It Takes Work: Read an Excerpt From "Called to Community"

Now Featured in the Patheos Book Club Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People By Eberhard Arnold, Saint Benedict, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joan Chittister, Dorothy Day, David Janzen, Chiara Lubich, Thomas Merton, Henri J. M. Nouwen, John M. Perkins, Mother Teresa, Jean Vanier, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and others Edited by Charles E. Moore

At one level or another, all of us want to be connected with others. But what does it mean to connect? What does it take to forge relationships that count? How do we move from living autonomous, self-sufficient lives to a life that is genuinely interdependent and shared?

Superficiality and rootlessness are diseases of our time. Shallow friendships and fragile relationships mark not only our society but also the church. By contrast, we read that the early Christians did not just occasionally fellowship (verb); they were a fellowship (noun). They didn't go to church; they were the church. Few of us today experience life together as the early Christians did – a common, daily, material life of unity and sharing. Instead, we rush here and there, madly trying to connect with this group or that person, but still living lives that are very much our own. We follow and text each other, but actually share very little of ourselves.

To come across a dismembered human body part, like a finger or a toe, would shock and repulse us. If we would only step back and see how fractured and dismembered our lives are, we might see why restoring our lives to wholeness, as difficult as this might be, is so desperately needed. After all, this is what Christ prayed for, and it is what our world needs. Jesus prayed that we might be a community, that his followers would possess the togetherness and love and unity that he and the Father have for each other (John 17:20–26).

No wonder the reciprocal pronoun "one another" (allelon) stands out in the New Testament. This one word highlights the importance of belonging to a group that shares life:

Outdo one another in showing honor (Rom. 12:10)

Live in harmony with one another (Rom. 12:16)

Admonish one another (Rom. 15:14)

Greet one another with a holy kiss (Rom. 16:16)

Wait for one another (1 Cor. 11:33)

Have the same care for one another (1 Cor. 12:25)

Be servants of one another (Gal. 5:13)

Bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2)

Comfort one another (1 Thess. 5:11)

Build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11)

Be at peace with one another (1 Thess. 5:13)

Do good to one another (1 Thess. 5:15)

Put up with one another in love (Eph. 4:2)

Be kind and compassionate to one another (Eph. 4:32)

Submit to one another (Eph. 5:21)

Forgive one another (Col. 3:13) Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16)

Pray for one another (James 5:16)

Love one another from the heart (1 Pet. 1:22)

Be hospitable to one another (1 Pet. 4:9)

Meet one another with humility (1 Pet. 5:5)

Virtually none of the above exhortations make sense unless we share life together and are committed to one another. How are we to bear another person's burden unless the burden is known and unless we are willing to actually carry it? How are we to "put up with each other" unless we relate closely enough to get on each other's nerves? How are we to forgive one another unless we are in each other's lives enough to hurt and let one another down? How can we learn to submit to one another unless we struggle with differences? In other words, if we are to connect (or reconnect) our lives with one another, it will demand much more of us than we normally give. It demands that we become a church community, not just occasionally go to church or have community with others.

Community is a nice ideal, but are we ready to do the work it takes to forge a common, committed life with others on a daily basis, especially if it costs us? If we are honest, we'll recognize that we have been groomed to believe that our lives are ours to do with as we please and that our independence is more important than our involvement in whatever groups we happen to participate in, including the church. But forming community will never happen if we keep hanging on to our independence. Neither will it happen if our schedules only allow us to meet together a couple of hours a week. We will have to form new lifestyle habits and dispense with old patterns of living and thinking. We will have to sacrifice convenience and give up private spaces and personal preferences. We will have to make concerted choices to forgo some of our personal freedom so that others can more naturally be in, and not just around, our lives. It will take work.

