In my own life I have defined community this way: a group of three or more people with a common vision and goal.
This does not mean everyone agrees about everything or that we all have the same plan for how to move more fully into the vision and/or goal. Community is all about relationships. The community is stronger when there is diverse thinking and creative energy. It is stronger when each person is willing to hear and accept the others in the community.
“One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn’t as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.”
— Jean Vanier, Community and Growth
Vanier’s words remind us that our shared vision only comes alive when we open ourselves to one another—pooling our strength, sharing the work, listening for the quiet stories that rarely get airtime.
Dry and brittle branches don’t bend; they break.
Healthy branches bend in the wind, flexing when change or challenge forces movement. People are much the same. If we get too caught up in our own thoughts and become deaf to the imaginations and creativity of others, we will simply snap. But when we stay open—willing to consider new possibilities—we see a community built up and strengthened for the vision we set together.
It grieves my heart to watch our wider culture slide toward isolation. Each person grows more consumed with personal needs; ears close to the cries of those in pain. Sarcasm has assumed new authority, and hearts have hardened.
What if each of us decided to be part of a community intent on truly seeing others, hearing their cries, and binding their wounds? Could small and large communities alike begin to restore health to the very branches that once offered shade?
Jesus came to make all things new, and He invites us to join Him in revealing God’s Kingdom wherever we live. Will you join us in this challenge?
Have more questions? I’d love to connect—let’s talk or, even better, share a cup of coffee. And of course, you’re always welcome at The Outpost as together we learn what it means to be present with—and serve alongside—the God who loves us beyond our understanding.
