Community

Community

 

Is your church a Crowd of Consumers or Community? How about you? Do you "consume" church? That is, come to get fed. To be a "taker?" Or do you see yourself as part of a community; gathering to form deep commitments with God and others? Living in a reciprocity of sacrificially giving as well as taking?

 

The following is one bullet point of the Vision Statement of Parish Church of St Mary and Harlow Hill (Anglican,) Church of England found at http://kairoschurch.net/about-us

 

"Community not consumer" – it is all too easy to have a 'feed me' attitude when it comes to church. We aren't about coming to consume a product – we say that church is a lot more than that.  It is about followers of Jesus gathering in the expectation that Jesus is the one "in whom all our hungers are satisfied".

 

Typically, in the fall, churches emphasize Stewardship. This is due to the proximity of Thanksgiving Day. Stewardship is the releasing of ones gifts for the benefit of others under the direction of God (who gave the gifts.) Stewardship is a life strategy of community people. It is hard to be generous without community and it is hard to be in true community without being generous.

 

How might you (and your church) be more community building and be less consuming today?