Waiting for Organic to Happen

I'm currently working on assignment of sorts with four other people, discussing the whys and hows of Christian community. I'm glad to be a part, as it's a topic that has captured by attention for some time now.

No matter how many times I read Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I am struck by how he highlights Christian community for the extraordinary and unique thing that it is. It's usually not exactly what you think it is, nor is it exactly what you think you want, nor is it necessarily easy to attain.

And in these current discussions we're discovering community as the means for transformation, one of the primarily modes of advancing our sanctification. At the risk of throwing one good thing out for another, I think it's still fair to say you won't become more like Jesus just by reading more books or doing more Bible studies or listening to more podcasts or getting more seminary degrees. No, you will become like Jesus by blundering your way through life next to brothers and sisters who love you enough to welcome you and love you enough to exhort you.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Ephesians 4:11-14 says that God has gifted each one of us differently for a specific purpose: so that we will all be equipped for ministry, and so that we will reach unity, maturity and stability in Christ. How does that happen? Verse 15 says by "speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."

We grow into Christ specifically by one person speaking the truth to another in love. My experience tells me it's something we say often but rarely do well. When was the last time you lovingly spoke the truth to someone? When was the last time someone lovingly spoke the truth to you?

But in this group that's been discussing, we started a list of why this sort of Christian community doesn't happen. One reason captured by attention, surprised me, because my generation--who talks an awful lot about community--is guilty.

One reason community doesn't happen: we aren't specific, clear, or intentional enough because we're waiting for something spontaneous and organic.

We want something organic. Somewhere along the line we decided something isn't real unless it's organic, feels natural. We can't force it, can't control it, can't contain it, can't dictate it, because then it wouldn't be authentic. If we put too many constraints on it, give too many directives, it would no longer be genuine.

But waiting around for real, transformative Christian community to 'just happen' is kind of like waiting for a beautiful rosebush to naturally spring up in your back yard. The real thing takes hard work and intentional care, everything else is just weeds.

Because what really happens when we wait for something organic? It seems to me we are leaving things up to a feeling or to our natural desires. And left to ourselves, we will rarely choose real, transformative community, knowing it will constantly force us out of hiding and into the light, it will lead to vulnerability, conflict, confession, admission of wrong, tough love and costly forgiveness.

Those things are threatening and uncomfortable, and so most of us would prefer to hide on Facebook. Organic rarely gets us past the surface of status updates; it maintains a distance that avoids the hard stuff. Organic may give us a good time with people who are just like us, but it will never push us to the "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

The other thing that's slowly being revealed? I love talking about God's design for community, but have rarely taken part, rarely led the way.