Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Whose in and whose out?: Christ as Community

As we talked today about what it means to be a Christian Community I wondered even more how we determine some of whose in and whose out. We seem to categorize all the time. We talked about social media communities and never came to an answer as to whether some social media communities were Christian communities or not. Does the element of a virtual space that exists on social media in and of itself mean it is “out” from being deemed a Christian community? Or is there something more to it?

I like to believe there is something more to Christian community. We talked about Dietrich Bonhoeffer today and his book Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible. I have to agree with him when he says, "The Christ of Life Together is the binding force of that community in its "togetherness," gracing Christians to go beyond the superficial, often self-centered, relationships of their everyday associations toward a more intimate sense of what it means to be Christ to others, to love others as Christ has loved them." (page 8) As this image shows, I think of Christ as the center in us the one in whom we are always welcome and where we learn how to see and love others. 



http://www.thechristiancommunity.org/about/



I think when we can form this commitment in Christian communities to love as Christ first loved, something powerful is truly at work. Parker Palmer talks about in his book, To Know As We Are Known: Education As A Spiritual Journey, community takes commitment. I do not think any community truly functions well without a level of commitment. It is in this commitment that forms in communities that knowledge arises. I would even go to say in Christian communities when we are committed to being Christ to others and to love others as Christ has loved it is then where we start to gain an even deeper and meaningful understanding of God. I also believe that when this plays out in effective ways, especially in social media there is a value for how it proclaims the gospel. The specific notion of this that comes to mind is Abiding Presence's YouTube channel and specifically this video. 



What ways have you seen Christian community effectively portrayed in social media? How do you see it proclaiming the gospel?

4 comments:

  1. Cool video - the two small kids working together to carry that chair is adorable! And also a really excellent image of Christian community - being committed to working together to do something despite our limitations.

    Can social media house Christian community? Sure! Perhaps a helpful framework would be Ephesians 4:29, where we can think of the things that are helpful for building up the community.

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  2. I love this image you're sharing here -- and thanks for the stream to the church's youtube account!

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  3. Thank you for posting the church's video you spoke of in class...to answer your question, in some ways, I believe every form of social media utilized by a church, Christian organization, etc., effectively portrays Christian community. It's all relative to what that community needs or defines as 'community'. Could some groups/parishes amp things up or do more? Always, but I guess I follow the adage that if it reaches even just one person, it was worth what little or big effort was made. Great post!

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  4. I think you are right, by reflecting God's love to others we come closer to God ourselves. I also think that by loving others we also learn more about what real love is and we come to a deeper relationship with ourselves. Today's Church I think needs to be less about them vs. us but us together.

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