Page 29 - Digital Church in a Lonely World

For many years, I have only seen the downside of this. The more I embed myself within a church
2
2
community, the more vulnerable I am to being let down or hurt.
Also, it all takes so much time!

But, as I have journeyed through my life, both in my personal life and in my role as a pastor, I have
come to see that the inconveniences and challenges of being in real community have actually been used
by God for my growth. (I mean the regular, everyday challenges of friendship and community. I am

not talking about abuse or any form of mistreatment. That would constitute a toxic environment to be
avoided, and I empathize deeply with people who have experienced that.)

Authentic community has a shadow. Human beings are complex. We all carry brokenness, personality
quirks and the ability to make choices that hurt others. However, the potential pain of being in
community is not simply an unwanted by-product; it is a key part of the purpose of community. It is the
very fact that community costs us something that makes it valuable. It is within our church community
that we get to practice interpersonal gospel actions like forgiveness, graciousness and kindness. What
we learn about practicing the way of Jesus in a local church community is like training for our everyday
lives. It is not meant to be sterile, clinical and polished. It’s real.

Without any inconvenience or brokenness, we only have a caricature of actual biblical community. The
challenges of being in a community are one of God’s tools to bring us to maturity.

True hospitality is

inconvenient, not just on
a practical level, but on an
emotional level. I’m not
sure true community begins
until we are willing to

inconvenience ourselves for
each other.

DIGITAL CHURCH IN A LONELY WORLD 29