Community

Last night, I was reminded of the fact that there is yearning in man’s soul for community. The community I saw in operation was expressed by people who have grown up together and have known each other over a long time. It was a fulfillment of the kind of community expressed in the old Cheers theme:

Making your way in the world todayTakes everything you've got;Taking a break from all your worriesSure would help a lot.Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to goWhere everybody knows your name,And they're always glad you came;You want to be where you can see,Our troubles are all the same;You want to be where everybody knows your name.

The challenge of church is to help us move beyond the community of a local bar or even of the local community. Isn’t it sad that we rarely achieve it? Most often people talk about where they “go” to church. They come to a worship service; listen to the hymns (and maybe sing a little); hear the sermon; and, then exit quickly out the backdoor. Community, Christian community never comes into play for them.

The biblical word that we seek is koinonia. It means partnership and sharing based on Christ’s love for us. It cannot be achieved by sitting in the same building together or even taking a piece of chicken out of the same bucket in the fellowship hall. It requires commitment to one another and that most valuable commodity, time. Don’t you want to be where everybody knows more than just your name?