True Community

When I was with the team in Kyrgyzstan several years ago, I quickly realized that we were all very different people with different personalities all drawn together for the same purpose. The first couple of months we went along great, had fun together, and were united under the same purpose. But... everything isn't always roses and butterflies. In any relationship, conflict will make way and occur. Maybe someone gets their feelings hurt, maybe something is said that shouldn't be, maybe someone gets their choneys in a bunch, or someone else decides to isolate from the group... regardless, conflict occurs. It will always occur. However, if you survive that place of conflict with the best interest of the other person before your own... you will become united and family. Currently, I could call on any of my brothers and sisters from our Kyrgyzstan team, because we've survived together regardless of background, diversity, frustration, or life. After you survive conflict- you hit a place of true community- where before you may have said "oh I like you because your real" but afterwards you say "I love you despite how real you are. We're in this together until the end." And suddenly you find that you have a deeper sense of love, compassion and loyalty to the other person or people. Our Kyrgyzstan team is united until the end of time and will always only be a phone call away because we've survived conflict and entered into community striving toward a common purpose. There is a very rich sense of loyalty and depth that transcends distance.

Comparing cultures and lives in different places- Overseas, we long for community. We need relationships and community or we won't make it. We need to be interdependent, to love one another and to serve one another... doesn't usually matter whose job it is... if you are there and it needs to be done, you do it. Here in the states, people thrive off being independent to prove how strong they are or some other reasoning. In the states we don't long for the depth of true community, instead we plan for specific times when community would be "appropriate" and doesn't interfere with our inconvenience our schedule. As if true community were a programmatic event rather than depth in a relationship.

In the states, it seems when a relationship hits a place of conflict, the friendship and/or relationship never hits a place of true community because everyone can escape into their own independence and "not need" anyone else. And people can just leave and join another surface level grouping. I think it's the same reason that people can change churches like they change underwear. It gets a little hot in the pot and instead of believing that God may want to move your relationships to a deeper place of true community- people get offended, grouchy, moody, hurt... just leave and go enter a new surface level group of people until it gets a little hot there.

If you truly long for community, for "real" church, make commitments in your hearts that no matter how hot the kettle gets, as long as it aligns with the word.. you're in it until the end. Only then will we find true community.