that wonderful buzzword

Community.

Definite buzzword in the church right now. I'm all about it; I've experienced true community on several levels, and I am convinced it is an important part of the Christian life. It's through community that I have encountered the face of Christ.

At the school I currently attend, the "faces" of the school like to talk about the community among the student body, and how it's so great and welcoming.

About that...not seeing it.

Don't get me wrong; I've met some really nice people, and see the potential for some friendships. But not much has moved past the superficial level. When we're all together, we mix and mingle and talk to some degree. But outside that...what community is there?

In many ways, I don't feel like a part of this school.

Yes, I realize that as a first-year I haven't been here long enough to build strong relationships with a lot of people. It takes a while to build those relationships. But I'm even getting the same vibe from second- and third-years. Clearly if they've been here a while, they would feel more like a part of the community, right?

This train of thought comes from a conversation at our "community meeting" this morning. Someone mentioned the lack of student attendance at chapels, and how, among other things, it isn't showing prospective students and visitors the community that is here.

I offer this, instead: what if it really is showing the true state of the community here? What if the low attendance is not the problem itself, but the symptom of a larger problem?

You can talk about community all you want. You can claim it is there. But that may not be a true claim. I've been involved in groups like that, too, and it just felt so fake. And that, I think, is the real problem here. I get the sense that a few years ago there was a strong community at this school. But, perhaps certain personalities kept it going, and now that those people have graduated...people aren't sure what to do. Group dynamics are always changing at schools with the constant coming and going of new crops of students. In order to maintain a community, that community must be willing to shift and change with the changing dynamics. And I feel like people here haven't done that. You can't just keep saying, "We're a community" and *poof* one magically appears.

So maybe what needs to happen is an honest assessment of the current community life here. Admit that our talk is bigger than our walk. Then work to build one up again. I don't have some magic formula or recipe for making a community. You can't force it; it grows out of many different situations. But I do know one key to it is commitment: to each other, to the group, to the larger cause. Perhaps that's what is missing here...

(Note: I'm not trying to put down my school. I'm just trying to be honest about the way things are and my experience here thus far...)