WEBVTT 00:00:02.699 --> 00:00:04.960 Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:07.700 of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla. I'm Jordana. 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:11.119 My name is Amaval. I'm Hugh. And we are here 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.720 to continue talking about spiritual practices, 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:16.420 to talk about things that help us as we follow 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:19.160 in the way of Jesus, to become more like Jesus, 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:21.559 some of the things that Jesus has asked us to 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:24.539 do as we, yeah, learn what it means to be part 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:27.440 of the kingdom of God. And today we're talking 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:31.500 about the spiritual practice of community and 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:34.880 community I think when we think about it, we 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.100 don't maybe necessarily immediately think, oh, 00:00:37.100 --> 00:00:39.340 yeah, that's a spiritual practice. We think like, 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:42.679 oh, that's just like people. And yeah, sometimes 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:44.539 we think about people differently than we think 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:48.880 about like God. But yeah. So community as a spiritual 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:53.679 practice. What is it? What makes it a spiritual 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:55.960 practice? Yeah. Do you want to start us off, 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:59.420 Jordana? Sure. I think it's just really difficult 00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:03.079 to maintain faith all alone. Sure. You know, 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.959 everything, you know, pretty much all the practices 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.340 we've talked about become easier when you are 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:10.859 doing it with others. And there's a shared purpose. 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:14.459 There's a sense of togetherness where they are 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:16.099 praying together, where they're doing a Bible 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.780 study together. And it brings you out of that 00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:22.019 space where it's just God in you. Right. God 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:24.159 is doing something bigger in the world through 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:27.260 others as well and through you in with others. 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:31.010 And so. Yeah, I think spiritual practice allows 00:01:31.010 --> 00:01:35.530 you to lean into that purpose in a way that doesn't 00:01:35.530 --> 00:01:39.269 feel quite so isolated. Sure. Yeah. And gives 00:01:39.269 --> 00:01:41.790 you the strength to do it. Yeah. Yeah. No, that 00:01:41.790 --> 00:01:44.430 totally makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. How would you 00:01:44.430 --> 00:01:47.709 build on that? I think it's in a spiritual sense, 00:01:47.790 --> 00:01:50.530 it's a it's a gathering of Christians, because, 00:01:50.790 --> 00:01:53.150 yeah, you can gather with friends and whatever, 00:01:53.390 --> 00:01:56.780 but. you know, if you're not, you know, if they're 00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:58.840 secular, if they're not Christian, I mean, it's 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:01.099 going to be a different dynamic. Sure. I mean, 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:02.920 one of the things that I noticed, especially 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:07.219 with being a new Christian is, you know, Christians 00:02:07.219 --> 00:02:08.879 get each other, you know what I mean? Like, you 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:12.099 can talk, you can talk about a Christian subject 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:15.919 or Christian point of view. And yeah, you'll 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:17.939 get a response from your non -Christian friends 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:21.180 or so and family, but it's not going to be the 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.409 same type of response or understanding or reaction 00:02:24.409 --> 00:02:28.530 that that you do with with Christians. Sure. 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.710 And I mean, and I think in a more serious context 00:02:31.710 --> 00:02:37.789 as well, I mean, you know, community is is also 00:02:37.789 --> 00:02:40.610 Christian community is also survival, you know, 00:02:40.610 --> 00:02:43.189 especially when things are going to get when 00:02:43.189 --> 00:02:45.830 things get tough, when you need help, you know, 00:02:45.830 --> 00:02:50.210 it's best. It's better to have help from your. 00:02:50.349 --> 00:02:52.729 fellow Christians, you know, you guys, we have 00:02:52.729 --> 00:02:55.689 to stick together, especially you look at the 00:02:55.689 --> 00:03:00.189 modern world and at least our society. And we're 00:03:00.189 --> 00:03:03.870 very sort of like multi -religious, multi -faith 00:03:03.870 --> 00:03:07.349 sort of like, you know, the whole community doesn't 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:09.949 show up on a Sunday, you know, like it may be 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:12.919 used to. Sure. So we got to sort of like find 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.500 each other and stick with each other. Sure. Yeah. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.280 Yeah. And like finding those people helps you 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:20.180 to be able to like grow in your faith, to like 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:22.520 have those connection points and that sort of 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:24.419 thing. Yeah. Yeah. No, that makes sense for sure. 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:27.120 Yeah. What would you add to that, Hugh? Well, 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:30.599 just building on what you both said and Jordana 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:35.099 said about community, because we can't do the 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:38.819 Christian life alone. We need others. And from 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:41.000 the very beginning, you know, God said, it's 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:43.219 not good to be alone. Right. And Jesus said, 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:45.900 one, two or more gathered in my name, I am I'm 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.819 in your presence. Right. What makes it a spiritual 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:53.159 practice is the quality of of of the relationships 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:56.659 and community. OK, it's more than conversation. 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:00.000 It's even more than communication. It goes to 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.520 the level of what has been termed dialogue. And 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.580 in dialogue, you communicate heart to heart, 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:09.840 soul to soul. And that's what makes it a community. 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:15.520 And and I think, you know, with Jesus in your 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:20.079 midst, you're talking in dialogue. And really, 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:24.180 the essential part of community is the connection. 