Aug. 20th

Hi everybody!



Over the last several weeks, C3 has been discussing what it means to live in community- with God, and with each other. You may be asking yourself, "why talk about it, when you should be doing it?" The best answer I can give, is to simply say that both are happening. Certainly each time we meet together, we are building community. But a church is so much more than the sum of its corporate gatherings; some of my favorite parts of being a community happen as you simply live life together.

I'm talking about the everyday stuff that brings people together: going to someones home; a trip to the park; seeing a ball game; sharing a meal; playing music together (there's a lot of musician's in our group). But it's also the everyday stuff that we don't always think about: running an errand for someone else; watching someones kids; helping with a home or car repair; just being there. Sometimes the best way community is built is by serving.

So why not just "live it? Why "talk" about it too?" Primarily because our society has slowly been redefining what community is and as a result, we too often end up settling for something that encourages "proximity," but not necessarily involvement. In other words, we have lots of opportunities to be around people, but not so many opportunities to actually share life. That may seem safer- to keep us insulated and minimize risk- but ultimately, real community involves a level of closeness, and that means risk. I doubt anyone ever wants hurt or pain. But without the risk, we can never really find healing; friendship; love. Without risk, we aren't living; we're just existing.

So, we talk about community at C3 because we want it to be real and tangible- an authentic expression of our life together. And we want it to flow out of us so that people will not merely "feel welcome" when they visit; wherever we are, we want our very lives to be the welcome .

Will you join us in praying for that this week? It's a prayer for all of us who follow Christ!

In Him We Live,

Jeff