Thoughts, quips, meditations and admonitions from The FoM.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Series of important questions
What is community? If community is who you run into naturally, is the fom your community? Is it mine? I don't know. Perhaps, this is an important question.
A good point, Asher. However, if a person is a car salesman, and he sees his co-workers on average 40 hours a week, his responsibilty is to that community, not someone he finds himself obligitorily seeing once a week on Sunday, right?
In a sense, yes, but that should not exclude everyone that God brings into our lives. Should we only share our lives with those we have the most contact with?
The best thought I have heard on community was written by Deitrich Bonhoeffer, he wrote, "Community is destroyed by the one who tries to create it, but community is created by one who loves those around him."
I think you should create community with those at the theatre, and you should create community your neighbors and anyone who God brings into your life. Maybe I have a simpletons view of things.
I'd like to point out that work relationships are more tolerant of each other out of self service and obligation, than community. I know that's not the exact point you were making, but it should be more of a question of how free I am to love people.
I'm not asking for advice. The idea of being vulnerable in conversation is not that the commentor wants advice. Christians are so often guilty of trying to fix things, it's one of the great tragedies of American Christianity. You're input is well appreciated.
understood. I apologize if I came across as a "fixer." I wrestle with these types of questions frequently, and about the FOM specifically.
Most of my life growing up, I have always felt on the "outside" of any community I belonged to, many times I still do. Lately, I have been wondering if my attitude of 'Simply love everyone' is escapism or surrender.
I think it's important to distinguish between simply "community" and a "missional community." I guess the ideal situation is that those who are most geographically near are also those who I share a common mission and some shared beliefs that drive that mission. You could create community at work, and hopefully it becomes a missional community.
Posts
8 comments:
I guess that's a good way of looking at it, so long as we don't get into the habit of avoiding others.
A good point, Asher. However, if a person is a car salesman, and he sees his co-workers on average 40 hours a week, his responsibilty is to that community, not someone he finds himself obligitorily seeing once a week on Sunday, right?
In a sense, yes, but that should not exclude everyone that God brings into our lives. Should we only share our lives with those we have the most contact with?
The best thought I have heard on community was written by Deitrich Bonhoeffer, he wrote, "Community is destroyed by the one who tries to create it, but community is created by one who loves those around him."
I think you should create community with those at the theatre, and you should create community your neighbors and anyone who God brings into your life. Maybe I have a simpletons view of things.
I'd like to point out that work relationships are more tolerant of each other out of self service and obligation, than community. I know that's not the exact point you were making, but it should be more of a question of how free I am to love people.
I'll open this up to everyone else now. I'm not sure who reads this.
LOL. Love your questions friend.
I'm not asking for advice. The idea of being vulnerable in conversation is not that the commentor wants advice. Christians are so often guilty of trying to fix things, it's one of the great tragedies of American Christianity. You're input is well appreciated.
understood. I apologize if I came across as a "fixer." I wrestle with these types of questions frequently, and about the FOM specifically.
Most of my life growing up, I have always felt on the "outside" of any community I belonged to, many times I still do. Lately, I have been wondering if my attitude of 'Simply love everyone' is escapism or surrender.
I think it's important to distinguish between simply "community" and a "missional community." I guess the ideal situation is that those who are most geographically near are also those who I share a common mission and some shared beliefs that drive that mission. You could create community at work, and hopefully it becomes a missional community.
Post a Comment