The great state of Tex-afornia

Belonging
I have been reading "The Search to Belong" By Joseph Myers. The book speaks of belonging and community in and outside the church. One of the ideas he has is that we Christians want to shove people into small groups because we think that small groups (or adult fellowships for that matter) are the answer to all of the angst and loneliness we experience. Forced community may not necessarily be the silver bullet for our need to belong.

I feel this very closely. For four years in college I was involved in probably the most committed small ever. None of the meetings (sometimes once every three days) were missed. Yet, as some of us can confess, that small group didn't experience what I would describe as true "community". Time + commitment does not a community make.

Yet, in the couples group my wife and I are in I look at some of the couples who can't (or don't) come to every event. Part of me just wishes they would "be committed". I think I have been having the wrong attitude. I have been trying to force others to experience something they don't want to experience. Not everyone wants intimacy with others. Some just want to feel a part of the crowd, much like fans at a football game.

I guess the point is that maybe we in the church need to blur the lines between the "out" and "in" mentality. We quickly say that because a person doesn't come regularly they must not really be a part of the group. Let's stop making distinctions and let people belong in their own way.

posted by Kevin @ 10:22 AM