Such a life demands that we engage in very concrete practices. Perhaps the first fruit of community is time . Those who love one another spend time together. Time is important because without being available to each other, fulfilling the biblical "one anothers" is virtually impossible. Take the construction metaphor of "building one another up." Building is a process that requires effort and persistence. Leaving a project undone will do damage to the materials. Or take the command to "do good to one another." It takes time to discern what is good for another person. Time is crucial if we are to serve one another as Jesus served his disciples. It takes time to wash one another's feet. It takes time to outdo one another in love and good works. It takes time to put another's interests above one's own. It takes time to show one another hospitality. It takes time...

As important as time is, so is sharing space . This may or may not mean living with one another under the same roof. But it will mean becoming more proximate with each other. The notion of a commuter marriage is an oxymoron. So is a commuter community. Unless we are physically present in each other's lives in the same physical, social space, community will only be skin deep. There are many ways to draw together in closer proximity. Whatever its size or form, any authentic community will find practical ways to live out their life of faith together. This, of course, takes sacrifice.

However, Christian community demands more than sharing time and space. Everything we do must be done in Christ and placed under his authority. For this to happen, we must be governed by the Word and seek to obey it together . Christian community means allowing God's Word to shape us as a people. Almost all the New Testament epistles are written to churches, not to individuals. And when we think about the various "one another" commands, we are only capable of fulfilling them in the spirit of Christ. Being under the Word is not just a matter of listening to a sermon at some designated hour, but of seeking with each other, by way of dialogue and prayer, what it means to live out Christ's commands together.

This leads to yet another mark of community: eagerly sharing our possessions with one another. In the New Testament, koinonia means more than "fellowship." Its predominant use denotes the sharing of resources. The Macedonia and Achaia churches, for example, set up a common fund for the impoverished church in Jerusalem. Since the Gentiles shared in the Jews' spiritual blessing, they in turn helped meet the Jews' material needs (Rom. 15:26–27). "In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity," Paul writes, adding that "they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people" (2 Cor. 8:1–15). Such generosity led others to praise God (2 Cor. 9:13). In fact, it was this very practical expression of love that so impressed pagan society. The Christians' love for one another was not in words, but in deeds – real, physical expressions of care and service.

On the question of possessions, it is vital to specify mutual expectations. To break away from the grip of private property we must remember that Christ's cause, not our own fulfillment or happiness, is at stake. This means going beyond the usual social expectations and proprieties. We keep our pocketbooks and bank accounts to ourselves (in more ways than one). Money matters are nobody's business. But in the body of Christ, our goods are not our own (Acts 4:32). If we are serious about forming community in Christ , then we need to start laying everything out on the table (check book, credit card statements, bills, investments, etc.) and discuss ways in which we can become more radical in our giving and simpler in our living. Only in this way can the forces of the workplace and marketplace, which pull us away from God and each other, be combatted. We need to be open enough to share where we find it difficult to cut back or where we overspend, and to help each other discern what our needs are as opposed to our wants. We need to give each other honest feedback on how much we work and why. Only in this way will we get free of the chains of having to earn and spend. Then the "common life" gets real and we start to really depend on one another; then God's justice breaks in.

Laying everything out on the table should also include other "private possessions" – our sins and burdens, both of which we are commanded to share with one another (James 5:16; Gal. 6:2). Holding each other accountable is the work of being our brother's and sister's keeper. Only in this way can the threads of our separate private lives be knitted together into a fabric in which Christ makes all things new. Confession means far more than unloading one's problems on someone else or striving for personal betterment. We bare our souls before our brothers and sisters for the sake of building up the body of Christ. Only by sharing life to this degree can we show the world that Jesus really does have the power to forgive sins, set burdened people free, and restore broken relationships.

This is what forming community in Christ is about: to give witness every day to Jesus' lordship in every facet of life for every person who longs for a new life. Seeking Christ's kingdom together leads to a revolutionary restructuring of life on all levels. Such a life never comes naturally. It takes work. It means intentionally forgoing the things of this world – its pleasures, pursuits, priorities, and patterns (Rom. 12:1–2) and embarking on a journey with others who also want their lives to be shaped by the joy of the gospel. This kind of life is a gift, for sure – a gift from above. But to experience that gift, it is worth giving everything we have and are.