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:28.040 You know, we need to be connected. And we know 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:33.519 now from from from tons of research. that people 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.519 need to be connected. And if they're not connected, 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:40.060 it affects their health. Right. We know that 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:43.199 now. And we've known that for two thousand years 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.740 in Christianity. But now they're discovering 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:50.319 it in sociology and psychology and other disciplines. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:54.959 So community is really a group of individuals 00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:00.540 who commit to. coming together in dialogue at 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:03.740 the heart and at the soul level in the name of 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:08.319 Jesus. Yeah, that I think is really important. 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:10.839 That gives us a focus of what the community is 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:13.839 doing. It's not just hanging out in the same 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:16.500 space with people, but it's actually opening 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:19.220 up our lives, having meaningful conversations, 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:23.839 sharing a meal. doing things together. That's 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.879 right. Yeah. Just the spiritual notion of that 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:28.519 connection here that you're talking about, like 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:31.720 that shared spirit, you know, is so much a part 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.639 of how that connection happens and gets deeper. 00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:37.560 Right. Yeah. There is something transcendent 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.800 there. Right. In the midst. It's not just us 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:44.579 doing it all on our own. And it creates a sense 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:48.199 of. hopefully care and love that grows out of 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:53.379 those connections that grow and model the life 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:55.800 of Christ, right? But the life of Christ among 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:59.660 many people, not just you and Jesus. And so, 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:02.920 yeah. So I'd say that that, you know, coming 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:05.160 together like that allows for that to happen. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:09.220 Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I think the other 00:06:09.220 --> 00:06:11.040 piece that's coming to mind for you in this moment, 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:13.360 as we're talking about. what that actually looks 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.980 like, is that like community has these different 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:21.620 layers, right? That I am in community in one 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:24.199 sense with the whole church, with everybody who 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.439 goes to Trinity, with all of the Christians worldwide, 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:29.540 like we are all in a kind of community together, 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.720 but I'm not going to have heart -to -heart dialogues 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.319 with all of those people and I'm not going to 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.459 be able to share a meal with all of those people, 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:40.379 right? Yeah, so maybe let's reflect on what are 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:43.060 these different layers of community and what 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:45.300 role do each of those things play, do you think? 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:51.240 So we have this intimate group of this heart 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:53.319 -to -heart dialogue that you talked about, Hugh. 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:56.089 So yeah, what does that kind of a... practice 00:06:56.089 --> 00:06:58.889 of community look like? It's a level of, depending 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:02.370 on the size, that's very practical. It's the 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:05.290 level of vulnerability that's permitted, that's 00:07:05.290 --> 00:07:08.470 allowed, that's encouraged. Certainly in a large 00:07:08.470 --> 00:07:10.750 group that won't happen. The smaller groups, 00:07:10.910 --> 00:07:14.790 it happens, you know. But it's very, it's got 00:07:14.790 --> 00:07:18.009 to be very intentional because community doesn't 00:07:18.009 --> 00:07:21.480 happen. Just happen. It's it's it's it's it's 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:25.019 something that has to be worked at It's a challenge, 00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:27.800 you know, you really have to be intentional about 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:32.339 it in the emotional space and the spiritual space 00:07:32.339 --> 00:07:35.259 even in the physical space because community 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:37.939 and the small group in the church is different 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:40.639 than the big church but in the small group sitting 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:45.720 in a circle is very powerful because the circle 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:51.670 is something that's very That's very historical 00:07:51.670 --> 00:07:56.509 in a sense that the first people on earth were 00:07:56.509 --> 00:07:58.970 sitting around in a circle and the fire in the 00:07:58.970 --> 00:08:02.810 middle. And so we still sit in the circle. It's 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:04.990 a physical space and the fire in the middle is 00:08:04.990 --> 00:08:09.970 Jesus. But the way the physical space is arranged 00:08:09.970 --> 00:08:13.209 makes a big difference to freeing the emotional 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:18.519 and freeing the spiritual. Yeah. Yeah. And I 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:20.060 know Amalva, you've talked before about like 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:22.199 your experience with small groups and that sort 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:24.040 of thing has been really sort of formational. 