The Kingdom of Couches

Before I begin blogging about somethings after today I definately want to reference the book in which I have derived a lot of what I will talk about. This book is something that I highly recommend to individuals trying to understand some insight about biblical community. This book is called "The Kingdom of Couches" by Will Walker who is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ at Texas. I would have to say it is quite a studly book. It's short, straight forward, and dipped in a pool of heart and knowledge. The book reads like a conversation in itself and flows really well.

Anyways, so lets get to the details. I'll probably try to Blog about all different kinds of things from this book, but I thought it would be a good idea to probably only blog about one thing at a time. I may just read this book two or three times in a row, because I feel that this true genuine community Will talks about speaks directly to where I am at. BTW, I want to give a shout out to Ann Maronik for referencing me to this book.

This is stated on the back of the book:

Along the way I discovered something I didn't expect: people. I realize that people are everywhere. My life began when I came out of a person, and since then, having never resided in Montana or in outer space, I've been immersed in humanity. This doesn't bother me in the least because I like people. I just never thought that I would need them.

We've been pretending, keeping others close enough to enjoy but distant enough to impress. The space between close and distant is the worst kind of loneliness, which is not that of being alone, but of being unknown.

We have been looking at redemption through the lens of individualism- manipulating it for our own gain. Somehow the focus became how much I am loved and forgiven and accepted, period. Somehow the process became one of isolated effort. Spiritual life has less and less to do with relationships, and is effectively disconnected from actual life altogether.

The thing about redemption though--the thing we've lost--is that it takes place in the context of community. God is not just redeeming persons, he is gathering himself a people. So community is both a means and an end. It's where we're going, and it's how we get there.

...and also on page 29 talking about community:

"Community" is a buzzword these days, and for good reason. But buzzwords tend to lose meaning or change meaning, and often community means just another activity, something on the to-do list of the Christian lifestyle. I knew what community was, and even experienced it, but I never believed I needed it until now. My journey in community over the last couple of years has transformed me in all the ways "self-help" never could.

Spirtual growth today is largely undertaken through self-help methods, which are characterized by our tendency to measure maturity by how much we do, how much we know, and how spiritual people think we are. The value we derive from such achievment is short-term at best, and it is ultimately undermined by the impression that one can accomplish spiritual maturity in isolation from other people. If we can grow on our own, even with God's help, then we have something to boast about before others. But if we need each other to grow, then our boasting is turned into humility. This is how community exposes our inadequacies and magnifies the power of the gospel as our only hope for personal and cultural transformation.

I love that. Woohoo! I'm excited for once.

Hear from me about this soon.