Eagle Point Church: Jacksonville, AL

"People Need Community"

“Then The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

 

 

George Gallup has said, “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.” Many of us are so busy that we reach a point where our goal is to avoid people at all cost. Yet, loneliness and isolationism creeps into our minds. Starbucks gets it! Wait a minute you say, Starbucks is about coffee sales. Isn’t it!      

 

In Creating Community, Andy Stanley reveals the five keys to building a small group culture. He describes a morning visit to Starbucks for coffee and as he exits he sees a card advertising a job with Starbucks that read: “Create Community. Make a difference in someone’s day!” Community? Is that what Starbucks is all about? The back of the card said, “When you work at Starbucks, you can make a difference in someone’s day by creating an environment where neighbors and friends can get together and reconnect while enjoying a great coffee experience.”

 

Does that sound familiar to you? Starbucks believes its business is to create community, connecting people together, doing life together. Sometimes I wonder who is doing that with excellence – Starbucks or the local church. Who is better at promoting connection? Who is better at creating a culture for meaningful relationships?

 

Many of you have followed the ministry of Andy Stanley and North Point Community Church in Atlanta. You have seen and felt the impact of his ministry through his books, tapes, and conferences. His book “Visioneering” is one of the best I have read on that subject. He says their church is built around small groups. He states, “The small group is part of our lifestyle; we think groups. We organize everything with groups in mind and everything points to group life. Group life drives what we do – and do not do – as an organization.”

 

In fact, the only goals North Point ever sets are small group participation goals. Andy believes that life change happens within the context of intentional relationships. God has built us, according to Genesis, to connect with others. When we aren’t in meaningful relationships; we suffer the consequences (lost perspective, fear of intimacy, selfishness, poor health, etc.). 

 

We must always remember as believers in Christ that we are in spiritual warfare. Our struggle is not flesh and blood and our enemy’s most successful strategy is to isolate us so that he can attack and destroy. Andy Stanley reminds us, “Sheep are never attacked in herds – they are attacked when isolated from the flock.” Therefore, we need each other if we are to grow together in Christlikeness.

 

Andy Stanley says God has designed us to be an authentic community. Our John 17 “oneness” is centered upon the finished work of Christ at Calvary. He made us one. As such, we come to understand that the “one another’s” of Scripture cannot be realized until we experience “authentic community.” How is your relational life? How do you influence a watching world by your connectedness to others? Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:35). Andy concludes section one by stating: “God has called the church to create environments where authentic community takes place.”

 

Henry Cloud says, “God created us with a hunger for relationship – for relationship with Him and with our fellow people. At our very core we are relational beings.” God has made us to live in connection with Christ and with one another. Are you connected with others in a genuine relationship? Are you impacting the spiritual development of others through the investment of your life? The Starbucks slogan should be ours as a church family: “Create Community. Make a difference in someone’s day!”      

 

 

Creating Community,

 

 

Dr. Derek