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:25.800 So like, yeah, what does that sort of look like 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:28.879 for you? For me, and not just to plug it, but, 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:32.519 you know, like the the life groups, you know, 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:36.460 like especially and finding the right life group 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:39.940 is, you know, it can be a challenge, you know, 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:42.179 sometimes you be a former life group or you're 00:08:42.179 --> 00:08:44.500 part of a life group and you just don't gel and 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:47.860 then other groups are you know, they're really 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:51.039 helpful and especially because one of the things 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.820 I notice is that it's like Sometimes if somebody 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:57.659 is stuck on a certain aspect or a certain part 00:08:57.659 --> 00:08:59.559 of scripture, they're not understanding certain 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:03.419 things You know now you have you know eight nine 00:09:03.419 --> 00:09:06.700 ten eleven other people who you can bounce ideas 00:09:06.700 --> 00:09:10.620 off of or Get their perspective because you know 00:09:10.620 --> 00:09:14.490 even in a crit in a Christian group and not everybody's 00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:16.690 path to Christ has been the same. Sure. You know, 00:09:17.389 --> 00:09:20.450 some of us are long some are long time devoted 00:09:20.450 --> 00:09:23.889 Christians. Other people just got to Christianity 00:09:23.889 --> 00:09:26.909 a year or two ago. Other people are coming from 00:09:26.909 --> 00:09:30.730 different faiths to Christianity. You know, others 00:09:30.730 --> 00:09:34.230 are, you know, have, you know, have fallen away 00:09:34.230 --> 00:09:36.870 and are just coming back, you know, and and of 00:09:36.870 --> 00:09:39.549 course, our life experience is all, you know. 00:09:39.769 --> 00:09:44.710 So it's good because you get to see, you can 00:09:44.710 --> 00:09:47.649 get to see more than one perspective of Christianity. 00:09:47.789 --> 00:09:50.490 Right. Versus if you're just going to the church 00:09:50.490 --> 00:09:52.990 and listening to the sermon, well, that's the 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:55.850 pastor's perspective and the teachings and everything 00:09:55.850 --> 00:09:58.370 like that. But then you get to see it in other 00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:02.070 aspects. when an alert in a in a small group 00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:04.529 setting. Right. And you get to like ask your 00:10:04.529 --> 00:10:06.830 questions that like, you know, when when Rob 00:10:06.830 --> 00:10:09.529 is, you know, preaching from the from the front, 00:10:09.629 --> 00:10:11.129 you know, we can't interrupt him and say, Rob, 00:10:11.289 --> 00:10:14.190 that didn't make sense. Right. But you get that 00:10:14.190 --> 00:10:17.009 space in a small group or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. 00:10:17.169 --> 00:10:19.480 Yeah. Yeah, I mean, just to get back to levels 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:22.019 as well. Right. Like one aspect is that sense 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:24.559 of coming together once a week, you know, to 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:27.320 actually discuss, to get a hand, you know, a 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:30.240 text to learn each other to get you begin to 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.679 invest in each other's lives. There can be other 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:35.480 ways like there are monastic communities where 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:37.620 people intentionally living together and there's 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:40.360 much more shared life happening in those spaces. 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:44.200 I grew up Catholic and so the parish system, 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:47.159 you know, where there is a church and everybody 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:49.919 in two kilometers belong to that parish, you 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:54.340 begin to just have a sense of a broader community 00:10:54.340 --> 00:10:57.360 of friends who you learn to know over the years 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.879 in your community, right? And so that is more 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:03.340 geographically based, but you just are then not 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:05.500 necessarily meeting intentionally in a small 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:08.179 group, but you see each other at church and you 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:11.460 know about whoever it is, and you begin to slowly 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:14.980 know the people in your neighborhood in a way 00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:17.580 that. You know, the church becomes that hub of 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:20.639 meeting and then you begin meeting outside as 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:25.519 well. And so it creates a space within a geographical 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:27.379 area where you begin to know your neighbors, 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:29.460 you begin to know your friends. You have these 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:31.919 friendships where you're invested in each other's 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:33.940 lives on an ongoing basis and it's more organic. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:37.360 So, yeah, there are these different levels that 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:42.000 I think, you know, can can all generate ways 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.029 of sharing life. Yeah. Right. And so It's interesting 00:11:47.029 --> 00:11:49.450 to think through what it is, how we can implement 00:11:49.450 --> 00:11:53.750 that, and what exists for us here at those different 00:11:53.750 --> 00:11:55.750 levels, because they all exist simultaneously. 00:11:57.350 --> 00:11:59.669 Yeah, I think the other piece that sort of connects 00:11:59.669 --> 00:12:02.629 to that is that thinking about community as a 00:12:02.629 --> 00:12:04.669 spiritual practice doesn't always mean that we're 00:12:04.669 --> 00:12:07.830 doing super specifically spiritual things together. 00:12:08.570 --> 00:12:10.889 Everything is kind of spiritual because we are 00:12:10.889 --> 00:12:13.470 spiritual beings and we bring God's spirit into 00:12:13.470 --> 00:12:16.450 the things that we do. Sharing a meal together 00:12:16.450 --> 00:12:20.549 or like even like I knew this guy one time He 00:12:20.549 --> 00:12:22.509 was just like always busy doing lots of things 00:12:22.509 --> 00:12:24.230 and so like when he wanted to spend time with 00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:26.269 people He'd be like, hey like come and run errands 00:12:26.269 --> 00:12:32.549 with me Go grocery shopping do these things but 00:12:32.549 --> 00:12:35.269 like as we're doing that we're like Communicating 00:12:35.269 --> 00:12:37.049 and we're talking and like sharing life in a 00:12:37.049 --> 00:12:40.230 different way, right? So like yeah, just creating 00:12:40.230 --> 00:12:44.129 those spaces for whatever that looks like. Yes. 00:12:44.490 --> 00:12:47.029 Yeah. Community can be fun. Yeah. It's connection. 00:12:47.289 --> 00:12:50.009 I mean, Jesus at the wedding, I think made sure 00:12:50.009 --> 00:12:53.460 everybody had fun. Sure. kept the best wine to 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:58.100 the last. But community is really a place where 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:01.100 I think you referred to a Jordan a little earlier, 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:04.980 where that's life giving and that's where you 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:09.460 live your life. For me, community has meant everything 00:13:09.460 --> 00:13:12.659 in my Christian life. I met Jesus in an intervarsity 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:15.879 community in university. In our early married 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:19.080 life, we were in a couples group and that helped 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:21.940 us tremendously in our marriage. And throughout 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:25.000 our Christian life, we've been in one group after 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.860 another, which has really helped. Now it's our 00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:31.039 life group. And in this church, there's Alpha. 