WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?
Part 5: Creating Christian Community

Dr. Richard J. Henderson June 19, 2005

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John 13:34-35
Romans 12:3-16

Introduction

Being a community is difficult; being a Christian community in our world is more difficult. Several years ago, Bill Moyers made a television documentary about religious communities in America.

In one of the churches, he found a very close community, where people cared deeply about each other, and put the good of each other before their own personal wishes.

In that church, there was a couple who was having serious marital difficulties. The husband had had an affair and they separated. They still loved each other but couldn't get beyond the anger.

Leaders from the church met with both the husband and wife. They listened to the anger and betrayal the wife felt. They understood the devastation she experienced when the sacred bond of marriage had been broken.

The leaders talked to the husband. They heard his regret, self-loathing, remorse. The church leaders then met with the couple together. They talked about what they had heard, the issues involved, and then they said, "You have to get back together. To the husband they said, "You must permanently end any infidelity." They said to the wife, "You must forgive him."

This community was so close that they stepped in to work with a couple, to help put their marriage back together. The church went beyond dealing with individuals and became an extended family... even a family which would step in during a crisis.

I

This example is an extreme situation, but it points to the difference between a church where individuals come to worship for an hour, and a community of people bound together, caring about what happens to each other. Whatever limitations it might have, this community supported and guided each other. It's the difference between independence and interdependence.

In our scripture today, we read Paul's words about building a Christian community. He says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another."

To be a Christian Community is to share the joy and pain that others are going through. It is to step outside our individual cares, and become a family that supports, encourages, and challenges each other.

II

Christ created a community of people. When Jesus was on earth, one of the first things he did was call together the disciples. While there were twelve disciples, there were also many more people who weren't designated one of the twelve but who were faithful disciples traveling with Jesus. Several of those followers were important women in the Bible. Jesus called people together for a reason. He knew people need the strength, learning, and challenges that we can offer each other.

A man had a large rock in his backyard. He had mowed around it for years, but was really tired of it. One time when the family gathered at his house for a picnic, he mentioned what a pain it was. One of his brothers said. "Where is it? Let's see it." He showed them. "Hey," the brother shouted to the other family members, "We can move this thing, can't we?" They rolled up their sleeves and gathered around the big old rock. They gripped under it, counted "1...2...3..." and lifted the rock and carried it to the woods behind his house. The man never had to worry about it again.

In some ways, being a Christian community is like that. We just carried away a $25,000 rock!

The Stephen Ministry program which is just beginning in our church is a huge step toward a greater community. It is people caring for each other. It involves putting the needs of others ahead of our own needs. The fact that we have Prayer Partners here every Sunday is a sign of the strength of our community. We are not just individuals who drop by on a Sunday morning; we care about each other.

III

One of the great things about being together in community is that we learn from each other. In our lives, we can be insulated. When we give ourselves to each other, we learn from other people.

A woman came to church who had just recently become a Christian. She signed up for classes to learn about the Bible. She joined discussions to grow in her faith. She learned a great deal in a short period of time from the other people around her. And the people learned a great deal from her. She brought a fresh perspective to Bible study. She asked questions that had never occurred to the people who have known these stories from the time they were in Sunday school. She questioned some assumptions that no one in the class had ever questioned before. Suddenly, the discussions were a lot livelier, and everybody was growing.

We need each other in order to grow and to widen our vision. Several years ago, when we lived in Northville, we had a narrow strip of land beside the driveway where we planted a small garden. I love corn-on-the-cob; so I planted a couple of corn plants in that garden. That's when I learned that if you plant one stock of corn you will never get an ear of corn from it. You have to plant lots of corn together if you want it to produce. It has to cross-pollinate. Each stock has to share part of what it has with the others around it. When they do that, they all thrive and are productive.

Conclusion

A couple of weeks ago we went to see the movie Crash. It is a difficult and harsh movie, but one that makes you think. Its basic message is about our hidden and not so hidden prejudices. It is also about individualism and community. In one of the final scenes, the county prosecutor's wife (played by Sandra Bullock) falls down a flight of stairs and seriously hurts herself. She calls her closest friend - whom she has known since childhood - and asks for help. Her friend says she can't come because she's right in the middle of getting a massage.

Finally, the woman calls her Hispanic housekeeper, a woman whom she has degraded with racial slurs earlier in the movie. The woman has to go to great effort to come and help her get to the emergency room.

After she has been treated, Bullock hugs the housekeeper and says to her, "You are my best friend." That scene may represent the result of self-absorbed, self-indulged lives. It shows what the absence of community is like. We are called by Christ into Christian community; we are called together to care for, help, challenge, and comfort each other.

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2005