RLCC is committed to the vision of communityship. But what is it? Communityship is the art and process of building a community of faith in a specific place for a specific kind of people by the power of God. It's an art because it takes devotion and dedication to build a community of faith. You have to do it in love. It's also a process because you cannot build it in a day. There's a lot of "blood, sweat and tears," so to speak, that goes with it. Often you can get very discouraged halfway through it and you would say, "That's it! I give up!" But you cannot stop. You must persevere until you establish it. Building a community of faith is the most exciting adventure you can ever get into. But, as Paul says in 1 Cor 3:10, you must be an "expert builder" to succeed.
But why must we go through all this effort? Why not just build an ordinary church, the way we used to do it?
First of all, it's because we are created for community. God said in Genesis 2:18 that it is not "good" for man to be alone. Of course, in this context, he is implying a partner for Adam, namely Eve. But then, by implication, and as we study the rest of the Bible, we can see that it is also not "good" for man to live in isolation from others of his own kind, namely mankind. God desires for us to be in His image and likeness, and God Himself lives in community (a Tri-unity).
To go against our creation is to create problems for ourselves. We were designed to function well only when we are rightly related with God and with one another. Violating this principle is tantamount to violating the very essence of our existence as human beings! We will surely suffer for not living out God's purposes for our lives. Isolation is contrary to our created nature. If we build a normal "church," we will be creating an "unnatural" environment for people to live in and thrive on. It won't work! Also, people will eventually look for community elsewhere because that is what we are created for!
Second, it is because we are affected by community. This works both ways, good and bad. On the good side, we can be affected toward love and maturity if we are part of a loving and nurturing community environment. But Paul says in 1 Cor 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good character." This is the reason why there are so many dysfunctional people in the this world. Satan offers nothing but discord and hatred in human society. There is no way that we can attain true community while being separated from God.
Now we are always part of some kind of community. They are the "significant people" in our lives. They influence us more than we can ever hope to admit or reject. The company we keep is the personality we will keep. People may go to church each Sunday and yet have a different "community" outside the church. Consequently, the effect is catastrophic.
Third, it's because we are attracted to community. We are not attracted by mere words; we are attracted by real life. This is the reason the Bible says, "The Word became flesh." (John 1:14) The crowds were not attracted to preachers in the early church, they were attracted to the testimony of their loving relationships with each other (Acts 2:47; 5:12-16). Only theologians are interested in mere words. God is interested in impacting the lives of people through other people's lives. We are indeed the epistles of God! I do not mean that there is no place anymore for words. What I mean is that words without the testimony of real people living together in community is nothing but empty words (1 John 4:7-12).
Last but not the least, it is because we are perfected by community. We do not grow toward maturity by listening to sermons. We become mature when we allow the truth of God's Word to transform our relationships! This is what Paul says in Ephesians 4:16. He says, "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." We cannot build a strong church through strong preaching alone. We need to put "flesh" in our teachings by giving them a context where they can be applied. The reason why most churches are experiencing internal problems even though they have good preachers and teachers is because they do not have real communities where God's Word can be tested and approved (Rom 12:2).
These are the reasons why RLCC perseveres in building real communities of faith. It's not easy but not doing so is even more difficult. Let us join God in His vision of building real communities of faith in every place for every kind of people group by the power of God. To God be the glory!
