Christ-Centered Community: what is it?
Defining the Desired
To understand why Christ-centered community is so desirable and crucial in the life of a Christian, we first must understand what it is. Let's start with the word community. According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, community can mean:
A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.
So what can we gather from this formal definition? Proximity is relevant (although not always necessary) while a common purpose or interest is required. So a community might be as small as you and your two neighbors that live at the end of your cul-de-sac. Maybe it's as mid-size as the county or district you live in. But it can also be as large as an entire people group from across the world who share a common goal. As my examples of community grew in relevant size, notice how proximity became less relevant? Although the term community has no real size limit, for the sake of this conversation, we'll assume one of small size because proximity is important in this case.
Next, we'll dive into what it means to be Christ-centered. Paul Tripp says,
"A Christ-centered life means that a Person is the motivation for everything we think, say and do."
And as the term "Christ-centered" implies, that "Person" Tripp references is, of course, Jesus Christ. For our personal lives and our communities to be Christ-centered, Jesus must in fact be at the core of it all. He is the reason and motivation behind what we do. Not only that, but there is a common goal across Christ-centered communities, "that Jesus gets the glory" (Tripp).
In summary, Christ-centered is to mean that:
Jesus is our motivation behind what we do
He provides us the wisdom and grace required of relationships
Out ultimate goal is to glorify Him
Made For This
Why is surrounding yourself with people who have the same goal of glorifying Christ so important? We don’t have to look much further than the creation story to see why. God made us to be in relationship. In the beginning, after creating Adam, God said,
“ It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”
Genesis 2:18
Of course we know that God proceeded to make Eve who was wed to Adam (Genesis 2:21-24), but this does not apply only to romantic relationships. We were made for relationships of all kinds, whether inside the family unit or as friends. How do we know this? Because Genesis also tells us that we were made in His image, in His likeness (Genesis 1: 26-27). Notice that in verse 26, the word “our” is actually used instead of “my” when God is referring to making man in His image. That is because He is referring to the Holy Trinity and not just Himself as Lord. Before even the creation of man, earth, or sky, God was (and still is) in perfect relationship with the Son and the Spirit. We can conclude that part of being made in His image is that we too have the calling to be in relationship with the Trinity and with one another.
In Practice
What does this look like in practice? It’s important to know that this can look like many things, but let me share with you an example of how Christ-centered community showed up in my life.
I had just moved to a new city and started attending a new church. The very first time I had attended a service, one new friend invited me to have lunch with her afterwards and another new friend invited me to their birthday party later that week. I had literally just met these people.
Some might call this crazy, but I see it as radical love. They loved me before they knew me by inviting me in, and all I had to do was say yes. Does this not beautifully mirror the Father’s love for us? Before we were even conceived, He knew us and loved us. And to be in communion with Him, all He asks us to do is say yes to following Him.
Over time, these strangers turned into friends, turned into my community. The church I was attending at the time referred to us as a “community group” and we were one group of many throughout the church. It led to a beautiful season of life filled with fellowship, friendship, accountability, encouragement, and God’s goodness being displayed through our small group of believers. All because someone invited me in! All because He first loved us.
Although the church my family attends today doesn’t have formal “community groups”, the principal is the same. Our church is a small group of believers, displaying radical love to one another, spurring each other on to grow closer to Him. This happens through carrying each others’ burdens, encouraging and lifting one another up, and spending time together. This concept isn’t my own and isn’t new at all. The author of Hebrews actually states it much better than I in his letter to the church of that time:
“let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another”
Hebrews 10:24-25
This is only the beginning my friend. I too have much opportunity for growth when it comes to creating community. I’ll never claim to have it all figured out. But I do pray that through the gift of the Holy Spirit and through the studying of Scripture, we can continue to practice and improve on the way we show up in our relationships with others. Because life isn’t meant to be lived alone.
