I've often heard it said that "community is seldom found when it is the goal." For instance, have you met someone who was looking for a best friend. The fact that they were still searching indicates that they were focused on the wrong thing. Community is found, when the mission is the goal. When Dave shared this in a creative meeting a while back, it was as if a light bulb came on for me.
Don't believe me, just look around. Soccer moms are best friends with other soccer moms...not because they drive a Windstar, but because they spend time watching their kids run around and kick a ball. Get season tickets to Clemson football and sit in the same seats a few years in a row. The result is close community with the season ticket holders around you....not because you looked for community, but because you share a love for the Tigers.
Some of the best friends I have ever had came from my experience of working for Marriott Hotels. I was an employee for 6 years with the hotel chain, while balancing Undergrad and Seminary. Three years was spent working at the Residence Inn by Marriott. Could it be that I found community because everyone around me was committed to one thing? To be the, "Leading Extended stay hotel, where people away from home, feel they are among friends. We will do whatever it takes to satisfy.....Every guest, every stay, every day."
We sang this in the mornings at our meetings, we had laminated cards in our pockets that read it....we knew it and were committed to it. It is the MISSION of Residence Inn.
The result was not only offering amazing costumer service to travelers, but also finding close community. We have to be careful as the church, not to fall into pretending that we can accomplish an eHarmony model of small groups. We get hurt when we promise to make friends, love connections and amazing community experiences for everyone who walks through the doors.
Our goal should be our Mission. When we stay focused on the Mission that we are called to as a church and offer systems of assimilation into groups, the result is community.


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