Community is...
Messy.
Needed.
Essential.
Ugly.
Frustrating.
Rewarding.
Gruesome.
Awesome.
Painful.
Perfect.
Disfunctional.
Whatever it may be to you at the moment give it a second and it will likely change. Community is not a static thing, never changing. It is a dynamic organism that is constantly in a state of change.
And no matter how great your community used to be, it will never go back to that place because community is made up of ever changing humans who are faulty at times.
I am learning a lot about community and relationships right now. I love community. I love being a part of a Tribe. I love belonging, we all do. Inside each and every one of us is the desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves made up of people that we love and that love us. It is wired into all of our DNA.
I especially love being a part of a tribe called The Grove. The Grove is the Young Adult Ministry at The Rock Church in Castle Rock, Colorado that I get to lead and be a part of.
It is teaching me and has taught me so much about community and relationships. I get the joy of working with people to fix relationships and community.
When The Grove started I remember talking with my wife Kelly about how I didn't want to do another Bible Study or Church Service even though those are amazing and needed I told her I wanted to do life with people who were in love with Jesus and who wanted to make a difference. Some days I have wished we were simply a Bible Study that didn't do life together because to be honest, community sucks at times.
Our Tribe at The Grove is as diverse as any group of people I have ever seen. It is as loving and caring as any group I have ever been a part of. At times it has also been the most brutal, ugly, tense, scary, and frustrating group of people I have ever been a part of.
We are all a part of a community, the people you work with, the neighbors that surround you, your family, your friends, your guys night out buddies, your bachelorette ladies, your church, your support group. Whatever it is we all live in community to some level, we fight for some communities we are a part of and others we let come and go without thinking twice.
At the end of the day no matter what is going on in the midst of our tribe and community, good or bad, I am grateful to be a part of it. I am grateful for a Tribe that Loves Jesus and loves to make a difference. I love being a part of a tribe that has to work on relationships because I know that it shows that we are committed to doing life together. It also breaks my heart when people choose not to work hard at being a part of community, because I know how community has changed my life and has the potential to change all of our lives.
Seek all your days to add value to the tribes and communities you are a part of and live every day grateful to be surrounded by people who believe in you and at their core do want the best for you even if on the surface they don't portray it.
"34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34-35