Community has always been a topic of conversation, especially if you have lived in the church world for any amount of time. Actually, the whole goal of most ministries should be to create a thriving community. It’s something that the secular culture has shaped and molded as the church has been on the sideline. As the culture has shifted and as people have become more isolated, the church is left wondering how to create real and lasting community.
Our culture hasn’t figured it out. They push their agendas on us and tell us what we need and for some reason we decide to believe them. Maybe it’s because our friends believe them, but there has to be a point in which we start standing up. Start living in a way that’s different than the world and start to dictate what we believe community should look like.
The following list has arrested our community
Television. If most of your human interaction comes from a talking person on a TV, then you haven’t experienced anything of substance. We keep asking for ways to get through all of our crappy lives, but I haven’t heard anyone say, “I know the answer! It’s through this TV show or that news program.”
Video Games. Before I go further, you all should know that I play video games on a weekly basis. But video games have allowed us to stay in our homes and be comfortable. It gives us a way to put effort into something that isolates us. We feel accomplished when we finish the game or get an achievement. But our emotional energy wasn’t spent building a lasting friendship or creating space for people to share what’s difficult in their lives.
Netflix. I just heard that Netflix wants to borrow 2 BILLION dollars to create more original content. First, that’s just an absurd amount of money. But secondly, they are doing it because they know people will consume it. Has our community been reduced to binging?
Phones. I look at my phone constantly. It’s the first thing I look at when I wake up and it’s the last thing I look at before I go to bed. Need I say more?
Not all bad
Please don’t read these things and think I’m saying these are bad things, I participate in all of them. But I do think that we need to think about what we spend our time on. I think that the problems in this world can actually be changed by the ones that live in this world (you and I). And that the society we have created for ourselves isn’t our best. We can do better. We can create something that people want, something that we want.
Community all over the world
I had the privilege of spending time in a lot of different countries and cultures. Each country is unique with very different societal and community structures. They each had their advantages and disadvantages. But I have learned a couple things that I think are universal.
First, the less distractions people had the better they seemed. Whether I was in India, Nepal, South Africa or Mexico it appeared that they had community. They had people surrounding them that knew them and loved them. They didn’t have all the distractions that we have that isolate us. This allowed them to rely on each other and spend more time together.
Communal or individual?
Second, the worldview in these countries are more about the community than the individual. The first question when other cultures make a decision is, “How will this affect the community?” While we tend to think, “How will this affect me?” The difference lies in the focus. In the first example, the focus is on the community or others. In the second, the focus is on the individual.
This shift from communal to individual has radically shaped our culture. And I would dare to say, that we are becoming fiercely selfish because of it. I’m being taught by our culture that the world revolves around me. That my needs and my wants are above everyone else’s.
I don’t have an answer, but I do have some questions that may help us in wrestling with this issue
First, do you believe that community is an issue wherever it is you reside? I don’t presume to believe that everyone is having a difficult time finding community. But I would think that some people are finding a lack of a good communal structure.
Second, what would be a good starting point in creating community? This can be a tough question to answer, but if I’ve learned anything, it can simply start with spending time with people. So, whether you love to watch movies, TV shows, sports or play video games. Perhaps a good starting place is to do those things with others.
My challenge to myself and the readers: Let’s think through how to create life giving community.
Jason LaLone was on staff at YWAM Brisbane and is currently in America working with Truro Anglican Church located in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about discipleship, taking Jesus’ command to make disciples a practical reality that he can live on a daily basis. He loves lasagna, cats and used to dislike Monday's, making him most like Garfield.
Jason LaLone’s previous articles might be viewed at: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/Jason-LaLone.html