Ever since the first couple, community has always been important to humanity. The identity of the Israelites was based on being the people of God. When you read the Old Testament you can’t help but notice the lack of individuality in their culture. The family unit was of primary importance. Their household was foundational to the development of their identity. They took on the job of their ancestors and worshipped who they worshipped. Community was a means of existence and survival. The two most common punishments in Leviticus were death and excommunication from the people. Both were viewed as equally horrendous in the eyes of the people. Jesus knew the importance of community and communicated while here on the earth. He predominantly traveled with a community of 12 other men as he ministered to the masses. Through this community with Jesus and with each other these men firmly tied their identity to God. We also see this strong sense of community in the book of Acts. When Cornelius became a Christian the rest of his household followed no questions asked. When Peter preached at Pentecost and the people responded and were baptized it is important to note what followed. (Acts 2:42-47) The believers devoted themselves to prayer, fellowship, the breaking of bread and the teaching of the apostle. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. The very first church was planted and had a new identity because they were connected with God who is community within Himself (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Today when you ask someone about themselves they will typically link their identity to their job for instance, “I am a policeman.” Our identity reaches far beyond occupation. There is a spiritual reality working behind the scenes that these very first Christians were aware of and it is that identity is formed in community through a process of spiritual transformation with others. What is also important to remember is that the early church met in homes. Why is this important? It is important because they were able to be better connected with fewer people. These smaller communities of the faithful were able to meet each other’s needs, study God’s word together, and actually get to know each other on a deeper level than we normally can today in assemblies of several hundred people. In Acts 20:20 Paul summarized his ministry as going from “house to house.” In Romans 16:23 Paul mentions the church that meets at Gaius’ house. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus says, “For where two or three come together in my name there I am with them.” The community that God intended for his people was to be fruitful and growing. We must create community! It is a mandate for our churches to be successful.

Anthony