I’ve been thinking about community a lot lately: Twitter, church, friends, Zappos, running, tweetups and more. In the coming days, I’ll be blogging about each of those. Today, church community is on my heart.

Background
In January 1989, I moved to Lynchburg, Virginia with my (then) husband when he was called to serve as Minister of Education and Youth at our church, Rivermont Avenue Baptist (RABC). He served for a couple of years before he resigned. Though the circumstances regarding his resignation were difficult, we stayed at the church because it felt like home.

During the next few years, we struggled with the pain of infertility so it was with great excitement that our church family celebrated with us when we found out we were expecting our first child. She was born in February 1996. Nearly a year and a half later, we once again found out we were expecting. This time, the pregnancy was much more difficult – emotionally. In March of 1998, when our daughter was two and our son was two weeks old, we separated. Our marriage ended just a few months later.

Just after our separation, RABC exemplified community as beautifully as I have ever seen. This is no exaggeration – every single day for two solid months, people from RABC reached out to me in my pain. Someone brought food. Others sent cards. One person quietly left a pack of diapers at the front door and left no note (no expectation of recognition). These friends in this community called me, prayed for me, kept kids, went to attorney’s appointments with me, and on and on and on…

In the years that followed my divorce, RABC continued to be community (family really) to me and my two children. Slightly more than two years ago, Peter and I got married at RABC amidst family, both the blood relative kind, and the kind who share the good and bad of life with you.

Something’s Amiss
For a year or more now, it seems as though something’s just not right in this community known as Rivermont Avenue Baptist. I wish I could pinpoint exactly why, but I really can’t.

Like many churches these days, we’re experiencing decline. But somehow, it seems different. It seems like we’re more than just a plateauing or declining church as noted by George Barna and others who study church trends.

Just a couple of weeks ago our Senior Pastor resigned, giving our church a two week notice. He left us with a gift. You see, during the last few months, he had set the ball in motion for our church to go through a “spiritual discernment process.” We’ve hired a consultant who will work closely with a yet to be determined group of key leaders. One aspect of the process includes a series of listening sessions, where church members and former members will be invited to talk with the consultant, about whatever is on their minds. After all the listening sessions are finished, the consultant will write up a report, detailing what he uncovered. Based on those findings, our church will then be in a position to determine next steps.

My Hopes & Fears
I love Rivermont Avenue Baptist. I love what God has done in and through this group of people that I often say, love God and one another. They’re serious about discipleship but not such sticks in the mud that they’re no fun to be around. I am hopeful that God will use these next steps to show us where the gaps are and how we can rely on Him in the days, months and years ahead.

And I’m afraid. I’m afraid that for whatever reasons, the process may be too little, too late: for our family, for our church family, for the neighbors who live near our church and across the globe, in desperate need of the life-changing love of Christ.

When community limps, it’s painful. Because to be part of community in the first place, you must be invested.

So how about you? Have you invested in community? Why or why not? Have you been part of communities that limp? If so, what happened?

Photo credit by Tantrum_Dan – Creative Commons license.