Sunday, June 21, 2009

The Sixth Key Thread in Biblical Communities

In my last blog post (I apologize for the time between that one and this one), I talked of five common threads that tie together the Biblical models of Kingdom communities. Namely,

1. God is the foundation of each
2. He is the Chief and most glorious inhabitant
3. Communities suffer or are not fully realizing their potential if God is not held in His proper place
4. The earthly models of community given to us by God are to serve as "crucibles" to us becoming the community He desires for us
5. In God's communities, lived according to God's way, He brings about wholeness

There is also a sixth and probably more pronounced yet subtle thread that runs through each of these communities and that is the thread of right relationships. Community, lived out and expressed as God desires, is always about living in right relationships. It is about living in right relationships in regards to our vertical relationship (us to God) and our horizontal relationships (us to our fellow man, us to nature and us to even ourselves).

When God calls us to be a part of His community, His fellowship, He calls us to righteousness in our relationships. This righteousness is defined to us in both the written and living Word and imparted to us under the New Covenant through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, it is something that we also have to "work out" in each of our own lives, in our relationships and in our standing in God's community.

I have often quoted myself (a dangerous thing!) in something that God placed on my heart in my early Christian pilgrimage saying, "There can be no right way of living without right relationships." What I mean is that there are no "lone ranger" Christians; a call to Christ is not just an individual thing but rather and invitation to community, God's community! In addition, our horizontal relationships (to our fellow man, to creation and to ourselves) say much and show even more the status of our vertical relationship to God.

So, in summary, here are the four basic relationships that God calls us to when He calls us to His glorious salvation...

1. Ourselves to God Himself (vertical) - Recognizing God as sovereign and Lord of all yet intimately seeking fellowship/relationship with each of us.
2. Ourselves to our fellow man/woman (horizontal) - Loving our neighbor as ourself.
3. Ourselves to creation, His creation (horizontal) - A love for the Creator and a love and respect for His creation (of which we ourselves are a part)
4. Ourselves to, well, ourselves (horizontal) - Loving ourselves in a way that respects and honors God as He created us. This one has to do very much with God's view of ourselves and is a foundation for our other horizontal relationships.

Next post, I will begin discussing each of these "community threads" and what they mean to us as individuals and, more importantly, a community in God.

Until then...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Six Biblical Models of Community - The Tie that Binds

So far, we've seen the six models of community in the Bible:

6. The new heaven and earth
5. The new testament church
4. The people of Israel
3. The family
2. The garden of eden
1. God Himself

If you haven't noticed, I have them in reverse order chronologically as they appear in the Bible. It may be a little corny but I do so because it puts God Himself as the foundation to all of the models. In fact, when we look at the model communities, a number of commonalities become apparent...

1. God is the foundation of each of these communities. When we find community like it is supposed to be in the Bible and anywhere else, we will find at the heart of that model community God Himself. Sure, there are some pretty good communities out there where God is not the center. Yes, there are some amazing places and people in the world who do not acknowledge or ever follow the God we know through the Bible and through His Son, Jesus. But no matter how "good" or how "amazing" these communities, places and people are, they are just not complete, from a Biblical sense, unless the foundation is built upon God.

2. Not only is God the foundation of each of these communities, He is the chief and most glorious inhabitant of the community. He is the focus of the community. He is worthy of all praise, adoration and attention of that community. And ironically, the more we love and focus on Him as the head of community, the more He blesses with His everlasting love, grace and peace.

3. When God is not held in His proper place in community, when people/communities choose their own ways and not God's, community suffers and thus the people of that community suffer the consequences.

4. The earthly models of community given to us in God and by God are to serve as "crucibles" of our becoming the community/people who God wants us to be.

5. The "wholeness" that God brings about in community has much to say and teach us about things such as pain, death, sickness, poverty, injustice, etc.

Well, this is much for one blog. Next blog, I will begin to take on the commonalities of God's model communities one by one.

Until then...

Monday, June 1, 2009

Six Model Communities - Number 1 "God Himself"

So what is the sixth model of community in the Bible (number 1 in chronological order as it appears)? It is, amazingly, God Himself!

In Genesis 1:26, during the great creation time, God said...'Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness...' Thus, here is the perfect model of community; God Himself. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. From the beginning (and even before the beginning because there is no beginning with God), God is in community and God is community. Thus, from creation to eternity, God desires community for it is His very nature!

He knows that the best for us is found in community. But not just any community. We are only fulfilled and made complete when we participate or "community" with Him through His Son Jesus Christ and with the body of Christ, the Church. In this, we are being prepared and made perfect for an eternity in community as God has designed and will bring about.

John Eldgredge says in his book Epic, "How wonderful to discover that God has never been alone. He has always been Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has always been a fellowship." In other words, one could say that God has always been "koinonea" and at the very heart of God, is the 'common-ness' and 'participation' in the lives of those He loves namely you and me!

So far, we've seen the six models of community in the Bible:

6. The new heaven and earth
5. The new testament church
4. The people of Israel
3. The family
2. The garden of eden
1. God Himself

Next blog, I would like to begin discussing why I have them in reverse order and the common things that I see in each expression of community. Then, later on, I would like to talk more about this should affect our lives and the way we do ministry...

Until then...