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IS COMMUNITY SOMETHING TO BE FOUND?

Posted by Dr. Bill Blanchard on

One of the greatest Christian myths is that community is something to be found.  As the myth goes, all you have to do is find the right person, join the right group, get the right job, or become involved in the right church.  And to a large extent, this is why many people go from relationship to relationship, city to city, job to job, church to church, looking for the community that they think is just right around the corner if they could only discover the right people and the right place.  The idea is that real community exists somewhere, and we simply need to tap into it.  It is not something that you really have to work at; rather, it is something that you find! 

This mindset runs rampant today.  If you have to work at community in a marriage, then you must not be right for each other.  If you have to work on community where you are employed, then you’ve got a bad boss or bad co-workers or a bad structure.  If you have to work at community in your neighborhood, then you picked the wrong subdivision.  If you have to work in developing community in a church, then there are obviously problems with the church or its leadership or its “community.”

But that mindset is a myth.  It is not only unrealistic, it is unbiblical.  Why?  Because community is not something you find; it is something that you must build! This is why we must ask God to help us make our marriage, our job, our neighborhood, and our church into the community that He intends!  Community is not something that you discover; it is something you forge, because all healthy relationships are the products of labor!  And this is why God provides for us the following principles in His Word:

  • How to work through conflict
  • How to develop and articulate communication skills
  • How to deal with anger
  • How to walk in the truth, but with love
  • How to live successfully with someone in marriage

For instance, this is why we read in Hebrews 12:13-14:

       “Make straight paths for your feet…Pursue

         peace with all people, and holiness…” 

Devotedly your pastor, 

Bill Blanchard

 

 

 

 

 

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