How many "friends" do you have on Facebook? More than 200? More than 300? More than 500? Now answer me this. How many of those "friends" would you contact right now if you needed help with battling pornography, an eating disorder, depression, temptation, etc.? How fast does your list of "friends" begin to narrow?
Surely you agree that there is a difference between "friends" on Facebook and genuine community? After all, you wouldn’t send a Facebook message to most of your “friends” to reveal your need for help with a serious issue or struggle.
Have you ever stopped to consider the failure of having genuine community in your life?
One major difference between what I call "generic" community and genuine community is honesty. Just like you wouldn’t share your deepest struggles with all our Facebook "friends" you wouldn’t expect all of them to be completely honest with you either, would you? Anyone can update their status with useless advice but how much would you take to heart from those you are "friends" with on Facebook? Not that they would out right lie to you necessarily, but they might not risk a lot to call you on our junk either, right? Sometimes the dress does make you look a little...you know. Not me of course, because I don't where dresses...I'm a dude. As much as we hate to admit it...we need a community with one part honest Abe and one part mercy. If you're really stubborn you might even need a third part slap on the back of the head once in a while.
We see this failure to be honest in community in a BIG way on TV. Any American Idol fans reading along? My wife and I sometimes watch the first couple of weeks of the show. We like to watch when they’re visiting all the major markets across the country to find out who they’re "sending" to Hollywood. So, we see failure in "generic" community in this way. Surely if some of these contestants had genuine community around them someone would have prevented them from going on national television and making a fool out of themselves, right?
So we recognize that we wouldn't contact just anyone of our "friends" on Facebook in our hour of need and we wouldn't really expect legitimate honesty from those we share "generic" community. The thing we need to do now is talk about the role and importance of genuine community according to the Bible.
I once heard Matt Chandler make the following comment regarding Biblical community, "It was not the plan of God in the Scriptures at any point to create a person or group of people, to save a person. He has created and is saving a people."
Now at the end of Acts 2, verses 42-47 describe Biblical community following Peter's sermon. There are several key things we learn about Biblical community: (1) We rejoice with one another when there are times of rejoicing, (2) We mourn with one another when there are times of mourning, (3) Where anyone is in need, we help meet the need.
So while God is in the business of saving people, community is designed to sustain us...in part. We still can't overlook the most essential element of Biblical community: Gospel-Centrality.
Take a look at Romans 15:1-7.
1. You are your brother’s keeper. (V. 1)
We need a place to fight through immaturity. Surely you can think of some mature believers who have given you room over the years to be immature, right? People have put up with you in the past. We've got to learn that church isn’t a spectator sport. Real community requires personal involvement.
2. You need others to “build you up.” (V. 2-3)
We need others to tell us the truth – not just how pretty we are. The fact is you smell and you just can’t recognize it. Additionally, gospel-centered community isn’t self-serving. You need to be a part of this kind of community for the sake of others. We all play a role in helping one another along.
3. You need a gospel-centered community. (V. 4)
We find our hope in the God of the Scriptures alone! Self-help doesn’t work. The aim of gospel-centered community is magnifying Christ and learning how to apply the Gospel to every area of our lives. You also need a place to confess sin and repent from sin.
4. Your life is messy, complicated, and difficult. (V. 5-7)
It’s God working through us where we find strength/encouragement to serve one another through weakness and immaturity rather than seek to kill one another. God is the one who grants us with what we need to live in harmony with one another while working toward further sanctification.
So...
Starting praying for God to lead you toward Biblical Community and get connected to a church! Don’t spend your life moving from church to church. If you've never found one that was right...maybe the common denominator is YOU. Find a place and get involved. Find and join a small group where you can study the Bible and live life with other believers. I'll go even further and suggest that you form or find a same sex discipleship partnership where you can move through issues that might be more appropriate for same sex accountability.
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