Thoughts From the Pastor
Community Building
One of the apostle Paul’s favorite images of the church is that of the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes this body as being unified even though the various parts have different functions and purposes. Within a congregation, we see a variety of gifts, talents, callings, and personality types. Yet, somehow all of these people are unified into one body and work together to achieve the ministries God has given the congregation. So where does this unity come from?
It all starts with each individual encountering God’s holiness. When we encounter God’s holiness, we see ourselves as we truly are and we are humbled. Then we experience God’s grace in our lives and extend that grace to others. As we experience God’s grace in our lives and relationships, we find ourselves reconciling with others and strengthening our relationships. Through this grace experience, we surrender our need to be in control that often separates us as individuals, leading to a new sense of unity. Out of this sense of unity we begin to build community.
When I speak of community, I mean more than just a group of people that live in the same town. Community includes shared values, goals, and purposes. As a congregation, we desire our values, goals and purposes to be the same as those demonstrated by Jesus in the Gospels. So how do we go about developing community?
One way to develop community is to get to know each other outside of Sunday morning worship. I remember many different church activities when I was growing up. We had Sunday School class parties, all church picnics, bowling nights, roller skating nights, and game nights just to name a few. These were times of fun and fellowship where we got to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. But I have noticed in our increasingly busy society, these activities have become rare. They are hard to schedule and even harder to get anyone to attend.
We did have a good turn out for our Family Fun Night in June and it looked like everyone had a good time. We also usually have a good group at Buffalo Ridge on July 4 and we have a good time out there as well.
Maybe I am just longing for a time that can not be recaptured. Or perhaps, we each need to stop and think about where our church family fits into our list of priorities. How well do you know the people you worship with each Sunday? Maybe it is possible for us to begin making time to get together for fun and fellowship, not just business and Bible Study. Do not misunderstand me, our Bible Study groups are important and are great places to learn more about each other as well as the Bible. But few of us are involved in these groups.
Through the rest of this summer, maybe we can find more ways to get together as a congregation and do some community-building. Maybe our Sunday School classes can have some parties. Maybe sometime we can have a church picnic (I know where there is an empty lot we can use). If you have ideas, write them down and give them to me or a member of our Board of Christian Education.
The bottom line is, as we get to know each other in different ways, we will grow more and more into a community that is united in our pursuit of God’s ministries using our diverse individual gifts.
Sharing community with you,
Pastor Robert
