The Goal of Christian Community

One of the best things about being a Christian should be the sense of community we have with each other, but sadly, it is often one of the missing elements of the Christian walk. At WCA, our goal is community! We must have it because it is that important.

Community is important to the Christian school for many reasons. As we teach our students, we teach them about life, and life is about many differing relationships existing in love and unity. J.I. Packer, in his book, Knowing Man, makes a good case for community being an "aspect of the divine calling." He reminds us of the plural pronouns in Genesis 1:26 when God decides to make "man in our image." Packer states that it is "not the 'us' of royalty or authorship, but instead, it is the 'us' of plurality." Packer writes that it seems right to say that "the [community], which is essential to our well-being as persons is actually a further item in the image of God which we are called to reflect and embody in our life activities."

Sadly, we often allow "things" to get in the way of our Christian community. Why? If you are like me, control is one of the major detriments to community. Every one wants to be in control, even those who will not admit it, and they want to be in control because they think they are right. We would rather be right then be united; we would rather be right than submit to authority. We would even rather be right than have peace because deep down...we still have that fundamental flaw...we want to be like God.

Another "thing" that gets in our way is pride. It is the reason we want to be in control, and, often, it is the reason we are not in control. Pride rules us and can often overwhelm us if we are not careful. Pride is the reason we yell at our spouse, we lose our temper in traffic, and we mumble under our breath at our incompetent co-worker or even worse, our incompetent supervisor. Why? Well, of course we can do a better job in a better way with better results.

When these "things" rule our lives Christ does not, and community will never result. In the coming year, Westminster Christian Academy and Westminster Presbyterian Church will both be tested in the area of community as we become the guests of some amazing churches. What a blessing it has been to experience Christian community from these churches. What a testimony they have been to us! May are goal this year and always be community that is rooted in Christ!