Let's Talk about Community

DANIEL OWENS • DECEMBER 19, 2024

I’ve been thinking a lot about Christian community lately… I wonder what you think to yourself when you hear the phrase… “Christian” “Community” We all know we need it. But do we really know what it should look like? Do you have a lot of friends but few or none are really there for you when you have a need? Do your friends push you toward your Father or let you be complacent in your faith? Are you close enough with them that they notice when you have struggles? Or are all your struggles hidden behind your Sunday smile? Are you being poured into by anyone? Are you pouring into anyone? Take a second before reading on and assess: How healthy is your community?

Acts 2:

After Jesus’ ascension, the early church quickly experienced deep-rooted Christian community, and even became the model and picture of how it should look when done correctly.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 2:42-47 ESV

Don’t worry… I’m not going to give you “5 catchy principles we can learn from the early Church on community”, or “The formula to thrive like the Church of Acts”. But I do want to mention a couple things I notice about them as I read this passage: They believed the Gospel of Jesus and saw the supernatural at work regularly. They bore each other’s burdens and took care of each other’s needs. They studied together, learned together, journeyed together, celebrated and cried together. And they were growing in number every day! That means they were inclusive of everyone. Not closed off. But the most important thing I noticed was that they were united through Jesus and they had the Holy Spirit!

Worldly Vs. Godly Community

What connects you to your closest friends? Most people build relationships with others if they have something in common with them. They have a common routine like school, work, the gym, etc. They have similar interests, hobbies, preferences, or opinions. Maybe they met a need or were really there for you practically. Don’t get me wrong. Having those connections isn’t a bad thing. But if those are the only thread that hold your friendship together, you will only stay connected so long as you share that job, that interest, or they meet that need. This is where Christian community is different. Like the church in Acts, we are connected through the founder and perfecter of our faith, our savior, and friend, Jesus. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:3-6 NIV. God MUST be at the center. The people you will share the deepest, richest friendships with are those who have journeyed with you through your SPIRITUAL seasons. They are the ones with you during the highs and lows of your faith, the struggles, the questions, and especially the breakthroughs, deliverance, and the fulfilled promises. And it’s just an added bonus if they share similarities with you. What makes our connections strong is our mutual bond through Christ.

We only see in part…

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:9-10, 12 NIV

There’s a reason we need these Christ-centered connections… Individually, we are like one piece of a puzzle. The picture just isn’t complete. We are only one part of the body of Christ. We, unlike God, are limited by time and space and are confined to a world infected by sin. As long as we are roaming the Earth, our knowledge, perspective, and capabilities are limited. We are finite, not infinite. We need people to journey with us to help us see God more fully, to encourage us, and to reveal our blind spots.

1. Seeing More of God

We took a mission trip to Honduras in September. And we did lots of service, praying and leading chapels for kids, etc… it was all awesome! But you know what my favorite part of it was? It was the evening debriefs. Every night after dinner, we would circle up and share a highlight or testimony from that day. Those on our team as well as the local missionaries there with us would share about how they saw God move. Rarely did anyone among us not have something unique to add, even when talking about the same event as someone else. We all saw the day unfold from a different vantage point. We all noticed the Lord working (sometimes in ourselves as much as in those we served). And when we all shared, we had such a richer, fuller picture of all the things God had done that day. It was like we had to each bring our own piece of the puzzle. Then we could start to piece the puzzle together to see the beauty of God and the work He was doing in lives. Walking the Christian walk together helps us see a fuller (though not complete until heaven) picture of our God’s character and works.

Similarly, every time I’m in a small group and we open up the Bible together, I’m amazed how much deeper and richer our understanding of a Scripture is when we study together, than when I read it alone.

Our prayer life is different when done together too. I think that when we can pray in alignment with what God is wanting to do, it’s more effective and impactful. For some reason, having more people together, makes it easier to find His heart than when done alone. Multiple times in Honduras and since, I have seen this happen. When we were in Honduras, I had the opportunity to pray at a Youth Night for a teenager named Rafa. Honestly, Rafa was not the kind of teenager I would have expected to ask for prayer. He was really cool and served at church and at Dream Center.

Rafa asked me to pray for him to have peace and for his fears to leave because his sister was going to have a very serious heart surgery soon. I started praying for his sister and her healing and protection. I was going after it for about 5 minutes before I ran out of things to pray… Then my friend and translator, Julio, jumped in unexpectedly and prayed for Rafa to have peace… As soon as Julio started praying, it hit me… Oh! I forgot to actually pray for Rafa! He needed comfort! I’m so glad Julio thought about him as much as I was thinking about big bold prayers.

2. Culture That Invites Correction

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”

Proverbs 27:5-6 ESV.

