The Me in the We

I had a great time with you all last Sunday at our VLC worship gathering.  The topic of community is one that I think about a lot.  There was so much more I wanted to share.  Here is a link to the recording of that talk.

 

In this week’s article I want to talk about “The Me in the We.”  We all know the old saying, “There is no I in We (or Us).”  While this is true, it is also true that We cannot exist without I/Me.  Community is where two or more people come together under a common purpose.  Where the above saying seeks to circumvent the influence of self-centered individuals from dominating community, the I/Me that I am encouraging is one that is established in love and seeks to engage those around them in a way that is uplifting and Christ honoring.  

 

You may have heard me use the term collective instead of corporate in describing community.  The reason I do this is because corporate finds it root in corpus (body) and, to a certain extent, lines of individuality are blurred within the context of body.  Collective, on the other hand and to a certain extent, retains the traits of individuality while simultaneously exhibiting something greater than the self.  Both are useful in certain contexts, but in the context of smaller community, collective seems more appropriate because by highlighting individuality we also highlight personal responsibility to the community.  When everyone is responsible (responding appropriately to one another), then the collective is truly a community of love.

 

So my encouragement for this week is found in 1 Peter 1:22, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

 

Grace and peace,

Brook 

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