Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb...

You have to be careful with the word community. In many ways it falls prey to the over-clarification we discussed in the "label posts" a couple of weeks ago. What does one mean by community? When we talk about community that is specific to the Church or community that is specific to the way of Jesus, there are some definitions of community we must abandon. We are not talking about a neighborhood as in “This is a great community with a low crime rate." We are not referring to a distinct segment of the population as in the “gay community” or the “Asian community.” We are not even referring to a group of people with similar interests like “the scientific community,” the “art community,” or the “racquetball community.” Community in the way of Jesus is not a social club such as a country club or fraternity that offers benefits to its “members.” Rather, I am advocating a community of sharing, participation, and fellowship. I love the image of the Body the Apostle Paul uses so often in his letters (Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 10:17 and 12:12-27, Ephesians 4:1-25, Colossians 1:18 and 3:15). The body functions because of the intricate workings of each part. The sinuses, the toes, the bowels, the eyes, the ribs, the spleen, the knees, the shoulders, the veins, the fingernails, the heels. All do what they are supposed to do, and the body thrives. Take out a lung, throw it in a bucket, and the lung becomes useless - a mass of rotting tissue. Take out the stomach, throw it in a bucket, and the body has some serious problems. The body exists for its members; the members for the body. It is an interdependent relationship. Some parts of the body (like the liver) are quiet and unassuming. They don't say a whole lot. Some parts (like the brain) give direction and speak out quite a bit. Some parts (like the kidneys) quietly cleanse the body. And some parts (like the heart) give the life blood to the rest of the body. Each plays its own part. Even blogs become bodies (or communities) in this sense. There is me. I write the posts and get the conversation started. There are the folks like Shantell, Puck, Word 80, Doc, Bonnie, and edubbs who eagerly comment, pumping the life blood of the body and keeping the conversation moving. There are the folks (many of them named above) who post disagreements and often cleanse the impurities from the conversation. There are the ladies in SC who read frequently but never comment, contributing in unassuming ways. And there are other folks like TJ, Tony, and leoskeo who chime in on occassion; you don't really know they are there until they "speak up."

The body is also powerful. It keeps the individual members from moving in an unwanted or wrong direction. If the knee wants to go swimming, but the calf muscles refuse to lift the heels off the pavement and the shoulders and arms refuse to create the momentum, there is no way that body is jumping into a swimming pool. If the head would really like to run a 5K but the legs, heart, lungs, and sweat glands aren't conditioned for it, the body just won't reach the 5K mark. (In this regard, the Hear the Yawp community spoke loudly through her silence last week on the "Inerrancy" post! We will not go there again.)

Whether you read and applaud on your own, read and comment regularly, read and quietly become irritated, read and comment irregularly, read and become motivated to start other conversations, or read and bash me with your friends, you are welcome here...as long as you read. If you aren't reading... What am I saying? I can't address someone who is not reading!

The point is, community shapes us. By reading this, you are being shaped in some way. By commenting, you are shaping me and all who read. This is community.