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:37.279 There's a variety of ways to communicate. But 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:41.620 the Christian life happens in community. And 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:44.860 if you don't have it, it's very difficult. We 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:48.279 have a friend who's trying to live the Christian 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:51.320 life alone, but it's a struggle. Sure. And we're 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:53.799 trying to pull them into some kind of community. 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:58.340 And because you just can't do it alone. Yeah, 00:13:58.340 --> 00:14:00.480 there is also the basic fact that we are born 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:04.379 into community. Our families are the first communities. 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:07.639 Right. Right. You cannot survive without them. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:11.360 And so there is that moment where, you know, 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:13.759 you just begin to think through that we're literally 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:17.740 created dependent on others. Yeah, absolutely. 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:21.580 Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I know, Jordana, you 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:23.120 had shared that at one point you were part of 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.440 an intentional community. So can you just explain, 00:14:25.539 --> 00:14:27.799 first of all, what that is and then what your 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:32.500 experience was like? So years ago now, but it 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:36.899 was a group of people coming together to live 00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:39.179 in the same neighborhood and sometimes in the 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:42.610 same house. It was more than just the people 00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:45.610 in our house. We had about two couples and two 00:14:45.610 --> 00:14:48.169 of us singles in a house that had actually, it 00:14:48.169 --> 00:14:50.009 was quite large, it was six bedrooms. And so 00:14:50.009 --> 00:14:52.190 we, you know, the couples took two each, we had 00:14:52.190 --> 00:14:55.090 one each, and I was single at the time. And it 00:14:55.090 --> 00:14:58.090 was about sharing life together. It was on the 00:14:58.090 --> 00:15:01.009 one hand amazing because it just meant that you 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:03.269 always had support and your friends around you. 00:15:03.289 --> 00:15:08.149 We all had part -time jobs to support. each other. 00:15:08.649 --> 00:15:11.090 We cooked meals together. There was a sense of 00:15:11.090 --> 00:15:13.230 rhythm in the day where you woke up and you prayed 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:15.570 together at seven in the morning. Then you went 00:15:15.570 --> 00:15:17.629 to your work and had different things to do. 00:15:18.250 --> 00:15:20.509 We committed to praying every afternoon, just 00:15:20.509 --> 00:15:22.549 wherever we were at one o 'clock. And because 00:15:22.549 --> 00:15:24.450 we were in different spaces, we didn't get together 00:15:24.450 --> 00:15:26.309 for that. And then we would have evening prayer. 00:15:26.490 --> 00:15:29.190 And you know, when I said that in community, 00:15:29.389 --> 00:15:32.129 even things like prayer and Bible reading are 00:15:32.129 --> 00:15:36.220 easier. that ended up being a structure in place 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.480 for us. We took turns cooking meals during the 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:42.860 week, so multiple gems during the week. You know, 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:45.500 one day was at mine and another day was others. 00:15:45.580 --> 00:15:48.620 And so you just ended up sort of getting together 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:51.519 and living life in a way that was so much easier 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:59.570 and more stressful. You just end up. um needing 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:01.830 less when you're sharing resources you don't 00:16:01.830 --> 00:16:04.750 have five people requiring five different i don't 00:16:04.750 --> 00:16:08.129 know toasters right like there's one and among 00:16:08.129 --> 00:16:11.929 all of us or the stuff like that where life gets 00:16:11.929 --> 00:16:17.149 um Just more wholesome, I think. We also had 00:16:17.149 --> 00:16:20.870 our own jobs, as I said. We had different schedules, 00:16:20.870 --> 00:16:24.309 but there were and we made space for that. But 00:16:24.309 --> 00:16:27.649 in terms of just sharing life, living more simply, 00:16:29.149 --> 00:16:32.470 holding each other through, you know, prayer 00:16:32.470 --> 00:16:38.370 and through Bible study. And it was an easier 00:16:38.370 --> 00:16:42.190 life, I would say. And because we were multiple 00:16:42.190 --> 00:16:44.269 people, and then there were others who shared 00:16:44.269 --> 00:16:46.789 homes, not as big as ours, but sometimes two 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:48.730 or three would be in a three -bedroom apartment, 00:16:48.830 --> 00:16:52.070 and they'd be joining us for events, for Bible 00:16:52.070 --> 00:16:56.049 studies. We were able to also sort of just open 00:16:56.049 --> 00:16:58.870 up our homes to neighbors, you know, to say, 00:16:59.090 --> 00:17:01.820 come and have a meal with us. You're not trying 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:03.899 to do it alone. You've got each other's backs. 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:08.299 It was safer in a way. It was more generous. 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:13.619 So yeah, so intentional community definitely 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:15.920 allowed for a lot more of the things we think 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:20.039 of as practices to happen in a way where everyone 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:23.829 supported each other. That was my experience, 00:17:24.089 --> 00:17:25.609 for the most part, yeah. Yeah, and it sounds 00:17:25.609 --> 00:17:27.529 like it was something that was really beneficial 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:29.890 and life -giving to you, but then it was also 00:17:29.890 --> 00:17:32.670 something that you were able to share with people 00:17:32.670 --> 00:17:34.369 in your home and outside of your home. And outside, 00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:36.549 yeah. Right? It was a blessing to the people 00:17:36.549 --> 00:17:38.509 in the home, but also a blessing to the neighborhood. 