I need community – so do you!
I had an opportunity to serve some awesome folks in our GRACE Group from Coastal Oaks Church tonight by helping them move. If you know me, you know my absolute distaste for moving, but Stephen and Jody are great and I am still able-bodied until Aug. 29th (my 30th birthday), so it was my pleasure to help out. Another thing you probably know if you know me, and know that I’ve moved several times, is that the largest reason for my distaste for moving isn’t the move – it’s the lack of help I typically receive.
If you’ve ever moved, be it across town or across the country, you know good help is invaluable. You can’t even think about paying good help enough to compensate them fairly. You probably also know that bad help, although somewhat helpful, can be a bigger detriment than compliment and serve to make the experience more excruciating and agonizing.
The experiences of the evening and the efficiency that flowed through the group of 9 of us that were moving the Summers belongings caused me to ponder a few things about the necessity of community as I see it, both in Scripture & in my life. The longer I am a part of the Bride of Christ (the Church), the deeper this truth is ingrained in my brain, and I’m to the point now where I could not imagine my life without the regular input of my local group of Christ-following friends, and specifically without the input of the smaller group of people I have come to know more intimately. I’m calling it community – feel free to use whatever terminology you wish. The idea I have in my mind is the Greek word “koinonia” (pronounced “coy-nuh-nee-uh” – Wikipedia). 
It is as necessary to my spiritual life and fulfillment as breathing is to staying alive and upright. Here are the biggest benefits of community from my life experience…
1. Friendship – Life-long friendships are the result of like-minded people investing regularly in each others lives. Many of the lasting friendships I’ve formed over the years where formed within the context of Christian community.
2. Accountability – Many refuse to invest, or invest minimally, in a Christ-following community because of #2, but if you’ve been trying to follow Jesus Christ for very long, you probably already know it’s an extremely difficult path to walk. In fact, the Bible calls the way “narrow” ( Matthew 7:13). Accountability is not a group of people holding each others wrongs against them, but it serves as an encouragement to those trying to walk the “straight and narrow”.
Just in case you need it, here are some Scriptures that support the point presented…
1. Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
2. Acts 4:32-35
3. Hebrews 10:19-25
So what now? If you’re not already doing so, here’s how you get started: 1/pray that God would direct you to a group of like-minded believers with whom you could share your life, 2/decide to do it and then do it, and 3/invest regularly and withhold nothing – you can’t expect growth without transparency and regular investment. It really is that easy. 
