In his book “Life Together,” German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer compared Christian community to beautiful music, saying, “God has prepared for Himself one great song of praise throughout eternity, and those who enter the community of God join in this song.”
I’ll never forget my first experience joining in the music of Christian community. I was living in a new town and attending a new church. I did not know anyone, and I was feeling isolated and lonely. One Sunday, Stephen, whom I had met only a few weeks prior, invited me to join a group he was starting. I was surprised that he would even offer, as I truly thought no one had noticed me.
“People are really hungry to be known and to be seen,” Sarah Jo Austin recently told me on the Beyond Sunday podcast, describing why groups are so important, and I couldn’t agree more. It meant the world to me that even when I felt anonymous, Stephen saw me and invited me to come and be known.
Stephen’s radical hospitality blew me away, and I was even more impressed with the lively, vibrant community I found in that group. Together, over the course of the next few years, we celebrated our wins, mourned our losses, and called each other into a deeper life with Christ. That group taught me the importance of Christian community, and ever since then, I have continued to seek “life together.”
It hasn’t always been easy. Vulnerability is tough to maintain when life becomes challenging. However, I’ve found that closeness with God and closeness with his children come as a package deal. Christ invites us all to experience his love through the close bonds we form with others, adding beautiful harmonies to the music of community.
Will you join in the song?
Being part of a small group not only helps you join in Christian community, but it also helps as you navigate the life-long journey of discipleship. Learn more about the groups we offer at www.schweitzer.church/groups.