1) The term "community" has been that itch in my upper-middle back that I can't reach. It annoys me. I don't know why it's there. Now, it probably is my Henry Roberts-esque inclination towards order and understanding, but I just want to know what the blessed word means. For all the times I've heard "we're a community of x" or "we're building more community through y and z," one part of me gives a vocal cheer while another gives a subconscious query. What is a community? How many communities can one be a part of? I'm not issuing a public moratorium of the term, but expressing my personal ignorance as to the term's significance and extension.
2) How do you meaningfully show appreciation for friends?
3) And now for the topic we've all been waiting for: Church. Question: Why do churches insist on creating new program after program, when other churches/ministries in the area may already have a similar program in place? Why not simply join forces in a particular ministry area. I see many advantages to this (and a few cons, naturally); so why isn't it done more?
The Instrument of Salvation
7 months ago
2 comments:
On number 1: Dr. Roy dealt with that a little in our pastoral practices class, and i have since forced people to define it every time they use it, and once they fail to give a definition, I deal his out: Community that is "Christian" is God oriented, Truth centered, and Prayer saturated. While all components may not always be present, they should be consistently used when attempting to call it "community" in a Christian sense. I found those to be helpful as it is a brief way to help people think about what they are saying and make them consider if what they are doing is truly community. Anywho... I'm done...but I share your beef!
Thanks Justin for helping fight off my cynicism. Do you happen to know any places/books that help flesh this idea out further?
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