What Kind of Community and How to Train Students to Build the Community of Christ

In pursuing the goal of building the community of Christ at Veritas, we have to ask ourselves, “what kind of community?”  And what does building that kind of community have to do with education?

Nobody is really against building a community.  Even non-Christians long for a community.  But what kind of community does God want us to build?  

1. He wants to build a community that is so “full of Christ” that it will impact the world radically by the kind of community we are, one that “fills all in all” (Eph 1:23).  The culture of a Christian community will be set apart from other cultures, in that it is radically Christ-centered.  That does not mean that it is full of perfect people.  But it will be full of the grace and truth of Christ.  We need to reject all forms of man-centered vision of community.   

2. He wants to build a community where people are reconciled through the finished work of Christ, where all relationships are built on the truth that Christ died to make us one (Eph 2:16), and where we act upon that reality. (Eph 4:25-32).  We need to reject creating a sense of community or friendship that is merely based on common interests.

3. He wants to build a community, where every member is necessary for the health of all the other members.  Gifts and strengths of different members are used to grow up into Christ (Eph 4:15-16).  We reject false forms of diversity that value differences but not unity in Christ.      

4. Building a Christ-centered community begins with love, but that love must lead to obedience to Christ.  In building a Christ-centered community, God requires change in our culture, in our family, workplace, speech, and behavior that is in alignment with God’s character and his laws.  This requires a community that honors God and his laws, and a community that speaks the truth in love.  We reject love that does not lead to truth and obedience to Christ.  

Building this kind of community requires the following postures & practices as an educational community.  

1. It begins with faith in what God has already accomplished in Christ.  In practice, this means that our teachers and students should approach education with a sense of wonder and worship, where our hearts are filled with humility, gratitude, and a sense of wonder at God’s truth, goodness, and beauty. (Eph 1:18-20). All teachers are encouraged to start their lessons with some kind of “wonder-starters,” where the goal of the lesson is to see the “great works of the Lord.”  Secondary students learn how to worship God in their daily time of personal worship.  

2. It requires active teaching and learning in the knowledge of Christ (Eph 1:17), in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4), which is to know who Christ is, and how to submit to him in every area of culture.  Parents and teachers together need to provide a comprehensive, scaffolded instruction in the Lordship of Christ in every area of culture.    

3. It requires a process of repentance and being renewed in our heart, head, and hand (Eph 4:22-24).  Parents and teachers form partnership to guide each student toward a genuine transformation that begins in the heart and ends in obedience to Christ.

1. It requires that we practice the above three in the context of the culture of our community, i.e., how we live out our lives.  Many times, we don’t know what sin looks like until it happens in the context of specific things we do together as a community, in our speech, behavior, and thoughts toward one another.  In a similar way, we won’t know what God’s grace looks like until we practice grace and truth toward one another, especially in the face of sin and its consequences (Eph 4:17-5:21).