Previous Post – Coming Alongside, Not Above

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece called “The Community Coming To Be Known As Missional” (with explanations in several parts- part 1 & part 2 & part 3).  It is a piece that I am still proud of and often refer to as I seek God in my life and the life of my community, Little Flowers.  It has been a beacon for us for sometime.

However, this morning I felt the need to re-visit some of these dynamics is respect to the realities of being a part of a new faith community, especially in our inner city context.  It may sound cynical to some, but that is not my intention.  Rather, I hoped it would be synthesis of our passionate ideals and honest struggles.  As a result it isn’t as articulate or polished as the previous piece (something that is difficult for the writer in me to leave), but I think that is part of the story.

The Community Longing To Be The Church

Let me introduce you to The Community Longing To Be The Church.  There are many of us, but too often we feel very much alone.

We are community because we are all too aware of our need for others and for God.  We are a community that prefers walking together, even in our brokenness, than being alone in a pretense of togetherness.  We are united by relationship and longing, not achievement or strength.

For us, generosity is a matter of survival, for without each other, many of us would go hungry.  We try to give what we have to each other, though our selfish nature regularly rears its head in very “reasonable” rationalization.  We offer hospitality, opening our homes and lives to welcome the other, though we don’t always like the smells and we too often keep a hand guardedly on our stuff.  But we try and we are blessed and humbled in the process.

We are The Community Longing To Be The Church.  Our success is measured by our faithfulness to God, each other our neighbours and (when we find the time) Creation- which is a stretch in the midst of busy lives and broken relationships.  We celebrate even the smallest triumphs of life and faith, because the small victories are all we can hope for at the moment.  We’ll leave the revolution to the better equipped.

We are ruthlessly committed to people over programs, and since the latter generally requires money (of which we have little), that is probably a good thing.  We cooperate and co-create, trying to resist the impulse to let “the leaders” do it all.  Sometimes we are even successful in said resistance.  We know what is ideal, but need to want it enough to pay the price.

We are The Community Longing To Be The Church.  Each among us wants to lead, but most of us like the authority more than the responsibility.  We believe that everyone has something valuable to bring, so we work hard to embrace and celebrate each person.  We are tested in this by the idiocy, immaturity and inexplicable behaviour that everyone displays at one time or another.  We believe we will find Christ in them, but it is very hard to do at times- as hard as it is for others to see Him in us.

We learn to live with the contradictions and inconsistencies among us, not out of defeat or lack of caring, but out a realism born of experience.  We find in those differences, instead of division, the seeds of learning, humility and love, even when born out of conflict among us.  His grace is ever needed as we seek to come together in His image.

We are The Community Longing To Be The Church.  We live in the paradox of longing to become while already being.  We are the Church.  We are the Body.  And yet we are so far from it.  In this tension- in our sin and selfishness- we discover our desperate need for God and even, often grudgingly, for each other.  We love God with all our hearts, but those hearts are divided.  So we come together, through His Spirit to seek the love of the Father as we seek to become more like the Son.  And we see that this is achieved in the chaos and brokenness of the Cross.  Our hope is that, as we are poured out by and for Him, we can become the community He has created us to be.  It is here that we discover the deeper truth:

We are The Community Longing To Become Christ.