As much as we'd like to make Christianity an individualistic faith, the truth is that God draws us to community. The Holy Spirit _could_ have been poured out on each of the disciples individually while they were in prayer or meditation, but God prefers to work in community.
Western Christianity has a very self-centered perspective on spiritual growth and development. We emphasise personal prayer and the private devotional time. This is not wrong, but there is a serious lack: the lack is the recognition of serious growth and development that is possible when God moves within our faith community.
The folk who became the New Testament's first church were _together_ on the day of Pentecost and God used them as a community.
Many people seek to get closer to God. What they don't understand is that coming closer to God is also coming closer to community. God is a Triune Being - enjoying eternal community of Father, Son and Spirit. We who are created in His image are therefore designed for community.
It is perfectly feasible that the Spirit would choose to work in community. Coming together in community means that we have chosen to move aside our own imperfections (letting go of our insecurities) and the imperfections of others (shelving our critical spirits). It means that we take risks and make room for others.
This is not always comfortable for us. But when we take these kind of faith risks, we are in a place where the Spirit can work powerfully.
Here's a closing thought: Moving TOWARD community brought about Spiritual Growth. Moving AWAY from community brings about Spiritual Shrinkage. If we want the Spirit to work in our lives, we must recognise that He will always move us toward community.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
