Loving the Idea of Community

Many people love the idea of community. Many have felt the disappointment of the church not being the place of fellowship and community that they desire.

Larry Crabb describes his longing in his book The Safest Place on Earth:

My burden is to see spiritual communities develop, where spiritual friends and directors connect with people. I long to see communities where people feel safe enough to be broken. Where a vision of what the Spirit wants to do in people’s lives sustains them, even when they are far from it. Where wisdom from God sees what the Spirit is right now doing and what is getting in His way. Where the literal life of Christ pours out of one to energize that life in another, offering his divine touch.

But even as Crabb shares his burden, he offers this warning:

But we must heed Bonhoeffer’s warning not to love the idea of community, but to love our brothers and sisters.