Growing Community

Our circle of people who are followers of Christ but not part of a brick and mortar church is growing. We connected with and spent some get-to-know-you time yesterday with a family of SEVEN kids! They've been attenders of a brick and mortar church before but have discovered that "home church" (for lack of a better word) has been much more fulfilling for their lives.

When we got home last night, I began to process what was happening in our lives through the community lens. In other words, judging our current situation on the basis of whether we are really doing life together with other folks on a faith journey. I believe we are. Last night was not a formal accountability meeting by any means. But, as I watched the interaction of the parents with six of their seven kids, not to mention the interactions of the six kids, I felt compelled to alter parts of my life. Neither of the parents sat down with me and said, "Here's a change you need to make in your life . . ." Their example did it and it wasn't a planned action on their part.

As our circle grows both in number and in closeness, there will come a time when somebody may actually lovingly confront us about something. We will do the same for them I'm sure. It's all about relationships and that's a natural extension of the Core. What happened last night on a very surface level can happen on a deep level. As relationships grow and deepen, their effects grow and deepen.

As the circle begins to include people who are not on a faith journey, the spiritual effects will begin to show. Someone once said that Christianity is more caught than taught. I agree. That's how it happened for me. It's how it has happened for a lot of people I know. It's all part of growing community.