Joy in Community

I have had the singular great pleasure and privilege over the past handful of years to lead a women’s Bible study. Let me tell you, we are quite the motley crew. We range in age from mid-twenties to mid-nineties with everyone in between. Singles, marrieds, divorcees, widows. Women from across the spectrum in their walk with the Lord—churched from birth to not (yet) committed to a church family. We mostly attend the same church, but have gathered wonderful additions to our family from all over the area. We laugh (a lot), cry (a bit), and share our homework, our snacks, and our lives (sometimes after painful silences waiting for someone to go first). We’re not a huge group, maybe twenty women if everyone showed up.

They give me space to be myself and lead how I feel comfortable and in return they get to listen to me. So yeah. I am definitely coming out ahead here.

I could go on and on about the vital importance of intergenerational ministry, both for our individual walks as disciples of Jesus, as well as for the health of the church. Seriously, my hands are twitching (could be the coffee) and my mind is bubbling with ideas about all I want to write about that. It has been simmering in the slow cooker of my mind for a while now. I’ll let you all know when it’s done–when the ideas are fork-tender, well seasoned, and ready to be dished out. Because I know you’re hungry for this kind of connection among the women at your church. Or if you’re not, you should be. Or maybe after seeing how delicious it looks, you will be.

Anyway, now that I have your attention, let me break every rule in the book and divert it elsewhere. (Squirrel!)

As I was saying… This eclectic group of women boasts believers from all stages in the journey. I love all the different stories that intersect weekly as we are gather into the The Story through our study of scripture and as we build one another up. They all know about my Trusting Joy journey I’m walking one hesitant step at a time. I don’t know if I’ve specifically mentioned the series out loud, but I’m sure they can all tell from my Eeyore-esque comments about my life as of late.

I found myself especially convicted as we met this past week by a comment made by my dear friend Anna. She’s hilarious, insightful, honest, a super fun outside-the-box mom, newish believer, and homeschool teacher. As a group we’ve talked often about the hard work of parenting small kids. Those of us with little ones commiserate, and those with kids grown and gone gently remind us it really is only for a season. There are also those without kids, and one (my younger sister) who is expecting. Anna pointed out lightheartedly as our study time drew to a close this past week, that we with the littles probably make parenting sound awful to the singles and expecting.

SMACK. Conviction came like a slap upside the head. So true. So very true. As a leader, I take responsibility to set the tone for this culture. While I desperately want this to be a safe place we can voice the hard stuff without judgment, I fear the pendulum has swung too far the other direction and I’m missing the hope and joy (surprise!) that should always be found at least at the edges of every believer’s circumstance.

My joylessness is affecting my leadership. I’m sorry. I’m so thankful I’m forgiven.

Continuing into Philippians 2, Paul uses a conditional statement to get the believers at Philippi to consider whether the attributes he lists are evident in their lives. Personally, I read it imagining a touch of sarcasm in his voice, but that’s how I read all the rest of life too. In verses 1-2 he says that “if there’s any encouragement in Christ” (um yeah just a bit), “any comfort from love” (yup), “any participation in the Spirit” (ouch, I hope so), “any affection and sympathy” (duh), “then complete [his] joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Not only is he exhorting us to nip infighting among the church family in the bud, but what really struck me is that his joy is being drawn from his knowledge that a positive community is flourishing among those he has led.

You could almost make a community spiritual-health checklist out of the qualities he lists. If you’re into that sort of list-making stuff (and I am!):

• Does your community exhibit encouragement drawn from Christ?
• Loving comfort offered to all?
•  Hearts seeking interaction with the Spirit?
• A permeating feeling of affection and sympathy?

What a joy it is (or should be) for any leader to see this kind of fruit produced!

I never feel so blessed, so cup-runneth-over-ish, so joy-bursting-at-the-seams as I do after a great night of Bible study. I was made to love this and encourage this community. Please, friends, if you don’t have a place like this to be and to grow, find one. Or even pray about starting one. I’m so thankful to be part of a community that calls me out (even if indirectly) on my stuff. You know we all have our own stuff.

Our attitudes and actions affect the community-at-large, for me that could be my Wednesday night women or my family. I want to have the same mind as Paul on all this. I do find incredible encouragement in Christ, I daily try to rest in the comfort of His love, I seek His Spirit’s work in my life wholeheartedly, I am blessed by His affection and sympathy toward me, and I should be producing joy in all this. Because being a mom is awesome. Because belonging to a community is awesome. Because the enemy (lowercase e out of disrespect—take that!) is out to steal my joy and I’m catching onto that jerk. Because everything is awesome when you’re part of a team! (Shameless Lego Movie reference for the win.)

Joy is contagious. As I work the rocky soil of my soul to produce more of this particular spiritual fruit in this season, it becomes more obvious that I cannot do all this work alone. I’m so thankful for my co-laborers in Christ who help dig out the rocks and pull the weeds I am often unaware are taking deep root in me. What a joy it is to work together in God’s great garden; a place we are all meant to flourish.

Have you found a community you love? Obviously I’m kind of mildly obsessed over my group, so feel free to brag on your found-joy in your community in the comments! I would love to hear how God is working in you and through you and/or would be honored to pray for those of you seeking this kind of community.

*This post is part 3 in the Trusting Joy series. See part 1 here and part 2 here.*

Also, thanks to Ann Blystra (http://colorfulmama.wordpress.com/) for the photo!