Pastor's Corner: 'Community'

Over these past several years I've enjoyed being part of a "Zoom Cohort," comprised of pastors across the country. These groups are organized by our US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, and in the past, I've even had the privilege of leading one of them!

One of the cohorts I was recently in spent time reading and discussing a book together by Eugene Peterson, "Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work." It's an interesting study of various Old Testament books and how they relate to pastoral ministry.

One of our discussions revolved around the concept of "community" and what that means in a local church setting. There were various opinions expressed, but we all agreed that it involves a common relationship (Jesus) centered around a common cause (the Gospel). We were all reminded about how important the church is to all of our lives as we seek to "live out" the Gospel in our local communities.

We also agreed that we do better at that when we are committed to and involved in a "community of faith," such as a local church. These past covid years have certainly challenged every faith community in the world to figure out how to do that while apart at times!

As conditions have gradually moved back toward normal, I hope we all realize how important the community of believers is to be a part of. Sometimes we take things like that for granted until we're told we can't! Let me encourage all of us to consider our role in the community we can have in local churches and "lean into them" with the awareness of how the Lord uses groups of people like that to accomplish his purposes.

I'm thankful for the community of believers I have, and I hope you are too!