00:17:38.690 --> 00:17:42.950 Yes. Yeah. So that was actually quite a bit of 00:17:42.950 --> 00:17:44.890 why, actually, everyone came together. It was, 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:47.990 you know, we want to be able to do this together 00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:51.900 and we want to be able to also serve beyond that 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:55.099 and doing it and serving in a group is just so 00:17:55.099 --> 00:17:57.960 much easier than trying to incorporate service 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:01.480 on your own. And so, yeah, it worked well. Yeah, 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:04.380 yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I think that is like a 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:07.859 really beautiful model of community and like 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:09.859 so awesome that like you were able to spend that 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:12.420 time doing that. And I think if folks are able 00:18:12.420 --> 00:18:14.200 to participate in something like that, that is. 00:18:14.949 --> 00:18:17.589 incredible. And that's not the only way that 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:19.369 we practice community, right? Like, there'll 00:18:19.369 --> 00:18:20.630 be some folks who hear that story and they're 00:18:20.630 --> 00:18:22.450 like, that was great for you, Jordan. That's 00:18:22.450 --> 00:18:24.849 right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and I said it was 00:18:24.849 --> 00:18:27.589 a few years ago. There were challenges there, 00:18:27.970 --> 00:18:30.329 too. Sure. Ultimately, I think, you know, even 00:18:30.329 --> 00:18:33.609 there, some of the challenges of I think for 00:18:33.609 --> 00:18:36.910 us, for me, it was like getting married and and 00:18:36.910 --> 00:18:39.890 my husband's job took me away, you know, so, 00:18:39.890 --> 00:18:42.940 you know, different ways in which. sustaining 00:18:42.940 --> 00:18:46.140 that community or continuing and it became a 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:49.420 challenge. But yeah, for the time that I was 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:53.259 in there for the few years, it was a wonderful 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:56.759 space. Yeah, I've also heard of families doing 00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:58.599 like kind of like intentional community, but 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:01.259 not living together, just being like, OK, every 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:03.339 Friday or every Sunday, we're going to like all 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:05.119 gather together and like maybe we'll all go to 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:07.359 the playground together and we'll all cook a 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.440 meal together. Right. And just like finding those 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:12.650 ways to cultivate community. in the rhythms that 00:19:12.650 --> 00:19:16.529 like work in your life. Yeah. Yeah. What about 00:19:16.529 --> 00:19:18.730 you folks? Any other sort of particular experiences 00:19:18.730 --> 00:19:21.849 of community that you feel like were impactful 00:19:21.849 --> 00:19:28.650 for you? I think just just living in sort of 00:19:28.650 --> 00:19:32.029 a monastic tradition, but for for a time. OK, 00:19:32.269 --> 00:19:35.529 like I've had that experience several times, 00:19:35.609 --> 00:19:39.759 like 10 days at a time. Sure. And that was a 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:42.299 tremendous experience because it allows you to, 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.980 you're disconnected from the outside world. You're 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:47.259 not allowed cell phones or anything like that. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:53.759 No TVs, maybe one or two books. And you go to 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:57.579 a formal mass or service every day. Mine happened 00:19:57.579 --> 00:19:59.819 to be a Catholic community, a Jesuit community. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:05.500 So we went to mass every day. We had a certain 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:09.819 time for prayer and a certain time for Bible 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:13.799 reading and an optional time to meet with a spiritual 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:18.140 director if you wanted to. So that was a kind 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:22.299 of a mini experience of the monastic kind of 00:20:22.299 --> 00:20:27.460 community, which is fabulous because it connects 00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:30.220 you to the world. It fills you with new life 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:32.869 and then you can. be ready to go back into the 00:20:32.869 --> 00:20:37.440 world. Yeah, yeah for sure. Sorry, I'm just going 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:39.019 to jump in a mouthful if you wanted to say something. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:40.759 No, no, no, you're good. I was just going to 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:41.960 say, like, you know, at Trinity there are so 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:44.660 many different forms of meeting beyond the life 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:47.380 groups, right, that people plug into and learn 00:20:47.380 --> 00:20:50.819 about each other. Sometimes it's kids' church, 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:53.119 sometimes it's, you know, helping out together, 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:54.880 or sometimes it's a women's ministry where you 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:56.720 just bring in, like those are the ones that I'm 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.420 involved in. There are so many different forms 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:03.819 that allow people to... come in at different 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:07.440 places and connect in different ways. Right. 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:10.220 And so it's it's worth sort of exploring that. 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:12.859 For me, the small groups, as well as women's 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:14.420 ministry, have been places where I've been able 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:19.519 to find other women and other people who I could 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:21.900 be I could share my life with. Yeah. Yeah. That 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:27.000 makes sense. Yeah. So it's it's very powerful, 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.140 even in a secular setting in the last 16 years 00:21:31.140 --> 00:21:35.789 of my career. I was the head of a fairly large 00:21:35.789 --> 00:21:40.069 organization and we needed to really change the 00:21:40.069 --> 00:21:43.769 culture in that organization. We needed to move 00:21:43.769 --> 00:21:48.170 from a culture of fear to a culture of feeling 00:21:48.170 --> 00:21:52.549 more accepted so that our creativity and our... 00:21:53.980 --> 00:21:57.799 Our products would be better quality. Sure. So 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:00.720 what we did is we created what we call leadership 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.839 circles throughout the organizations. And there 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.940 was, I think, seven to nine people in the organizations. 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:11.359 There were two leaders. The leaders were trained 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:18.960 and they met for half a day every month. We started 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.339 with a time of silence and sometimes a time of 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:24.559 a piece of music, sometimes a piece of poetry 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:27.279 just to get the, you know, the right brain geared 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.900 in. Sure. And then we would we would discuss 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:33.599 what we would call what we call the check in. 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:36.099 What's happening in your work? What's happening 00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:39.519 in your life? And then they would share that. 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:44.299 And then we would go into a didactic session 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:47.539 of what the teaching leading edge leadership. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:51.079 theory or practice. And then we'd have a checkout. 