Reflecting on Community

If I were to pick a theme for the last two years or so of my life, it would be community. It seems God has been trying to help me unlearn a lifetime of "doing it myself." Perhaps one of the best "classes" I've taken on this subject has been my involvement with a little project with some kids in down-town Chattanooga. Over the last year, it has changed and evolved into a basic routine: Friday night teen Bible study, and church and lunch on Saturday. We pick up anywhere from about four to eight kids each week, and our main goals are basically to love them, feed them, and keep them out of trouble. :)

The "we" in this project has been a core group of three of us--Ben, Elisa, and myself--but we have enjoyed others who have joined us several times along the way. Together, we’ve prayed, we’ve brainstormed, and we’ve learned how to parent, basically. We’ve learned the importance of setting clear boundaries, and being consistent. We each have different gifts we use, and yet when one of us is tired or discouraged, another one of us can step up and take over a bit more. We’ve learned to communicate when we have different visions of what we think should be happening. And together we’ve seen God open so many doors, and use us in ways we would have never imagined a year ago, because we share a commitment to the same goal of loving these neighbors in the ways we know how. I can’t help but look back over this experience and be amazed and humbled at how God has guided us as a team—corporately—to do something that none of us could have done alone.

I can honestly say that this little group helped me make it through some rough times in my life. Sometimes I would feel so discouraged, purposeless, and isolated during the week, but found myself revived in the mission of the weekend. It's not to say it all went perfectly--there was always a bit of chaos--hot chocolate spills and the like. But I guess, in a way, I basically found out what church was supposed to be. A body of believers learning and growing, and being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Now Ben and I are moving on to new missions, and Elisa is holding down the fort. What will happen next? Through so many twists and turns in the story so far, I could never guess, but I know God will provide. He knows better than any of us that He is most accurately reflected in community.

"A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecc. 4:12

"We are all parts of His one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others." Rom. 12:5