community

this weekend i feel like i really experienced community the way jesus intended.

friday night elizabeth and i had dinner with three of our close guy friends from clemson. it was a really fun night, and we ended up sitting around sharing some pretty intimate situations, thoughts, and feelings, and encouraging and supporting each other. it was really great to have that kind of dinner. don't get me wrong, we were laughing so hard and loud for most of the meal that neighboring tables were giving us the "stink eye," as liz puts it. but it was still really nice to just talk and be honest and fellowship.

saturday night i went to the "young professionals" cookout with my brushy creek friends. we ate outside, and when it got dark, we lit candles and tiki torches and sat out on the deck talking. we talked about the vision for our group, we prayed together and for each other, we read scripture together, we shared what the lord is teaching us, we sang a couple of verses of "amazing grace," and we heard a testimony from one of our own. it was such sweet fellowship of building each other up, encouraging each other, and talking about jesus. we spent some time just talking about how when we meet together, we need to leave feeling as though we've met with the lord. so true! sometimes i can have the attitude of we're just going to "hangout." but that's not the attitude i should have. everytime i spend time with my brothers and sisters in christ, we should be rejoicing, celebrating, and worshipping. we should always be about the business of christ. he should always be on my tongue and in my mind and on my heart.

i think about the word "koinonia." my discipler in high school, amanda, talked about this a lot, and it's always stuck with me. koinonia is a greek word that describes the body of christ - fellowship - as it was intended. it's used a lot to describe what the early church was like (see acts 2). the early church was so beautiful.

now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. so continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising god and having favor with all the people. and the lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
-acts 2:42-47

the early church was so excited just to be together. they cherished those moments to eat together and talk and just hang out - but they were always focused on the one who had given them such sweet fellowship. they were about the business of christ all the time. what a beautiful example of the church, the way they divided up all their stuff and gave it away to each other when someone was in need. they were in "one accord" and "simplicity of heart." so much of the time i think we fail to practice having simplicity of heart, and too often get focused on things that don't matter. jesus is what matters. jesus is who brings us together. jesus is who we celebrate and praise and rejoice in. not church doctrine, not denomination, not worship styles. it's jesus.

i want just a taste - only a taste! - of what the early church experienced. i'm praying for that in my life.