How Important Is Spiritual Community?

These days, there seems to be nearly every kind of community for all kinds of interests and hobbies. There are communities for cycling, knitting, fans of certain watch brands, and fans of certain K-pop bands. People look for others who share the same interests.

I chuckled when I saw an ad from one of the presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs in the 2019 election that really captured how important community is in people’s lives today. They invited everyone from “Community of Mothers Who Hang Out at Cafes Near Their Children’s Schools,” the “Forum of Stirred and Unstirred Porridge Lovers,” to the “Alliance of Husbands Always Wrong, Wives Always Right” to come to their campaign event.

 

Spiritual Community

Community is something that has existed since humanity began, because we were created as social beings. Therefore, we can safely conclude that God indeed designed us to live in community.

I really like a quote from the book The Power of Discipling, by Gordon Ferguson:

When we study the Bible, we see that it is impossible for there to be a “loner” Christian. We play a very important role in one another’s lives.

So, is it possible for someone to want to follow Jesus, yet refuse to be in the community of believers? Here are a few things we simply cannot have without being in community.

1. Community Provides Encouragement

My husband is not very fond of exercise. But since joining a cycling community, he is willing to wake up at 5 a.m. every weekend to ride with his community. He is also motivated to keep strengthening his leg muscles so he can pedal faster.

The same was true for me. In the past, I often felt empty and wanted to repent. But when I tried to do it alone, that resolve only lasted for a while. Maybe one or two weeks, or one or two months.

When I came to know a community of people who had decided to truly follow Jesus, we encouraged one another in our repentance There were times when I fell into sin again, but this time I was not alone. There were people who encouraged me to get up  again.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

-1 Thessalonians 5:1

2. Community Is the Best Training Ground of All

In high school, I did not like Physics. I felt there was no point in learning formulas about electric current or the theory of inertia. On one occasion I visited a science exhibition and was amazed by several demonstrations of Physics theories. I realized that I used to dislike Physics because there was too much theory without ever putting it into practice.

Within a community, like it or not, we have to practice what we know. In a culinary community, members will definitely exchange information and try new food places. In a photography community, besides sharing photography tips, the members surely go hunting for photos together.

Do not let the word of God remain merely knowledge for us. Spiritual community is the best place to practice it. For example, there are 59 “one another” verses in the Bible. Community sharpens us to loveone another, to admonishintercede for one another, and forgive one another and much more.

“By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you one another love.”

-John 13:35

3. In Community There Are Always Teachers and Students

Within a community, we can always learn from others. We can also share our experiences and help others grow.

Not long ago, I had a conversation with an older spiritual sister who has been married for nearly 30 years. All this time I had thought she was indifferent and quiet. But after talking for a while, I saw that she was actually a woman of calmness. Spirit-wise, she reminds me of 1 Peter 3:4 about a woman with a gentle and peaceful spirit.

I learned so much from her about the right response in dealing with a husband and children.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”

-Proverbs 27:17

4. In Community There Is Accountability

Within a community, its members share at least some common values. Every member hopes the others will use those standards as their benchmark.

Within a community of Christians, we are responsible for keeping watch over one another so that we live according to God’s standards. There may be times when this feels bothersome. I remember once feeling annoyed because my spiritual mentor asked me every day about my quiet time But after speaking heart to heart and prayingtogether , I realized that she only wanted to make sure my priorities were right. I was grateful because she had gone to such trouble to help me.

I also once felt uneasy when I had tofollow up on the repentance of a sister who confessed her sinto me. As it turned out, that sister felt she needed someone to remind her, and she wasgrateful for the follow-up I gave.

Brothers and sisters, even if someone is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual, must restore that person gently, while watching yourselves so that you also may not be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens!

-Galatians 6:1-2

One Body but Many Members

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

-1 Corinthians 12:12

Can a body live without a head, or can a hand function apart from the body? Maybe only in horror movies...

God likens the church to one body, with Christ as the head and each of us as its members. When we look at our body, every inch has a function, and we do not want to lose even the smallest part of it. The same is true of Christians. We can only function when we are part of the body. So, spiritual community is not merely important for us to have. Spiritual community is something we must have. Together with a spiritual community, we can grow to the fullest according to what God has designed. I am reminded of a famous African proverb. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The Bible itself records so beautifully what can be accomplished by a community of believers when they function together as one body.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship. And they always gathered to break bread and to pray. Everyone was filled with awe, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs.

All the believers stayed together and had everything in common, and there were always some who sold their possessions and distributed the proceeds to everyone according to each person’s need. With perseverance and with one heart, they gathered every day in the temple courts. They broke bread from house to house in turn and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God. And they were favored by all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

-Acts 2:41-47

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