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When did it all start shifting? I’m sure if I were to do just a little research I could
trace this cultural epidemic back and possibly find the source. But I know this; it
hasn’t always been this way. We haven’t always been so fooled into thinking we’re
such independent, secluded people. You can even see the evidence of it in our
neighborhoods. Seriously! Drive through an old historic neighborhood, what do you
notice? FRONT PORCHES! And not just front porches, but a myriad of things that
gives this flavor of community and togetherness that was much more prevalent
than it is now. It still is in many cultures that I’ve been to all over the world, but
it is quickly and surely fading here. Now we have 2 car garages, and fenced in
backyards, and don’t even look for a front porch. Of course I don’t think these things
are intrinsically wrong, they are just a symptom of this ever-growing problem that
people just don’t want to be around other people.

Now there are a few key layers to The Common Thread Community, or Common
Thread if you’re grammatically lazy like me. But in this first ever blog post I’d
like to focus on the two primary desires behind the name. The first, and not most
important, but definitely very important, is the pursuit of true community.

One of my great desires, and perhaps one of the things the Lord has gifted me with
most is to build community. I love people. I love being around people. I love working
with people. I love studying with people. I love eating with people. I love singing
with people. I love hurting with people. I love talking about Jesus with people. And
this is not just because I’m an extravert. We were created for community. It was one
of the basic fabrics of mankind for many many centuries, and the desire still exists
deep inside all of us. A beautiful picture of this is in Genesis chapter 2 when the Lord
is describing the garden that He had created for Adam to dwell in. He tells us about
these magnificent rivers, and the gold and the onyx and the trees and the fruit, and
then, after essentially describing Heaven on earth, God says; “it is not good that man
should be alone.” This is one of the most profound moments in all of creation! GOD
created this place! He put everything into place. He designed it. He perfected it. And
He told us all about it, and I believe He did this just so that He could say to us; “now,
see all of this, none of it is good if man is not in community.” Don’t mistake this as a
husband wife thing. Yes, that element is here, but this was bigger than that. This was
the institution of community through Adam and Eve and their children and their
children’s children, and …. well you get the picture.

Christ followers are described in 1 Corinthians 12 as a body. And we are made up of
many members. Well the very function of the body is dependent upon the rest of the
body. I mean what would the hand be useful for without an arm? Or a foot without
a leg? Or anything without a heart? Walk around for 2 minutes blindfolded and see
how useful your body is without its eyes. Now this isn’t to say we cannot function
without these parts. Just as people, can still function in this rampant individualism
that plagues us. But in the same way the eye adds strength to the hand, and the ear
to the eye, and so on, when in community with one another we find great strength.
Which is exactly what Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is saying, that we are much much stronger
together than we are alone.

Ok, so I’ve got a good intro to community. I’ll stop here for tonight. Hopefully
everyone is with me so far. I’m sure next you think I’m going to try to get you to
sell your homes and move to a commune. Well, not quite. Not unless we can get
a “Momma G’s” and a “5 Guys” on the commune, then we might have to consider this
option!