"Community before Creation"

Community is currently a "buzzword" that means many different things to different people. Sometimes it refers to a large, broad group of people that are or have been associated with a particular institution. For example, I live near Clemson University and frequently I hear the phrase the "Clemson Community". Since I am an alumnus and am a fan of their sports teams, I am included in that community. But, if I left town or died, I don't think Clemson University would even know it. Of course, family members or friends that are also associated with Clemson University would feel differently about my departure or death because I am a part of their community in a more intimate way. While in many circumstances these broad uses of the term "community" are harmless, in other areas an inaccurate understanding of community has serious consequences for our lives and our spiritual and emotional well-being. In my opinion, we hear a lot about community today because we innately know that we need it, and because the way that most of us have organized our lives does not foster the kind of community needed to produce the emotional and spiritual health that we desire.

One path to understand God's intention for community is to consider what was going on before the creation of the world. Yes, before the creation of the world community existed. Even more importantly, the type of community that existed is what led to the creation of the world. The original community consisted of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the most important thing to understand about the trinity is the way they were interacting with each other before the creation of the world. This should inform the way we interact with each other. Simply put-God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were delighting in each other. The night before his death, Jesus was clinging to his memories of that very special community. He prayed in John 17:5-"Glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began". In John 17:24 he remembers how "God loved him before the creation of the world". In my personal experience, glory is a misunderstood word that has been either demonized as something that we should not desire, or over-spiritualized as something that will only happen to us in "Heaven". Biblically the word glory means weight, significance, splendor and honor. Of course, the meaning of the word love has been highly distorted as well. One simple way to understand love is to think of it as putting the needs of others before your own. Therefore, essential components of community will be members who recognize and express the significance and importance of the other members, and who put the needs of the other members above their own.

Other verses that reveal the presence of the Trinity together before creation are Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. John 1:1 says that "the Word (Jesus) was with God in the beginning". What was it like being "face to face" with God before the creation of the world? Psalm 16:11 says that "you will fill me with joy in your presence". In Hebrew, the word presence is actually "face". The idea being conveyed here is "there is an abundance of joy with your face". The facial expressions of the members of the original community brought great joy! This reveals another essential component of community-"I am glad to be with you regardless of what you are going through". The look on our face when we gather is extremely important. Pastor Tim Keller says "at the heart of the universe is the exploding love and joy that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had as they glorified, centered upon, rejoiced in and adored the others". The organizing principle and goal of our communities should be the pursuit of "exploding love for each other, genuine delight in each other, honoring each other, putting the needs of others before our own, and faces that express a deep gladness to be together with each other and with God".

In my experience, communities that don't have this as their organizing principle are extremely limited in their ability to encourage and transform. While we will never attain to the fullness of this grand ideal until the joining of heaven and earth, this must be the "game we are playing". Churches and small groups gather around many things. Some focus on Bible teaching and doctrine, some focus on evangelism, others focus on social action or "worship". However, I know of very few small groups or churches that gather around the foundational principle of learning how to genuinely be glad to be together with each other and God. I can already hear the objections to this. "John , the purpose of church is worship, or to seek and save the lost, or to teach and obey the Bible". All of those are good things. However, for a typical Christian living in this broken world, they pale in comparison to a group that has learned to delight in each other and God, listen intently to each other and God, and look at each other with a face that says, "I am delighted to be with you regardless of what you are going through".

Importantly, as the Trinity has demonstrated, the result of communities that gather around these principles, sincerely experiencing one another's love and the joy of Christian fellowship, will be a spontaneous desire to share God's Word and the good news and to create more joyful, loving communities. And we will certainly worship! This is revealed to us in Ephesians 1:4 where we are told, "he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight". Somewhere along the line, the "exploding love and joy" that the original community was experiencing just had to be shared. That's the way genuine love and joy work. Love and joy are the fuel that drives creation and sharing. This is the way that healthy families work, and this is the way that healthy churches work. We all know that a marriage in which the couple decides to have a baby to "save the marriage" will usually not work. However, a couple that is experiencing genuine love and joy in their relationship will typically "create" a family that is filled with love and joy. Just like the couple having a baby to "save the marriage", often churches try to create something(numerical growth, success, impressive gatherings etc.) from a place of unhealthy need instead of learning to function together in a way where creation is spontaneously fueled by joy and love.

I am acutely aware of the obstacles in accomplishing this. Nine years ago I entered the house church world thinking that if we all just gathered in a living room and shared a meal together, everything would be wonderful. I quickly learned that this was not the case. We all bring our dysfunction, wounds and insecurities into our groups. Unlike the original community, we live in a fallen world, where our default setting is sinful. In addition to this, most of us are four generations removed from extended family communities where relational skills were learned by being around uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents. With all of this in mind, what might be helpful to develop this kind of community?

Gather in a way that fosters relationships. Sit in a circle, where you can see each other's faces. Make this the primary and most frequent form of gathering. Historically, we tend to have our primary gatherings seated in rows, listening to sermons, and singing. Nothing is wrong with these activities, but when they communicate to people that "this is church", we miss the most important element of church-which is relationship.
Embrace and get comfortable with the fact that our primary form of church gathering can be small. Remember that the original community was three people. Jesus said, "wherever two or three are gathered, there I am". There is certainly a place for large gatherings, but that is not where the "magic" happens.
Have a meal together as part of your primary church gathering. The Lord's supper was originally a full meal. Much of the ministry of Jesus was done at meals. Don't make the mistake of assuming that this is happening outside of the typical large church gathering. Make this the "main event". Eating together fosters interaction, sharing and fun, which are critical elements of community.
Teach people how to express that they are glad to be together. Smiling. affirming and paying attention to one another is not natural for most of us. They are skills we have to learn. Most of us aren't used to going to church gatherings to give. We usually simply attend. We must learn to "consider how to spur one another on towards love and good deeds".
Begin each gathering sharing something you are grateful for (particularly in each other), and by sharing briefly what is going on in your heart that day, what you are feeling. Mutual self disclosure produces intimacy. How can we pray for, encourage and edify one another if we don't know what is going on with each other? Again, make this the main event.
Find a friend that you can "check in" with daily to share what you are grateful for and how you are doing. For many, this can be their spouse. Life doesn't happen weekly, it happens daily. We tend to underestimate the importance of daily practices. The Bible says to "encourage one another daily".
Take advantage of online platforms to be together when necessary. While in person is ideal, sometimes community will begin with a few "far flung" friends that share these ideals over a zoom gathering. It is better to be together with life-giving people online than with people who do not appreciate one another in person.
Finally, recognize that we will all need training to accomplish the above. These practices are not typically natural in our broader culture, nor in our church culture. Initially, it feels very awkward to put all of this into practice. Small groups reveal the "cracks" in our lives. Spiritual "dads and moms" will be necessary to guide, encourage, correct, teach and train. Great patience is necessary. We must remember that any worthwhile skill involves training. Nobody masters the violin or golf without frequent repetitive training. Over time, these "silly little practices" produce a harvest of righteousness.

I have been wonderfully encouraged to consider what the Trinity was doing before the beginning of time and what the Trinity has planned for us at the end of time (that is another blog post). However, I have also learned that we do not need to wait to begin to experience what God has prepared for us. In fact, God's desire is to gather people in families that are experiencing this and that are a "signpost" to the grand future he has prepared for all His children. That, my friends, is called the church! May we embrace the fullness of who we were created to be.