Community is annoying

One of the main goals of our church is to be community. But the hard part about community is that at a certain point, every person in the world gets a bit annoying. Whether it is a way they ask questions, a way they drive, how they talk to you, what they wear, I dunno. At a certain point, the newness wears off, the friendship is comfortable, and something that that person does starts to get on your nerves a bit.

And I think that is one of the primary places that community happens. It is in recognizing that the person you are hanging out with is imperfect in many ways, that they are not always funny or cool or fun, and that they are just flat out pissing you off. To me, that is where and when community happens.

It happens in that decision to not be the jerk you are hiding deep inside, it happens in recognizing that you yourself are an arrogant know-it-all, and it happens in the place where you see them as a deeply flawed, annoying as hell, son or daughter of the living God. It is where you see in them a mirror that shines on you. And you are able to let go of the illusion that you are perfect and deserve a perfect community.

I am tempted next week at church to say something on the lines of "Welcome to Refuge Community Church, we are a deeply flawed, dysfunctional, strange family, and we would love to include you in what God is up to here." But everyone would probably be annoyed with me for that.