Community (or something like it)

I've been thinking about this for a little while lately, and usually when I start thinking about something, I have to start writing about it. It's the way my head works. I think on paper a whole lot better than I think out loud. My real-time interface needs some fine tuning.

But since this blog thing involves writing, I should be okay.

One of the things that the modern (post-modern, whatever) church stresses these days is community. But in what ways do we actually mean "community" when we use that word? What constitutes a community? What are its characteristics?

Do communities regulate particpation, or are they open to all others? My question, I think, has a lot to do with the way in which sub-culture Christian communities interact (or don't) with neighbourhood communities.

We place a great deal of emphasis on supporting one another within the church (as, I would like to affirm, we should), but how much time do we spend doing the same things in our neighbourhoods? Aren't these the places to which we are called to minister? Aren't these the types of places Jeremiah 29 alludes to, speaking to God's children in Babylonian exile?

Our church communites are hosted by larger communities, communities we are called to serve. But how do we serve if we rarely have interaction with the outside world? Why are we not constantly seeking new ways to live our Christ-focused lives in the midst of our exile?

What would the world look like if we engaged more deeply our neighbourhood associations, our community housing organisations, our peace and security committees, parents' associations, and the rest? Are these viable ways to live out our faith in this world? Are we called to invest here?

They don't look like Christian communities, but I wonder how they can be transformed if God's hands and feet are unwilling to be the change wherever they are - to enter into these communities and groups, humbly and boldly to bring God's kingdom closer to us poor and destitute of this modern empire.