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:53.799 What was it like for you today and so on and 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:59.200 so forth. And over the 10 years that we did this, 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:03.220 it was incredible what happened. Because, you 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:07.819 know, Jesus will be there, even if it's not overtly 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:12.079 there. He's in their midst. And people were saying, 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:15.119 you know, I feel so much more productive in the 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:17.640 organization. I don't feel the fear anymore. 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.839 I feel a sense of well -being. And they were 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:27.240 just, it was just amazing. So it changed the 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:31.640 culture of the organization from a lack of engagement 00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:34.839 to an engagement level on the part of staff that 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:37.660 was higher than the Canadian average. And that 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:40.960 was because we had community. in the organization. 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:44.259 That's building community in the workplace. But 00:23:44.259 --> 00:23:47.400 we did it in that fashion. So I think community, 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:51.599 whether it's secular, whether it's in a church, 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:54.720 works because when two or more are gathered together, 00:23:54.980 --> 00:24:03.680 I'm in their midst. We sounds like community 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:05.839 is super beneficial. Sounds like community has 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:08.119 been really meaningful for us. I want us also 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:11.940 to be honest, community is not always easy. Right. 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:14.180 So like what are some of the challenges that 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:16.039 you guys have experienced as you think about 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:20.140 being part of a community? One of the things 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:23.259 that I find is that like, you know, even when 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:25.519 you're gathered with other Christians, it's like 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:28.599 you can be like, OK, you're Christian, but you're 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:30.700 a totally different Christian than me, you know. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.779 And like, and I'm not even talking about like 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:35.880 different denominations or so, but just even 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:39.440 like different perspectives on things or, you 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:43.099 know, like, you could mention somebody's name 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:45.700 or something that that, you know, is in media 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:48.359 or whatever. And that says they're Christian 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:51.480 or whatever. And then You know, some people will 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:53.740 be like, oh, that guy's amazing. And other people 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:56.019 like, oh, they're horrible. You shouldn't listen 00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:58.819 to them. You follow them. Yeah, there's controversial 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:01.900 people. There's things that you find out that 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:04.039 people in your Christian community are doing. 00:25:04.119 --> 00:25:05.980 You know, like, I don't know if that's biblical. 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.960 I don't know if you should be doing that. Right. 00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:11.559 You know, yeah. So it can kind of get like it 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:13.119 can get challenging because it's like you don't 00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:15.180 want to step on anybody's toes. But you just 00:25:15.180 --> 00:25:18.190 like at the same time, you're like. I'm not sure, 00:25:18.289 --> 00:25:20.609 you know, are we all on the same page? Sure. 00:25:20.789 --> 00:25:22.450 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. No, lots of different 00:25:22.450 --> 00:25:25.990 ideas. I know earlier when we were sort of talking 00:25:25.990 --> 00:25:28.529 through this, one of the things that you said, 00:25:28.630 --> 00:25:30.309 Jordana, that like continues to stand out to 00:25:30.309 --> 00:25:31.930 me is you said that there's an element of our 00:25:31.930 --> 00:25:34.529 family that's not fully chosen. That's right. 00:25:34.950 --> 00:25:36.710 Right. They're like, in some ways we're opting 00:25:36.710 --> 00:25:38.730 in, but we're like, OK, we're choosing to follow 00:25:38.730 --> 00:25:40.950 Jesus. But I don't get to choose who is following 00:25:40.950 --> 00:25:43.470 Jesus. That's right. Yeah. Right. And then there 00:25:43.470 --> 00:25:46.509 is blessing and there is challenge in that, for 00:25:46.509 --> 00:25:49.920 sure. What about some of the other challenges 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:53.220 that we sometimes face? Well, we're human and 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:56.039 we're all created differently and we rub each 00:25:56.039 --> 00:25:59.380 other the wrong way. And those are challenges. 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:04.140 We have moods, you know, and that comes out in 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:07.740 any kind of community. That's why community is 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:11.019 really difficult in that sense. Very rewarding, 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:16.660 very healing. but very challenging as well. And 00:26:16.660 --> 00:26:18.539 that's why we can't do it alone. That's why we 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:22.420 need crisis presence. Right, for sure. It's not 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:25.039 going to be a community that doesn't require 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:27.200 some amount of forgiveness. It's just a base 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:29.920 level of how to operate. It's going to break 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:32.390 up because... You know, it's one thing to just 00:26:32.390 --> 00:26:34.950 agree to disagree on certain things or to wonder 00:26:34.950 --> 00:26:39.049 about disagreements. It's one thing to just have 00:26:39.049 --> 00:26:41.950 personalities that, as you said, you don't get 00:26:41.950 --> 00:26:44.390 along very well. But there'll be times when people 00:26:44.390 --> 00:26:49.390 actively sin or actively might hurt. And sometimes 00:26:49.390 --> 00:26:51.710 it's intentional. Sometimes it may not even be 00:26:51.710 --> 00:26:56.069 intentional. And so within all of that difference 00:26:56.069 --> 00:27:00.170 and messiness. as you said, Christ has to be 00:27:00.170 --> 00:27:03.069 there to be able to navigate, you know, everything 00:27:03.069 --> 00:27:06.089 from just I don't like something to I've been 00:27:06.089 --> 00:27:09.930 hurt. Right. Or I need to be forgiven as well. 