I’ve had a blessed life. I have had the privilege of going to church for all 25 years of my life and being a full out Christ follower for 17 of those years. I grew up in the church, served in the church and now am a full-time pastor at a church.
Growing up I loved the inner-workings of the church. I loved the way things came together in different ministries. I loved the hard work that it took to make an impact on somebody’s life through an event, etc.
But I must say, while I don’t discredit any of those years, there are some things that were ingrained in my head as I was growing up that I feel like I’m realizing now are not as true as I thought they once were.
Before I ramble on too much, let me share with you what my mind has been wandering through lately. That is the aspect of community. For so long I’ve been fed that community is communing with others at church, at small group, or a Bible Study. I believe these are all true. I believe that these are great ways to build community.
However, I’ve been fed in the past that this is the best and only ways to create community among other believers. My mind has changed and I totally disagree with that.
Those areas of community listed above are great, but I find more and more the times where I build community with those in my church and in my student ministry are outside the confines of structured church activity. Now, please understand, I’m not pushing church, small groups, and bible studies by the wayside, but I think we should re-think community.
When we look at Scripture, yes, Jesus goes to the synagogue and yes, he’s building relationships through his teachings, but what about the times he just chilled with people at their house? What about the countless interactions he had with people while just walking to His next destination?
I don’t know what you think, but these thoughts have been rolling around in my mind constantly lately.


