“Building Community: Part 1”

Resource: “Rhythms of Life,” by Christopher S. Webb

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Hebrews 10:19-25; 1 Corinthians 15:33

Introduction: Today we start a 2-week series on “Building Community.” I believe it is important for us to do this series, because community should be at the core of what the church is to be about. Church is more than a meeting place. It is also more than a place to learn about God. It is to be a place where we build community together as God’s people.

I would like to read an experience penned by Peter Steinke, because I

believe it presents an important component of community: Steinke says, “Visiting a relative who lives on the Great South Bay off the shores of Long Island, several of us joined him for a boat ride. We were on the bay in early afternoon, enjoying the breeze and fast ride. Some dark, scattered clouds cast shadows on the water, but the sky was mostly blue. The weather forecast called for sunshine with scattered showers in the evening. But several of the dark clouds suddenly bonded together. A strong breeze accompanied the darkening sky. Within minutes, everything became gray, concealing any sight of land. The wind-driven rain made visibility even more difficult. Unable to see land, the skipper turned to his boat's compass to orient himself and the boat. Motoring slowly, he was able to dodge other boats on the bay as we headed for the now-invisible shore. Eventually, we saw partial outlines of beach houses as we approached land. Totally drenched and hyperalert on our own adrenaline, we docked at our destination. Oriented by the boat's compass, we escaped harm's way, landing safely. To be headed in a direction serves people well in life, just as it did for us on the bay.” The reason I chose to share this in regards to our talking about building community, is because being in community is not always a clear path; often times there is a cloud cover that makes for low visibility. Building community is about heading together in the same direction, with the same purpose.

So this morning we will look at setting up rules, or guidelines in regards to how we can best be in community. Today we will look at “intention, prayer, and work.” Next week we will look at “hospitality, mission, and commitment.” My hope is that at the end of these two weeks, we will have a greater understanding and resolve in regards to being in community with one another!

I. The Shape of Our Lives- (Hebrews 10:19-23)

a. More than the building- It is easy for people to think that

Church, is the building, because if this building was not here, we would be challenged in where and how to meet. The building is the visible part of the church. When we talk about Community Presbyterian Church, we say that it is at 6380 Orange Ave., in Long Beach. If we want to direct people to the church, we give them directions to this location. When we come here, we are drawn to the Sanctuary, or the CE building, or the Fellowship Hall, because this is where we MEET.

But even more than the building, it is the discipleship we receive in Jesus that is really what forms community life. The building is the place where this discipleship can take place, but the discipleship itself, that is done together, is what is to shape us. It is the worship we experience, and the prayers we lift up, and the serving together that highlight our community. It is about providing a context for Christ to be shared, and that allows us to be in a place where we can grow in our relationship with Christ and with one another. As we read in Hebrews 10:19, 22- “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

As I talk about community, this concept is nothing new. In fact, ground-breaking work was done by people like Basil of Caesarea, Benedict of Nursia, Augustine of Hippo, and Francis of Assissi. These names may not mean that much to you, but they are very important Christians in regards to moving forward this concept of community life. They have taught us that the “patterns of our activity” can lead us to have great spiritual development. Meaning, that if we set-up in our lives regular patterns of spiritual activity, then our spiritual development will happen more profoundly, as opposed to thinking that coming to church every so often will lead us to spiritual growth.

b. Being intentional- So in a moment, I’m going to talk about

some ‘community rules’ that will help us in our community building and our spiritual growth. But when I talk about these rules, don’t think of them in terms of something that confines us, but rather something that guides us. It is about creating patterns of living both as individuals, and for our sake today, as the people of God. It is about guiding us to that place that will help us to have a more “Christ-immersed” life together.

These community rules that we are going to talk about need to be specific for our congregation. While they are general rules, we need to think of them in terms of our own setting. Usually churches are very haphazard in how they try to live in community, and as such don’t have the kind of community God desires. I believe this is true of our church in many ways. We have not been intentional in how we have tried to be a “community.” Hopefully, these next two weeks will help us to do better in this.

These community rules are also meant to shape our activities, the way we follow Jesus together, and being more intentional in how we care for one another.

II. Community Rules- (Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:33)

As I said before, we need to be more intentional in building community if

community is going to exist. I remember that when I was in high school, because of the busyness of our schedules, (my family consisting of my dad, my mom, my brother, my sister, and me), we got away from eating meals together. We also got away from doing things together as a family. Consequently, for many years, our family did not have community. We existed together in the same house, but we weren’t building up our relationship with each other. As each of us children left, there was a void of family time together. In fact, just in the last few years have we re-established more “family meeting times,” which has helped to draw us closer to each other again. But we had to be intentional to make this happen.

In building the rules for our community, what each person thinks is important. Since each of us will be a part of the community, we must feel like we have a voice. If and when you have creative and constructive suggestions, it is always a good thing to share them with me or with one of the elders. I say “creative and constructive,” because community should not be a place where we are harsh with one another. We cannot follow the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” if you are harsh and negative and condescending.

It is also important, in building the community rules, for us to be creative. The rules should fit with the personality of our church, as well as the ministries and passions that we have. And we should keep it simple. The rules are meant to inspire, not to be a burden, because the goal is to draw us together in Christ, and draw us deeper into our spiritual walk with Christ.

