Community

Based on the comments on last night's blog (Lonely), I'm not unusual in feeling like I don't have the kind of deep friendships I desire. I was thinking more about this today, about how in nearly any sitcom, you'll see those kinds of deep friendships, and yet that doesn't seem to reflect life. But I think it's in sitcoms because it's appealing. It hits at a desire we all have, and yet few have achieved. So we watch fictional characters and live vicariously through them. But ultimately, we still feel empty, because we're not engaging in true relationships.

And along with those thoughts today, I've been thinking about church. I heard Brian Haynes (author of Shift) talk today about what your church values, and as I listed the values of our church it made me think. Dan and I have been going to our church for a year and a half now, and while we've met some wonderful people there, I don't feel like relationships and community building is a high priority. It's a great church with some awesome values, but that particular area is lacking and it's something I really need in order to have a fuller walk with Christ.

So we're talking about looking for another church that values that more. And yet, I wonder if any church really does. I've talked before about the fact that I find church boring. We have a fabulous pastor who teaches truth in a practical way. But ultimately, I can count on two fingers the times I've been transformed by passively listening to any speaker. But the number of times I've been transformed by a relationship? Countless. The number of times I've been transformed by a really good conversation? Innumerable.

And yet the church model is to passively sit and listen. This doesn't seem to be the model found in the Bible - at least not at its core. Sure, people preached. (People also fell out the window and died listening to preaching.) But at its core, the church was community. People who ate together, lived together, did life together. Sometimes I feel like Sunday morning services get in the way of that kind of church.

I've blogged similar things before but I've been thinking afresh about this. I'm just so hungry for a church that is, at its core, a community. A body. A family.

We're not sure we're cut out for the house-church movement. Any other suggestions?