The People Journal

Happy Accidents, happy community

Posted by: Jim Mondry

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 5:47 pm

Burnside Writers Collective has a great article up today.  I love ideas that bring me back to concepts I struggle with, but provide a clairity that was previously missing. 

What I love about the article is the reminder that we can’t force a “community”.  We can create groups for people to meet, but that’s not creating community.  Its about people connecting with people, and its those connections that make community.  I have struggled over what we need to do to make Ecclesiax a “better community” for a while now.  And, I think I’m back at the same conclusion I had previously, but I understand it better now: if I want to make Ecclesiax a better community, I need to be making connections with other people at the church. 

It’s all about starting points, and its about those accidental collisions with people that lead to something. 

I do believe that there is room for structure as well.  I think that there needs to be something that is drawing people out to something (be it concerts, or sunday worship, or making christmas gifts, etc.) where those connections can start.    But, it’s not these things that make the community.  No matter how many different programs a church runs, that doesn’t make a community.  Its all about building bonds of relationship.

I do believe though, that building relationships can’t be the focus of the group though.  I think there needs to be some common purpose or goal.  The greater the goal or purpose, the greater the challenge.   The greater the challenge, the deeper the relationship can become.

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