1. Intention- There is a story of a father who took his young daughter

out for a “date breakfast.” After they had ordered and received their pancakes, they began to eat. At one point the father decided to tell his daughter how he loved her, and how her mother and he had prayed for years for her to come, and how blessed they felt to have received her as a gift from God. He told her a few more things, then reached for his fork to start eating, but before he could get the fork to his mouth, he felt his daughter’s hand on his harm, and then heard his daughter’s voice: “Longer, daddy; longer.” So he put his fork down, and told her some more reasons of why he loved her. Then he again reached for his fork, but again the daughter spoke out, saying: “Again, daddy, again.” This happened four times!

I too try and take my daughter out for a breakfast every so often for the purpose of letting her know how much I love her, and to build up our relationship by spending time together. I have been intentional about this since she was born. If we are going to be a community people, we have to be clear about our intention; about what we are to be. This intention will direct our choices.

Each church, each community, has its own diverse intentions. Benedict saw his monastery as a practical college for spiritual formation; a school for the Lord’s service where people can share in the sufferings of Christ and in His Kingdom. Augustine saw participation in the community as an end in itself; living together in harmony and being of one mind and heart. Basil sought to create an environment where attention to God could be nurtured. And Francis of Assissi desired to see people share together in the imitation of Christ, and so came up with the single phrase: “To live in obedience, in chastity, and without anything of our own, and to follow the teaching and footprints of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I believe our vision statement on the front of the bulletin (“A loving place to learn how to make a difference with your life”) and the mission statement on the back (“The mission of this church is to bring people to know Jesus Christ, to help one another grow in faith, to be committed and responsible members, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to share God’s love beyond the church”) gives us a good rule for community. I believe it sets our intention to be a place where we know Christ, help others to know Christ, love others, and seek to discover how we can make a difference for Christ. Again, it is this intention that sets us forward on our path together.

2. Prayer- All the Christian fathers agree that praying is a key

ordering principle or rule for Christian community. It is not something that should be added to the periphery or squeezed into the gaps. It should be a part of our time together. That is why we have a time of prayer each week in the church service, and why we always open and close meeting times with prayer. Also, it is why we have had special gathering times for prayer, and something we need to get back to doing again on a regular basis. Saint Benedict says it well: “Nothing is to be preferred to the work of God, “ explaining that the work of God is to have a pattern of daily worship, including prayer. Every other aspect of the community’s life is to be ordered around this cycle of prayer—prayer must never be allowed to become mere formality or duty, but to be done with heartfelt devotion.

So our foundational community rule is to establish a “rhythm of prayer.” This prayer time can take on many forms, and if any of you have suggestions from what you have heard, or seen, or experienced yourself, the leadership of this church is interested in your input! Again, we will need to develop it around the personality and profile of our church, but it is an important aspect that needs to be established.

This prayer life can look like a special prayer meeting after church (like we have done in the past), a special prayer “service,” maybe on a Sunday night or Wednesday night once a month where we sings songs and hymns and have readings, times of silence, and times of prayer. It could also be a commitment we make as God’s people to ALL pray at a certain time of the day. Augustine called this “persevering faithfully in prayer at the hours and times appointed.” Regardless of what it looks like, we need to commit to do it as God’s community.

3. Work- Third, we need to acknowledge and recognize that our daily

work is much more than something we consider to be a burden, or something that brings us a weekly check. From the beginning of time, with Adam, we see that he worked the soil, even before sin came into the world. God made our labor to be a part of who we are; a part of creation. In this work, we express the image of God, who worked for six days in creating the world.

Where this idea leads us, is that as the community of God, we don’t forget each other once we leave church, but remember each other as we are doing our daily work, and realize that our daily work is not only a part of who we are, but a part of our connection to God’s creation and God’s people. Even those who lived in monasteries had their daily work: the Desert Christians weaved baskets and had them sold at the market; the Benedictines and Cistercians tilled the soil and grew their own food; the Franciscans served the poor; the Dominicans and Jesuits often earned pay in schools and universities. In their work they lived by faith.

Last week I talked about Hebrews 10:24-25 in regards to encouraging each other. This week I mention it again: Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” When we meet together in community, we are strengthened and encouraged in a way that allows us to go out and do our work in a way that blesses the Kingdom of God. We see our work as an oppor-tunity to do good deeds, and a place where we can love others!

We need to understand that our working lives—together and apart—will contribute to the Kingdom of God being revealed among us (Remember the Lord’s Prayer, where it says ‘Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven?”). Coming together as God’s people helps us to be built up in Christ so that we have the right frame of mind and motivation to do our work “for Christ” and for His Kingdom. It also helps us to put our workplace into perspective, remembering the warning that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 15:33- “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’" The church is where we remember what we believe, and how we are to live and love, and the example we are to follow in our daily lives.

Conclusion: Mary Korzan wrote a wonderful poem called When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking: “When You Thought I Wasn't Looking, I saw you hang my first

picture on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought
it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there was a God that I could always talk to…When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s all right to cry..

This thought is true of community life as well. We might say: “When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you be friendly to a visitor, and I realized I needed to be more friendly. When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you were touched by the music, and I realized that all aspects of worship are meaningful. When you thought I wasn’t looking, you gave some money to someone who was in need, and I learned the importance of giving.

When we live in community, we learn from each other, and we encourage each other, and we pray for each other, and we remember the importance of our call to “work” for God in all aspects of life!

Our lives are shaped by many things; by our upbringing, by our family, by our friends, by our workplace, and on and on it goes. We also need to realize that God has established church life so that we can become a community of believers. In this community we are meant to share many things. Today we talked about joining toge-ther in our intention for living, our praying, and our working. Next week we’ll talk a little bit more about what it means to be the community of God together, and the difference that it can make in our church and in our lives. Amen.