Community

Chuck Swindoll is known to have said that he is hoping for 6 friends who would carry his casket without looking at their watches. I think a person who easily identifies these 6 people is a person who is living in community.

I found the following article that differentiates between having friends and living in community.

I've been thinking a lot about community lately. I'll confess I believe I'm missing a skill set. I don't really know how to form community. Is this a lost art, or is it just me? Sure, I know how to make friends. I have terrific coworkers, whom I consider friends. I have friends at church, I'm friendly with my neighbors, and we get together regularly with other families we consider our friends. Many of our friends are scattered throughout the country, and some of them overseas—but we keep in touch.

But I don't think a network of friends necessarily equals a living, breathing community of people. Come to think of it, most of my friends don't even know each other. I can bounce from one friend to another—or one group to another—without a second thought. Even my church feels like a nice weekly gathering of people I barely know. I am not surrounded by a tightly woven web of people who experience life together.

Perhaps community life has become a lost element of our society, its formation a lost art. Where are the bridge parties, ice cream socials, dinner parties, barn dances, and block parties hosted by people who actually live on the block, rather than sponsored by Pepsi?

I used to think it was weird to see silver serving sets, complete sets of beautiful china, ice buckets, crystal glasses, and other entertainment accessories in the homes of people who had been around for a while. Seemed like a waste—all those beautiful elements saved up for special occasions. Maybe it was a waste, I don't know. I'm not planning to go out a buy a silver set anytime soon. But something about it actually makes sense to me. It suggests that people valued hospitality and community, and saw those special occasions as worthy of something extra.

Community: Past, Present, and Future | Building Small Groups