1. The purpose of spiritual communities is to assist Jesus in the process of shaping me into a person who lives in deep and loving relationship with God and others.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
Where do you most experience “community” in your life?
What purpose, effect, or value, does that community have for you?
How does your community help you to grow in your experience of and relationship with God?
What comes to mind when you think about “spiritual community”?
What do you desire or long for in your relationships with Jesus?
“Community” is a word that is used often in churches but with a variety of meanings and expressions. “We have great community in our church” is a statement that uses “community” as a description, which in this case might mean that people like each other and get along.
“Our church has many ‘missional communities’” is describing small gatherings of people with a shared goal to serve. Small groups are a common ministry in churches and are an example of community. These “community groups” exist with many different purposes: to study the Bible, to make friends, to help new attenders become connected to the larger church, or to share common interests.
“Spiritual community,” on the other hand, is a phrase that is intended to reflect a particular kind of community. Other statements in this topic will expand on what is meant by “spiritual community” but in summary, a spiritual community is a gathering of people, small enough to allow for the development of deep relationships.
The goal of these communities is for each person to grow in their relationship with Jesus and with each other. It’s about loving relationships that assist us in developing and deepening our love for God and our love for others.
In John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (NIV). To “love each other” is not the same as to love others. We can love others, even those we may not know or be in relationship with. Loving others can be one-sided, without reciprocation. But we love each other when each person knows the other and exchanges love in a way that allows both persons to give and receive love. In Mark 12:31 Jesus commands us to love our neighbor and in Matthew 5:44 Jesus tells us to love our enemies. This is a different kind of love and is not the same as loving each other.
There are really two commands that Jesus gives us; to love others and to love each other, and they are not the same. When Jesus invites us to love others, those we do not know and may even be our enemies, it does not require a relationship with the “other.”
But when we love each other, we must choose to be in relationship with the other person. This means allowing ourselves to be the object of the other’s love. It often means suffering disappointment and unmet expectations. Whereas loving others may be a one-time effort, loving each other requires regular connection for at least a season of our lives.
Ideally, the relationships that develop from loving each other will last for eternity. Loving each other becomes a journey in developing our relational capacity and ability to participate in a deep, intimate and last relationship with another. Jesus commands us to love, but the words in this verse suggest that Jesus is really asking us to invest in deep relationships with others whom He loves, who love Him and who are in relationship with Him. Relationship is the goal of Jesus’ command to His followers.
In spiritual communities, participants work to grow in their relationships with each other and their relationships with God. The combination of these two objectives creates a unique type of relationship between each other but also including Jesus. When this happens, we experience something rare and special, pleasing to both ourselves and to God. This is the purpose of spiritual communities.