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:15.170 And so there is all of that that plays out within 00:27:15.170 --> 00:27:19.210 community. And there needs to be wise ways to 00:27:19.210 --> 00:27:24.630 navigate and to put into place communication 00:27:24.630 --> 00:27:28.859 and I don't know, just a range of Ways to deal 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:32.039 with all of it sure yeah, so when you think about 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:35.000 these challenges of like coming up against Tension 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.980 and frustration and hurt like yeah, what what 00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:39.779 would you sort of offer to folks is okay? How 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:41.759 do we work through that? How do we come overcome 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:44.339 these challenges? I think step one is just like 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:46.380 being prepared to know that like this is going 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:49.059 to happen and that because I think sometimes 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:52.859 folks will get into a Community or a relationship 00:27:52.859 --> 00:27:54.519 or whatever and they'll say oh, this is like 00:27:54.519 --> 00:27:56.960 going so great And then they hit their first 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:00.119 thing their first fight, their first disagreement. 00:28:00.299 --> 00:28:02.599 And they're like, ah, this is no longer worth 00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:05.240 it. And they like check out at that point. Right. 00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:07.180 But to say, no, that is actually a normal part 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:10.440 of what's happening to be in community with other 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:12.220 people. So yeah, I think step one is knowing 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:14.740 that that is going to happen and being ready 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:17.000 to sort of work through it. But then like, yeah, 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.980 how how do we work through that? In fact, that's 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:22.099 a measure of real community when that happens, 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:24.839 because it's going to happen. Right. And I think. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:28.980 a community that remains strong has has to have 00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:32.299 wise leadership that have been through this and 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:34.640 can take can journey with the group and take 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:38.460 them to the other side. Sure. And if because 00:28:38.460 --> 00:28:43.799 I think communities stay or fall depending on 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:46.980 the leadership. Leadership has to be a very wise, 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:51.269 sensitive leader leadership. Yeah. I'd also make 00:28:51.269 --> 00:28:56.230 it plural, right? Leaders, the bigger the community, 00:28:56.269 --> 00:28:57.910 and I'm just thinking of Trinity, it's a big 00:28:57.910 --> 00:29:00.369 enough church that is, you know, oh, Pastor Rob 00:29:00.369 --> 00:29:03.369 cannot resolve every difference that comes up 00:29:03.369 --> 00:29:06.970 alone. There needs to be the building up of other 00:29:06.970 --> 00:29:09.230 good leaders. You talked about circles of leaders, 00:29:09.690 --> 00:29:12.490 Hugh, you know, and I think that a church does 00:29:12.490 --> 00:29:16.890 need to invest in that as well. And so, yeah. 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:20.500 That's why Moses needed leaders, you know, multiple 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:24.400 leaders delegate. Yeah. But so that's one aspect 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:26.799 of it. Right. But the other is also knowing that 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:30.160 even among all the differences, I think it's 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:34.859 hard. But to remember that Jesus is sort of the 00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:37.599 central together, the one that holds together 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:39.519 and the one that asks you to forgive and the 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:41.420 one that doesn't ask you to throw your heart 00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:45.299 away either to do it, do things to address it. 00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:49.420 But but to also know that forgiveness can be 00:29:49.420 --> 00:29:53.619 part of that of the process. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:55.599 I think that there is there's a fine line to 00:29:55.599 --> 00:30:00.319 walk between like being honest and acknowledging 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:04.200 real hurt and not like holding on to that hurt 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:06.980 such that it like prevents you from further community 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:11.119 and relationship. Right. Right. There is discernment 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:13.779 and spaces to forgiveness does not necessarily 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:17.900 mean always continuing with relationship with 00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:24.140 the person who has hurt you necessarily. A large 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:26.220 enough community might allow those spaces to 00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:28.480 happen. Sometimes in very small communities, 00:30:28.920 --> 00:30:32.059 it may be difficult to find those spaces, and 00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:37.519 that can be quite challenging. I think as well, 00:30:37.900 --> 00:30:42.240 just being able to understand that if that group 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:45.700 doesn't give you joy, to walk away from it, but 00:30:45.700 --> 00:30:50.519 walk away with Christ -like love. You still love 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:52.880 your brothers and sisters in Christ, but they're 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:56.880 just maybe not the right fit. There's going to 00:30:56.880 --> 00:30:59.240 be other people that are going to be more of 00:30:59.240 --> 00:31:03.400 a better fit for you. I've experienced that with 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:07.400 a life group. I was in a life group with a bunch 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:10.240 of other people for a while, and you know of 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:11.900 course there's like the honeymoon phase everything 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:14.740 is going well and then and then things started 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:19.579 to fall apart slowly and then uh to me and another 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:22.740 person we sort of we we left the group and sure 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:26.339 and we but we found another group that we really 00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:29.039 connect with and and sometimes it can just be 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:31.900 as simple as hearing of other people's stories 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:35.380 and being like i can already relate to this and 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:38.509 i'm already just Getting there, you know, so 00:31:38.509 --> 00:31:41.450 yeah, so just like knowing that we don't need 00:31:41.450 --> 00:31:44.369 to be It goes back to those levels of community. 