Here's the September article for St. Stephen's Newsletter, The Sounds.
THE LONG VIEW
Why We are Better Together
Why We are Better Together
Community. It seems like a no brainer doesn’t it? We need each other. Life was never designed to be done alone. Now, we all kind of know that. And we may even seek out community intentionally. But it can be a difficult conversation to have here in the States where we are defined by things like The Declaration of Independence, and The Bill of Rights, articles that protect the rights of individuals and perhaps less so communities. I’m not arguing over whether or not these documents are good things. They are. Unequivocally. But I have to wonder how our society would look different, less litigious, and more cooperative if The Declaration of Independence had been The Declaration of Interdependence.
As we hit the ground running with the Power of One, 40 Days of Community Campaign here in September, this is what we’ll be tackling together in conversation, in small groups, in worship, and as we do mission together in our communities. We in fact DO need each other for this journey of faith. Not only that, we are BETTER together in this journey of faith than we are by ourselves. It’s the way God designed us.
So here are some of the key concepts that we’ll be interacting and wrestling with…things for you to begin to process right now as you try to decide whether or not you should be involved in this ongoing small group effort here at St. Stephen:
1. You need others to WALK with you in this life of faith
2. You need others to not just walk with you but to WORK with you in this life of faith
3. You need others to WAIT AND WEEP with you in this life of faith
4. You need others to WATCH OUT for you in this life of faith
5. You need others to WITNESS with you in this life of faith
As we journey in community together…at the very least we will discover these things:
6. Community is God’s answer to LONELINESS
7. Community is God’s answer to FATIGUE
8. Community is God’s answer to DEFEAT
9. Community is God’s answer to DESPAIR
10. God’s answer to fear is COMMUNITY
I want to invite you all into a new, ongoing, transformative sort of journey. It’s the sort of journey that will take you deep in to community, and where YOU will discover that YOU are better when you are together with others in Christ.
Passionate for you and for Jesus,
Pastor Nathan
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2 comments:
You make some important points when listing the key concepts that each of us will be dealing with during the 40 Days of Community. For some of us who feel we are active and enjoy participating in communal projects and activities, facing these five concepts may be more challenging than we might anticipate. I suspect that for me, it might be difficult to accept my “need” for others to be part of my life of faith. Some of us are used to feeling that our faith is so personal that involving “others” might be more than we can easily accept or handle. It strikes me that these 40 Days could end up being more than a community experience and become an educational experience – one in faith education.
Dennis...it's terrific to have feedback. And I hope that this not only takes us into deeper community, but greater understanding of why the "we" of faith is essential. See you this weekend.
Peace!
Padre
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