Covenant Community

I've continued to read and finish Millennium Matrix over the past few weeks. I've still got to get to answering the questions I posted on a couple of weeks ago. The delay in those answers...just the birth of my second daughter...Mia Kate was born on February 16th at 12:10p and weighed in at 8lbs 7oz with 19" in length. She looks a lot like big sister...

So in thinking about community I ran across some ideas in Matrix...the idea of covenant. It's a lot deeper commitment than most other relationships. It implies a level of dependence most are by nature uncomfortable with. We really value independence and self reliance in America and Christianity, as expressed in the Bible not the burbs, is very much antithetical to those ideas. Being a Christ follower is all about being dependant and reliant. We rely on Jesus to pay for our sins, we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our steps, we rely on God to be true to His word, and we should rely on one another to walk with us on this journey. This is what I have been preaching about the last few weeks, the interweaving of our lives as a part of the Body of Christ. A friend of mine asked me "Is such-and-such church like that?" I asked him why that thought entered his mind and he told me "I always had this sense that I never really belonged, I was always outide the group." What breaks these barriers? How do we build covenant communities?

Matrix seems to suggest transparency is a large part of this building process. It is not the only element discussed, but it is one I want to champion for a moment. Transparency in relationships is crucial because it levels the playing field. Everyone is themselves and is able to be met at the point where they are- just the way Christ first meets us. When we are transparent we are able to "spur one another on toward good works" because we know where one another need to grow. We are able to "pray for one another that we might be healed" because we know where we need to be made whole.

As a pastor, I want everyone at my church to experience commuinty. I want everyone to feel they can be transparent. I want our church to be a place where reality is more important than personality. I want to see a church that is a covenant community.

Abs