Weekly Theme November 16 through 22

Community not Organization

 “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. “

-Philippians 1:3-6

There is a huge difference between a community and an organization.  A community is focused on people and relationships.  Community can and should have some level of organization so that it can function, but maintaining and preserving the organization is not the dominant feature of a true community.  In a community people share life together, they just don’t take care of and service the organization.

A community, particularly a Christian community, should have a mission and a vision but that mission and vision is about people and connecting people to Jesus Christ.  When it comes to the church it should primarily be a group of people who have the common goal of following Jesus and living life together to help one another achieve that goal.  The church should have some organizational characteristics to help it achieve its mission and vision but the organization will not be the central focus. 

Organization is about operations and function.  Christian community is about people, relationships, and transformed lives.