Our words are under relentless attack. They’re continually being raided and twisted to mean something radically different than their true definition. “Community” is one of those words.
Community has been muddled with socialistic terms like “village,” “collectivism” and “collective ownership.” Some use those ideas to undermine individual liberties, weaken families and usurp parents’ God-given authority over their own children.
We all remember Hillary Clinton’s book It Takes a Village. It argued that people and institutions beyond the immediate family have a role in children’s upbringing and well-being.
MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry recently pushed the argument further in a network ad about public education. She said, “We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.”
What Biblical Community Looks Like
Men need to speak up and take the initiative to protect real community and realign it biblically within the body of Christ. Our postmodern society will continue to vacillate on the definition of community because it is not anchored in Truth.
The church, however, has a responsibility to draw a line in the sand. We should let the world know that biblical community is defined by God, not by a capricious culture.
So what is biblical community?
Believers come together regularly in one accord. We love one another, honor one another and pray together. We also work together, break bread together, worship together and read God’s Word together.
Biblical community means spurring one another on toward love and good deeds. We bear one another’s burdens and care for one another. Fathers encourage fathers. Mothers help mothers. The church cheers on the family rather than competing against it.
It is koinonia fellowship. We look to Christ as our Head and understand that we’re actually “members of one another” (Romans 12:5).
Regardless of how twisted and distorted our society becomes, men of God have a responsibility to stand, defend and champion community collaboration. We should follow God’s blueprint, not the world’s.