00:31:44.369 --> 00:31:47.329 Yeah, right Like not we are all part of the Christian 00:31:47.329 --> 00:31:49.990 family So in that sense we are in community with 00:31:49.990 --> 00:31:51.670 all of the people who are trying to follow Jesus 00:31:51.670 --> 00:31:53.950 together But that doesn't mean that all of those 00:31:53.950 --> 00:31:56.849 people get to be or need to be or even can be 00:31:56.849 --> 00:32:00.069 in our like core group Yeah, right. So it's that 00:32:00.069 --> 00:32:02.509 discernment You know, you can still say hi and 00:32:02.509 --> 00:32:05.410 hug people at the church but not have like an 00:32:05.410 --> 00:32:08.680 intimate connection with them outside of that. 00:32:09.420 --> 00:32:13.480 Yeah, that's OK. Mm hmm. I think the other piece 00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:15.119 that I would sort of say as we move into like, 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:18.440 OK, so how do we develop community is that like 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:22.039 sometimes it starts with us. I need to be willing 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:25.819 to put myself out there. Yeah, to to. to develop 00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:27.480 some sort of a community. And that doesn't mean 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:29.660 I need to put myself out there in like some grand 00:32:29.660 --> 00:32:32.319 way. Yeah. But just like being like, OK, hey, 00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:34.519 Jordana, do you want to go grab coffee sometime 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:37.099 or while we're at coffee hour at the church? 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:39.660 Just be like, oh, I'm going to go talk to this 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:42.299 person that I think I just like feel some sort 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:45.380 of connection to or whatever. Right. Yeah. And, 00:32:45.539 --> 00:32:47.440 you know, there are so those are the personality 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:49.400 challenges of community. But sometimes it's just 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:52.200 practical. You know, we live very busy lives 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:54.980 and this culture, everything's further away. 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:56.920 I mean, when I talked about the parish model, 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:59.680 the thing that got me about that is how organically 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:01.920 community formed when you live very close by. 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:04.900 And if you're further away, it just becomes so 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:08.579 much more of an effort to get together, to plan 00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:11.519 something, to drive 25 minutes away, instead 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:13.599 of like going over to the very next building, 00:33:13.740 --> 00:33:15.500 you know, and just jumping into somebody's life, 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:17.819 like ring the bell and then there and say hello. 00:33:18.059 --> 00:33:21.420 And that's a very different way of connecting 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:25.299 than having to consistently plan everything when 00:33:25.299 --> 00:33:27.460 you have a moment or when you have some time. 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:31.640 And so those challenges can really play an outsized 00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:35.420 role, I think, when we live in suburbia, when 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:38.740 we, you know what I mean, when we, when our communities 00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:41.210 are. cities are structured the way they are. 00:33:41.650 --> 00:33:44.269 And that can be a real challenge to building 00:33:44.269 --> 00:33:47.349 communities, just how busy and how far away we 00:33:47.349 --> 00:33:49.390 are from each other. Sure. But eventually you'll 00:33:49.390 --> 00:33:52.490 see the necessity in making that time as well. 00:33:52.490 --> 00:33:54.609 Yes. Because I mean, like one thing I've said 00:33:54.609 --> 00:33:57.769 is that, you know, sometimes once a week on Sunday 00:33:57.769 --> 00:34:01.349 is not enough. You know, like you can everything 00:34:01.349 --> 00:34:03.410 can be going well and then something goes wrong. 00:34:03.410 --> 00:34:05.430 And if it happens in the middle of the week, 00:34:05.430 --> 00:34:08.730 you know. If you don't have anybody there to 00:34:08.730 --> 00:34:11.389 talk to, you know, if you don't have a community 00:34:11.389 --> 00:34:14.829 you can reach out to, you know, it can be, it 00:34:14.829 --> 00:34:18.110 just makes it more difficult. For sure. Especially 00:34:18.110 --> 00:34:21.889 for me, like I've, you know, I can count on one 00:34:21.889 --> 00:34:24.909 hand the number of actual like legitimate Christians 00:34:24.909 --> 00:34:28.489 in my family on both sides and none of them live 00:34:28.489 --> 00:34:33.909 close. Right. So, you know, being at the, obviously 00:34:33.909 --> 00:34:36.480 being at the church is amazing, but You know, 00:34:36.679 --> 00:34:39.960 having my, you know, having my life group is 00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:42.559 very beneficial for sure. And on top of that, 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.099 I mean, even if you're not in the same life group 00:34:45.099 --> 00:34:49.139 or so, make friends so you can, you know, just 00:34:49.139 --> 00:34:53.099 go have a birthday lunch or have a coffee or 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:56.460 go see a concert or whatever, you know, just 00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:59.960 keep those Christian connections together because. 00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:04.320 Again, in a world where not everybody is Christian, 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:07.940 we need each other more than ever. Yeah, I think 00:35:07.940 --> 00:35:10.639 after going through the challenges of busyness, 00:35:11.739 --> 00:35:18.380 I think for a community to work, I think there 00:35:18.380 --> 00:35:20.760 has to be a certain vulnerability. You have to 00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:24.880 open your life. you know, so the other person 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:28.219 is free to open theirs. And that happens in a 00:35:28.219 --> 00:35:30.539 friendship and it happens also in community. 00:35:31.219 --> 00:35:33.780 And if the vulnerability isn't there, if we're 00:35:33.780 --> 00:35:37.920 not open, willing to open our lives, then it 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:41.460 does, community doesn't happen. And that's a 00:35:41.460 --> 00:35:46.440 challenge for many reasons, you know. But that 00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:48.679 that vulnerability has to be there after we find 00:35:48.679 --> 00:35:51.480 the time to do it. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Well, 00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:55.300 thank you so much, folks. Yeah, just that encouragement. 00:35:55.539 --> 00:35:58.000 Start where you're at. Yes. Geographically, with 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:00.139 the people that you know, with the communities 00:36:00.139 --> 00:36:02.800 that you can have and be willing to go deeper 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:05.239 to work through all of the hard things, because 00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:08.369 together. we will form that community of Christ. 00:36:08.409 --> 00:36:11.050 Yes. Yeah. And thank you for tuning into this 00:36:11.050 --> 00:36:13.030 week's episode of Trinity Talks. I hope that 00:36:13.030 --> 00:36:15.869 wherever you are, you can find your people and 00:36:15.869 --> 00:36:18.030 you can dive deeper into those relationships 00:36:18.030 --> 00:36:20.889 so that, yeah, together with all of these people 00:36:20.889 --> 00:36:23.230 and with all of us in all of these levels of 00:36:23.230 --> 00:36:25.829 community, we can grow into the people of Christ 00:36:25.829 --> 00:36:27.190 and we'll see you again next week.