Over the last month and a bit, we’ve been exploring the four words that make up our ‘mission’, or—in plain English—what we do as a church. This blog post marks the final instalment of this series. We’re looking at community.
What is biblical community?
One of the best things that the church can offer is a place to belong. Many people discover Jesus when a church community welcomes them without conditions. But in what way is Christian community any different from the local footy club?
In answering this question, one of the best places to look in the bible is Acts 2. We discover what pure, unadulterated community looked like in the opening moments of the church. Before there was a chance for anyone to develop baggage. Before there were tropes, hangups, and church memes.
To give you some context (a lot happens in the first two chapters of Acts!):
- Jesus died, rose again, commissioned his disciples, and ascended to heaven.
- The early followers of Jesus received the Holy Spirit. They poured onto the streets, speaking in languages they had never learned. The very multicultural crowd understood these languages.
- Peter preached a sermon, after which thousands of people gave their lives to Jesus (best altar call ever)
Then, in verses 42-47, we get a description of the kind of community that emerged organically following these events:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” — Acts 2:42-47
Let’s list a few of the features of this community:
- They were committed to learning about Jesus, celebrating his meal, and doing life together
- Supernatural signs and wonders flowed naturally and boosted everyone’s faith
- They pooled their resources and held everything in a ‘common purse’
- They met every day together (not just Sundays), not just in the temple courts, but also in their homes (around the dinner table)
- They were held in high regard by ‘all the people’
- People were discovering the joy of following Jesus not just on Sundays, but ‘daily’
What an incredible picture of a dynamic, vibrant community! However, when we read this today, it really begs the question…
Why don’t we experience this kind of community today?
If you have ever been a part of a church before, you’ll recognise that even the most wonderful communities don’t get close to this standard. What have we lost?
Before we run away with this question, we have to acknowledge that this model of community was unsustainable. In 2 Corinthians 9, the apostle Paul spends nearly a whole chapter ensuring that the church in Corinth gives generously to the church in Jerusalem. Of course, there could be many reasons for this offering. But it does rather imply that they had run out of money.
Several references in the New Testament (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, Philippians 4:5) suggest that the first followers of Jesus thought he would return in their lifetimes. However, other passages like 1 Corinthians 7 show the apostle Paul instructing believers not to abandon their existing posts: “Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them” (1 Cor 7:17). It seems the church was trying to figure out what it meant to practice the Christian faith sustainably.
The point is this… As appealing as it sounds, the kind of euphoric, life-in-community experience of Acts 2 church shouldn’t be our expectation. In Toowoomba in 2024, we all have pressures like work, study, family life, finances, and so on. This shouldn’t be a disappointment. To me, it’s more of a relief! Instead, I believe we can take the principles and find a way of communal life that is neither overwhelming nor disillusioning.
A Jesus-centred vision of shared life
Our vision passage as a church is Matthew 11:28-30. It’s a wonderful picture of the kind of soul-nourishing rest that we can experience when we do life with Jesus. We’ve talked about it a lot so I’ll spare you the full exegesis, but the main image is one of being ‘yoked’ to Christ. The idea is that we slow down and do life at his pace, in his way, and in turn we experience rest for our souls.
We tend to read the bible in a very individualistic way. There’s nothing wrong with interpreting a passage for your own life, but if it’s just for yourself you can easily miss things. I believe Matthew 11:28-30 can apply just as much to life in community as our own lives! And Jesus’ life with his disciples provides a wonderful model. A full exploration of this would warrant its own blog post (or perhaps series), but let me give you a taster.
In a Jesus-yoked community:
- We learn to do life with people we might never ordinarily interact with. Jesus’ inner circle included a Roman-sympathising tax collector alongside an anti-Roman zealot. Somehow it worked!
- We serve each other. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and instructed them to do the same for one another. Some of my favourite moments in Christian community have been helping friends move, mowing friends’ lawns, and the like.
- We serve together. Take a look at the way the apostles took ownership of the Kingdom mission in the book of Acts. It’s an incredible testament to what can happen when Jesus people work together. As much as we each have a mission in our own spheres, there is a call to serve together.
- We forgive one another. Jesus taught his followers a way of forgiveness and reconciliation, with the cross as the ultimate example.
- We learn from mistakes together. When Jesus rebuked Peter, it was a lesson for all his followers. We carefully make space for constructive feedback and correction.
- We do life together. As much as this phrase has become a church cliche, it’s so important. Much of Jesus’ ministry happened around the dinner table. I don’t think that’s an accident.
Using this picture of shared life, biblical community starts to sound much more achievable! However, the bond shared in church isn’t one of convenience. It’s one of commitment. We recognise that as God’s followers, we have an important mission. And it’s one we’re supposed to carry out together.
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Do you have thoughts? Feel free to drop them in the comments below.
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This post is part of a four-part series on our vision and mission. You can find the other posts here:
- Worship
- Discipleship
- Mission
- Community (this post)
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