Community is vital. We know this, because when we don't have it we don't feel fully alive. Its as if what we experience on our own is almost made real when we share it with others. Life just doesn't work when we feel alone.
The church understands this, and for years, especially if your church was founded before 1985, they have used this funny word for it.
Fellowship
Fellowship is community but it beckons us a little deeper. It's community that acknowledges it is a part of the larger story. Part of something bigger than ourselves.
Through fellowship we join in the cosmic, mysterious, and historical sort of relationship with each other that the church has been known to provide space for.
Unfortunately, the term fellowship also brings to mind images of musty fellowship halls, potlucks, and casseroles. Spaces and social situations in which you were meant to dress up and be the very best version of yourself.
For some of us who have been hurt by the church, the word fellowship is a cringeworthy reminder of a painful season of our lives. If you have no previous experience in the church it just sounds like a dated way to describe relationship.
One thing we can all agree on, fellowship sounds christian.
That's because it is. However it's an overused term that's been highjacked by stuffy christians for too long. So this is my attempt to take it back.
To begin, let's look at some of our needs:
We all crave meaning and community.
Like never before, people are interested in serving others. We seek out movements that evoke change in the world. We have discovered that the way we spend our time and resources can actually make a difference in the world and that there are changes worth investing in.
There are multiple social apps that connect people looking for others with the same interests, so that they can meet together and do what they. are passionate about. We are clicks away from community, through the internet that connects the majority of the world.
This is an abundant time to find your community/meaning and this is where the church seems to be missing the mark.
My friend Stephen said it best, "People didn't stop going to church, they just started calling it brunch."
Brilliant and true, lets unpack that a bit.
People are finding meaningful conversation around tables on topics they are passionate about. They are talking about real issues going on in the world and doing so without the fear that they don't have all the answers.
Brunch or other communal gatherings offer the ability to catch up with friends, and meet new ones, it's a table where all are welcome.
That sounds a lot like what a church should be, so why isn't church like that?
The key to our brunch-church dilemma, can be found in our old friend fellowship.
Fellowship offers us a way to come together, surrounded by meaning. Through it, we gather under the assumption that God is at work amongst us and we're invited to jump in. Even if we're at brunch sipping on twelve dollar mimosas, through fellowship we can recognize that when brunch is over, we are still part of something greater than ourselves. We are still following Jesus, and we are still the church.
The conversations we have in fellowship carry with them the context of the meaningful work we are all a part of. All of the good we want to do in the world, all of the change, can happen in the midst of our gathering because in fellowship things like justice, love, and empathy are implied. Meaning and community, become intertwined another is no reason to think of them separately.
We need spaces for fellowship. We need churches in which we can explore our faith as safely and as openly as we can at a table over a meal. Where we don't have to put on the best version of ourselves because we are already known and loved. In the spirit of this sort of authenticity, church can be a safer space. One that we can return to if it's burned us, or maybe one we can walk into more confidently if we have no prior experience with it at all.
I'm praying for that kind of church, I'm praying for fellowship.