Comments on: what doth a community make? http://kenwilsononline.com/2008/04/04/what-doth-a-community-make/ one step closer Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:23:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: steven hamilton http://kenwilsononline.com/2008/04/04/what-doth-a-community-make/#comment-138 steven hamilton Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:02:59 +0000 http://kenwilsononline.com/?p=88#comment-138 george, i think you see it clearly re: suburbia. it's really difficult. we do live in an age of commuter christianity; and the structures re-enforced in suburbia, like single-family dwellings for instance, kind of pull us in a certain direction...away from community and communitas. no longer do we live with the wisdom of several generations living together loosely. no longer is there a shared burden of living that frees everyone for more time to do other things...the current situation in suburbia sets up and situation that calls forth more responsibility from fathers and mothers (so that they have to work extra to make money to contract out babysitting and child-rearing) and that takes time and energy away from family, from church family, and from being the good news to our neighbors. we live in isolation in suburbia...and its killing us as we try to substitute virtual friends and lovers from real...i agree, there has to be more george, i think you see it clearly re: suburbia. it’s really difficult. we do live in an age of commuter christianity; and the structures re-enforced in suburbia, like single-family dwellings for instance, kind of pull us in a certain direction…away from community and communitas. no longer do we live with the wisdom of several generations living together loosely. no longer is there a shared burden of living that frees everyone for more time to do other things…the current situation in suburbia sets up and situation that calls forth more responsibility from fathers and mothers (so that they have to work extra to make money to contract out babysitting and child-rearing) and that takes time and energy away from family, from church family, and from being the good news to our neighbors. we live in isolation in suburbia…and its killing us as we try to substitute virtual friends and lovers from real…i agree, there has to be more

]]> By: George Polcaster http://kenwilsononline.com/2008/04/04/what-doth-a-community-make/#comment-137 George Polcaster Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:52:45 +0000 http://kenwilsononline.com/?p=88#comment-137 I stumbled onto your blog recently and have really been digging your posts. Great stuff. I think the community question is HUGE. I agree that community has to go beyond shared doctrine and I think shared concern gets us closer. Although they're connected (I think you'd agree) concern flows from belief. But belief alone is too abstract, it's theory really until it translates into action (i.e. concern). So I like concern (or mission) as the hub that holds the spokes. I have lots of respect for Vineyard Central in OH. I think they're putting forth a model that speaks prophetically to our times. And they do it without a snobby attitude or trying to look for attention. Taking a vow of stability, for example, is massive in the culture we live in. We speak of church as family. But what does that mean? I long for it. I've tasted it. But it's so hard to take hold of in our culture. It causes me to think the neighborhood church is where it's really at...Jesus people living walking distance from one another, breaking bread, serving neighbors, etc. I grow tired of commuter Christianity. Is there a way to pull off the kind of community that Jesus envisioned while living in suburbia? Should we be content with a weekly service and a boost from a weekly home group? There has to be more. You don't have answer or respond. Thanks for letting me ramble. I stumbled onto your blog recently and have really been digging your posts. Great stuff.

I think the community question is HUGE. I agree that community has to go beyond shared doctrine and I think shared concern gets us closer. Although they’re connected (I think you’d agree) concern flows from belief. But belief alone is too abstract, it’s theory really until it translates into action (i.e. concern). So I like concern (or mission) as the hub that holds the spokes.

I have lots of respect for Vineyard Central in OH. I think they’re putting forth a model that speaks prophetically to our times. And they do it without a snobby attitude or trying to look for attention. Taking a vow of stability, for example, is massive in the culture we live in.

We speak of church as family. But what does that mean? I long for it. I’ve tasted it. But it’s so hard to take hold of in our culture. It causes me to think the neighborhood church is where it’s really at…Jesus people living walking distance from one another, breaking bread, serving neighbors, etc. I grow tired of commuter Christianity.

Is there a way to pull off the kind of community that Jesus envisioned while living in suburbia? Should we be content with a weekly service and a boost from a weekly home group? There has to be more.

You don’t have answer or respond. Thanks for letting me ramble.

]]> By: steven hamilton http://kenwilsononline.com/2008/04/04/what-doth-a-community-make/#comment-136 steven hamilton Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:53:44 +0000 http://kenwilsononline.com/?p=88#comment-136 wow...it puts the cart before the horse, doesn't it...kind of like providing answers to questions long forgotten... and then there is the context of love withi Jesus communities, which (hopefully) makes it possible to have differences (minus the bloddy disagreements)...and kind of adds some depth and texture to pauls saying so many things (conceptions typically) were 'odiofera' or 'matters of indifference'...they were only matters of indifference because they were results of 'shared concerns'....hmmmm, provocative wow…it puts the cart before the horse, doesn’t it…kind of like providing answers to questions long forgotten…

and then there is the context of love withi Jesus communities, which (hopefully) makes it possible to have differences (minus the bloddy disagreements)…and kind of adds some depth and texture to pauls saying so many things (conceptions typically) were ‘odiofera’ or ‘matters of indifference’…they were only matters of indifference because they were results of ’shared concerns’….hmmmm, provocative

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