Three Key Powerful Ingredients in a Recipe to Build Community

I’ve been reading Jennie Allen’s latest book “Find Your People.”  I’m preparing to lead a small group discussion of the book over the summer. When I attended a discipleship retreat a weekend or two ago, I experienced several of the community aspects Allen discusses in her book.

Community

I knew several of the people I spent the long weekend with before I arrived. A few I knew in name only, though no one there was a total stranger to me. As the weekend progressed, I recognized walls were beginning to come down as each person shared more of who he or she is with the rest of the participants.

We shared meals together and gathered to study new concepts. As we moved from activity to activity we chatted in twos and threes learning more about each other’s personalities and preferences as we walked. We worshiped together, played a game or two, and laughed a lot.

Community and Being Alone

Our culture values independence. From an early age we are encouraged to stand on our own two feet. We have large yards with high fences; we spend our time on the decks in our back yard instead of on our front porches; we push a button to open our garage door, drive in, close the door, and miss opportunities to engage with a neighbor working in his yard.

During the retreat, each of us found time to be alone whether it was walking a mountain path, stealing some extra shut eye, calling family members down in the valley, or reading a book. It’s not like we were forced to be continually in the presence of the others, but there was still a rhythm of togetherness.

An Overview of Hebrews

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of Jewish-Christians. It’s believed it was written during the persecution of Christians under Nero, but the author is unknown. The letter, or combination of sermons as some think, encourages the reader to persevere, to “run with endurance the race that lies before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Often when we read God’s Word, we read through 21^st century eyes, or we read as if it were written to one person at a time. Hebrews is written to a group of believers; the author often uses the pronouns us, we, our and ours. When the author uses the word “you,” we can make the conclusion that it is a plural you. The writer to the Hebrews longed for them to be strong as a group, not just as individual believers.

Hebrews Chapter 10 and Community

In chapter ten, the Hebrews’ author reminds his readers of Christ’s sacrifice and then encourages them to live out their faith confidently. He calls them to persevere just as they have done in the past. What I find fascinating is the author tucks a recipe for maintaining community in the middle of his challenge to persevere.

“Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering since he who promised is faithful. And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other and all the more as you see the day approaching.” 

Hebrews 10:23-25 CSB

The author of Hebrews offers us three key ingredients to our community recipe.

Ingredient List for Community Recipe

Ingredient One: “Lettuce” (let us) Hold to our Hope

Hebrews 10:23 encourages believers to not waver in our faith; we can trust God to keep His promises. The New Living Translation says we are to “hold tightly;” the New English Translation states, “hold unwaveringly;” the Amplified Version expands it to “let us seize and hold tightly;” the Message paraphrases it as “keep a firm grip;” and The Passion Translation writes “wrap your heart tightly around the hope that lives within us.

As I read the various translations, I’m struck by the idea that it is easy to doubt at times the reality of our hope. We wonder if it is real because it seems as if those around us are getting along fine without this hope. Life gets hard and we battle fears that God doesn’t really care about us. But we are not to hold onto our hope alone.

Community and Hope

Each translation uses a plural pronoun; we are to hold onto hope together. Your faith helps strengthen my faith, and my faith strengthens yours. At the retreat I mentioned, each of us experienced blessings by what the others shared: their personal stories, their unique view of scripture, the insight they saw in the various individuals in attendance, and the wisdom gained from their life experiences.

It’s easier to hold onto hope when I know someone else is holding hope with me.

Ingredient Two: “Lettuce” Consider and Watch Out for Others

This is not always a well-received idea, but the author of Hebrews says you are responsible to look out for me, and I am responsible to look out for you. We each make our own choices, AND we are to care enough for one another that we will step into the other’s life and “provoke love and good works.” The Passion Translation says it with a bit more grace, “discover creative ways to encourage others and motivate them toward acts of compassion.”

Being in Christlike community doesn’t mean we stalk each other checking boxes on our judgement checklist. The goal is never criticism or condemnation. We are all in need of assistance; we all require encouragement and motivation.

Stirring Up Community

Creating this recipe for community involves being observant, listening, and asking questions. There will be opportunities to stand with someone as he faces a difficult challenge. We will have the chance to help each other, cry with each other and celebrate. Some circumstances will require we cheer from a distance, some situations will prompt us to step in and assist with a temporary escape to offer someone a chance to catch her breath.

This element of community requires us to go beyond reminding each other that everything will be okay, or that God is always with us. Sometimes that is all we need to do; other moments demand we must prod each other from remaining stuck in our stuff.

Ingredient Three: “Lettuce” Gather Together

This ingredient has been difficult for many of us since Covid caused us to remain home. Some believers got in the habit of “watching church.” For the season when we were all encouraged to remain at home, participating in community via our computers and phones was good. Attending church online was a Godsend.

Sadly, many of us have found “watching church” convenient. We don’t have to get the kids up and dressed and out the door like we do most days. Enjoying worship and another cup of coffee while still in one’s pajamas feels like a win-win.

Hebrews 10:25 in The Passion Translations states, “This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate the day dawning.”

Dishing Up Community

When we share the same space, we gain strength and courage. The truth is, the longer Christ delays His return, the more we need to be together and remind ourselves the wait is worth it. I know when I am waiting for a package to arrive, and it feels like it’s taking longer than I thought, I click on the tracking button every day. I want to make sure what I’m longing for is still coming. Our spirits need that same assurance, and we find it when we gather.

A three-ingredient recipe sounds like it will be a breeze; creating community is not. Investing the time and risking our comfort zone is difficult and often scary. AND it is so worth it.

Tasting Community

I can’t live at Discipleship Retreat all the time, it’s just not practical. We all can live in community, though it will require us to make some adjustments. Look over the following list and choose one thing as a place to start or ask the Holy Spirit to reveal a step unique to you and your circumstance.

• Attend church in person every week for 6 weeks.
• Read Jennie Allen’s book “Find Your People,” challenge at least one friend to join you.
• Join a small group at your church and attend consistently.
• Invite someone over for dinner and games once a month for the next four months.
• Sign up to participate in a Bible Study and participate fully.
• Ask two to five friends to be in an accountability relationship with you: work at living out Hebrews 10:23-25.
• Park your car in the driveway three times a week, creating space to meet your neighbors.
• Invite a friend to run errands with you once a week for six weeks.
• Invite two to three friends to go on an adventure. Do something none of you have ever done before. Repeat.
• Ask someone to help you work on or finish a task or project, then celebrate what you’ve accomplished. Then help that person finish a task or project.
• Ask a friend to help you celebrate or support another friend. Surprise a different friend each month for three months.
• Choose a book you enjoyed and share it with a friend who you think would also enjoy it. Invite her to join you for a coffee date once she’s finished the book so you can discuss it together.

Creating and building community is a journey for a lifetime. The day of Jesus’ return really is approaching, and we want our hope to remain intact, as well as those who are in our circle of influence. “Lettuce” commit to following the recipe and enjoy the benefits of life together.

Community Photo by Joel Mott on Unsplash