“We often think of community as simply one more thing we have to follow in the rules of behavior. “Ok, I have to read my Bible, pray, stay sexually pure - and I need to go to fellowship.” But community is best understood as the way we are to do all that Christ told us to in the world. Community is more than just the result of the preaching of the gospel; it is itself a declaration and expression of the gospel. It is the demonstration of the good news of freedom in Christ through the evident display of our transformed character and our life together. It is itself part of the good news, for the good news is this: this is what Christ has won for you on the cross - a new life together with the people of God. Once you were alienated from others, but now you have been brought near. ”
“The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world…the reason is obvious. In a large community we can choose our companions. In a small community our companions are chosen for us.”
