Some Thoughts on Community

I’ve learned a few things about community over the years because on several occasions I’ve been fortunate enough to be present when it happened. One of the first lessons I learned is that community is not a commodity that can be fabricated for mass consumption. Community-in-practice (as opposed to “community-in-theory” or “community-as-cliché”) is people sharing their lives with each other. It is not an effortless way of life but I believe it is worth the struggle.

Those who are drawn into community-in-practice soon learn about interdependence. We are connected to everyone and everything else. Everything we do has an impact on the world and people around us. It takes a while for that kind of awareness to take hold since we are conditioned to think in terms of “me and mine” rather than “us” (i.e. “we are all in this together”). The rhythm of life experienced in community requires a different spirit, one of cooperation instead of competition. The illusion of total self-sufficiency has to be abandoned.

But community-in-practice is not the fruit of blind optimism. It springs from the practical knowledge that I can only discover and grow toward my truest self when I am in relationship with others. Everyone, even those who might appear to be weakest (the “least of these”), are important because they are a unique expression of the life of God that help make the community whole. We are not only connected to everyone else, we also need them.

Of course, if this way of life is so challenging and difficult why would anyone bother? When you find yourself in the midst of an emerging community (as I do now) it becomes clear that it is not simply a desirable goal but a precious gift. Community is a visible demonstration of God’s presence in the world. It is the kingdom of God (as Jesus called it) expressed in the language of human relationships. It is alive and always evolving and cannot be limited to static organizational structures. It requires a willingness to set aside our long cherished beliefs about what a community “must” or “should” be to allow room for growth into what we are being called to “become”.