Just as we don’t see God fully in isolation, our perspective of ourselves is often skewed and incomplete. The reality is, we all have blind spots. If you had food stuck in your teeth, wouldn’t you expect your friends to tell you? Yes it’s embarrassing, but how much embarrassment did they save you by telling you? In the same way, we should welcome, and invite correction. We should stay malleable, willing to admit when we’re wrong and don’t get offended when someone tries to tell us what we don’t see in ourselves. How much more important that we rid our lives of sin and unhealthy tendencies/habits than some ugly food in our teeth? While we do our best try to hide these things, believe me, they are just as easy to see by everyone around us as something stuck in our teeth!

Pride is really hard to see in yourself. It causes you to hide and defend what you know is not healthy. Without realizing it, we create a culture that resists correction instead of inviting it. Each person creates the culture of either pride or humility in their relationships by how they deal with rebukes, disagreements, and conflict. Be intentional in creating the culture of humility. When you are ready to lay down defensiveness, you gain access to one of the best tools God gave you to rid yourself of blind spots: every person around you! Live your life with the blinds open.

3. Accountability/Encouragement

As much as we should invite correction and allow people to tell us things we don’t want to hear, we also need people who encourage us and call us up to our full potential. Too often we sell ourselves short in shame, comparison, insecurity, and self-hatred. We doubt ourselves, and believe the lies of the enemy that say we are less than someone else or don’t have anything to offer. Humility and shame are not the same thing. Humility says, “What I have, I did not earn on my own. Who I am is a result of God’s work, not mine. My identity is not based on how good my actions are.” Shame says, “You are bad. You are nothing. You have no value. If people only knew the real you, they would want nothing to do with you.” I once heard Pastor Kris Valloton say that accountability is not confessing your sins and staying in a cycle of shame and confession. Instead, “Accountability is account for your ability”. It’s having people around you that know what you’re capable of and them calling up to that standard. You need people in your life who make you feel powerful, strong, and confident. Not because you are better than them, but because they see the ways you are great and they tell you!

Paul, who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament, was often mentioned traveling with his friend Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas went to… (name that town or village). Why do you think Paul brought Barnabas with him on so much of his missionary work and traveling? If you didn’t know, Barnabas’ name means: “Son of Encouragement”. He was one of those people that always makes you feel like: “I can do this!” He was someone who championed people! It also just so happens that Barnabas was the first one to accept Paul into the community after he had his name changed, and stopped persecuting and killing Christians. When no one else trusted him, Barnabas believed him and spoke up for him (Acts 9:26-28). Do you know someone like that? Someone who believes in you so much it makes you believe in you too? You should spend more time around people like that… Because we can be really hard on ourselves sometimes.

Bring All of You

So if your community doesn’t look like Acts, but you want the fullness of the Christian community, let it start with you. Change has to start somewhere. Make your own decision to be the catalyst in your own sphere of influence—among your closest friends and in your community at large. The last thing I need to talk about is… you… Your identity… Follow me here… Disney’s Encanto is going to be the best example I can give. [SPOILER WARNING]

Each member of the Madrigal family went through a ceremony where they put the door knob in the door to their room and they receive their magical gift. But Mirabel was the only one in the family who didn’t receive a gift. Skipping most of the story… (go watch it yourself) by the end, the house was destroyed and rebuilt and Mirabel was the key to keeping the magic alive. Instead of having her own special room, she got to put the door knob on the front door to the house! And in the last song of the movie, they finally see her for the gift she is, even if she didn’t receive a gift in the way everyone else did. Don’t judge me, but these lyrics usually make me cry:

“We see how bright you burn

We see how brave you've been

Now, see yourself in turn

You're the real gift, kid, let us in

Open your eyes

Abre los ojos

What do you see?

I see me

All of me”

Like Mirabel, We’ve got to fix our misunderstanding of our identity. We need to see ourselves through God’s lens of Grace and love. We have to stop comparing ourselves to everyone else’s greatness. We have something way better than a magic house! We have salvation, grace, and the living Holy Spirit! Stop letting insecurity, shame, and self-hatred rob you and your community of the gift that you are! You are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). He knit you together and you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14). He knows every hair on your head (Matt. 10:30). His thoughts about you cannot be counted (Psalm 139: 17-18). His love for you is beyond measure (Eph. 3:17-18). You are the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). 1 Peter 2:9 puts it this way: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” You have access to every spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1:7). You are the temple/house/dwelling place of God; he lives inside you! (1 Pet. 2:5, Eph. 2:22, Col. 1:27, 1 Cor. 6:19, Jer. 31:33). You are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). You are dead to your sin, it no longer has any hold on you (Rom. 6). So don’t walk around acting like your old self is still alive (Rom 6:6, Col. 3:9).

You are unique and bring something of value to your community. You have something to offer. You have experiences, a personality, talents and a history that give you a unique perspective. You are a gift to those around you so pick your head up and go love them. Let it start with you. Step up and lead the way in your community. Be the one who helps reveal God. Be the one to correct in love. Be an encourager like Barnabas. And lastly, be vulnerable and honest about your struggles and let someone bear your burdens (Jam. 5:10). You’ll change the culture around you and that of your community. In turn, you will start to reap the benefits for yourself.