I first described this as building biblical community and then realized it is so much more than that. Interpersonal relationships is the basic core for any community. Without relationships no matter how much we structure a community and give it names and titles it is not a true community, no matter how much effort is put into oversight and growth. At best we could end up with a bunch of cliques which is what many times we see at what is called ‘church’. I have already covered discovering hidden hurts and anamosities, and repairing broken family relationships. At the core here are problems that interrupt proper family order. Some are hidden, many are just ignored. At the heart of this lies the responsibility of the leader or leaders to uncover and repair problems that break down family cohesion. The church and for that matter most organizations will benefit from conflict resolution.

— Definitions of Community

So what is community? A community is a group of people connected by shared characteristics, location, interests, or identity, forming a sense of belonging, mutual support, and shared purpose. These days not all communities meet in person. With the rapid expance of the internet and social media we now have millions of online or virtual communities that rarely, if ever, meet in person. This does not mean there is no interpersonal dialogue. Breakout rooms and direct messaging should be encourage in virtual communities.

A biblical community is a community based upon biblical concepts which help bind people together in common purpose, support, and encouragement. Interpersonal community is not a community, per se, but covers a whole range of groups which tend to get networked together. Each cell or specific group runs semi-autonomously with a common unifying organization pulling together the cells under one umbrella. Each group does not necessarily have to be christian but should include a set of core values and beliefs to keep the community united.

One such historical community was the Essenes near to the Dead Sea. This is the group that is attributed to hiding scrolls in caves which stood hidden for almost 2000 years. Traits of the community included communal living facilities, sharing things in common, ritual and spiritual purity. They envisioned arrival of Messiah in both priestly and kingly fashion. Their existence largely disappeared after Rome sacked Jerusalem in AD 70.

Other communities adhering to strict guidelines and purity are the Puritans of New England and the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania. In the world we live in today it is very difficult for any group to remain strictly isolation.

I have experience some of this community life during disaster relief rebuilding and one some missions trips overseas. In general the American culture is very individualistic and lacks good communal characteristics. Some churches strive to add community into their agendas, especially at midweek meetings. As part of some home church and home cell organizations I share in community as we strive to interract in each other’s lives and share life and worship and study together. Biblical community includes all of the benefits of communal life with the added emphasis on learning and expressing judeo-christian values and teachings.

Sometimes organizations, especially those I have seen online, can get heavily focused on one thing or another. For instance, some groups emphasis sabbath keeping and following the Torah, almost to the exclusion of following grace and christian freedom. Other groups I am not part of focus on things like free expression and even LGBTQ+ rights. Let us focus on one biblical community found in the bible at Jerusalem.

— The Church in Jerusalem

Acts 2:42::
they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

44-46: All who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

There we have a total of three verses that attemp to describe a biblical community.

The Apostle’s docrines probably emphasizing Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and the believer’s response through repentance, baptism in his name, and receiving the Holy Spirit. Obviously the whole cannon of scripture was not available during this Jerusalem church.

The day of Pentecost had recently occured so they had that experience but the church had not yet spread out to the Gentiles. Speaking in tongues then was probably regulated to speaking to people in other languages that visit Jerusalem. Even the idea of ‘believer’s baptism’ was probably not a topic they spoke about and probably consisted more of the idea of mikveh’s (ritual baths) that the Jews and John the Baptist preaced.

Fellowship is absolutely key to group cohesion. That means sharing life together, not just a communal meal. Christ’s followers were with him almost all of the time. That is community. Breaking of bread was something they had learnt from Christ as the fed the 4000 and 5000 who gathered to hear Christ preach. The idea of some special service to break bread and drink from the cup was known but most likely more as a seder dinner or as a group gathering for a meal. Group prayers are also essential as in any group to be praying the same direction and for a common purpose.

Then we get to verse 44 which says they shared all things in common, sold possessions and good, and divided them among all.

Acts 4:32 highlights the communal nature of the gatherings in Jerusalem: Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

This did highlight the idea that sharing everything helps give people a sense of being of one heart and soul. This worked well for awhile. Even Barnabus (Joseph) a Levite from Cyprus shared in this giving. The problems soon creep in when Ananais and Saphira sold a possession and only brought in a portion of the proceeeds, lying that it was all they received. Their decision to lie ended up having deadly consequences.

They also met in the temple daily and broke bread from house to house. Most likely the temple provided a central meeting place and houses a communal setting for meals and fellowship.

Beyond that we have little knowledge of how this community progressed, especially after AD 70.

Christ said, “When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (Matt. 24:15-16, Mark 13:14). So these early followers eventually went to the mountains and then scattered. They had probably alread scattered much during the time of persecutions of Saul of Tarsus which started within a few years of the crucifixion.

As I said before, the Essenes continued communal living all the way up until the desctruction of the temple. Beyond this we have no record of widespread communal living in the New Testament. In fact, most Jews then and now believe in personal property. The Torah and Gospels teach us to be generous and to share with those in need. It also distates punishment and restitution for lands stolen or boundary markers moved. There are special provisions in the Torah to keep ancestral land within families, often reverting to original owners during the year of Jubilee. Of interest here, the law of Jubilee land return is not normally applied to lands outside of Israel so that if Barnabus sold lands in Cyprus they may never have gotten returned to his family. Levites had no inheritance in Israel so Cypress land was understandable or even land in Israel acquired by purchase or gifted.

So we really have no definitive example of ‘biblical community’.

— What biblical community has come to mean

I was part of a church in Raleigh which had community on Wednesday evenings. We met each week to share a meal together and fellowship and attend a class. It was good community as far as what I have seen elsewhere. It was not quite sharing life together but was a step in the right direction. True biblical community should involve sharing life together, meaning our good times and our bad times, our triumphs and our failures, our special days and our not-so-special days. We have biological families and also we should have bibilcal families, sometimes the later even being the closer family.

Recently I was part of an effort on behalf of our local assembly ensuring legal paperwork was set up for an elderly lady upon death or regarding near-to-death issues. There is really nothing to share materially so don’t get the idea anyone here is going to make lots of money. It was done just to show that in death, as in life, we need to help each other with burdens. A friend of this friend died unexpectently with no paperwork done. Things did not go as hope afterwards. Making final arrangements is important! Likewise, helping with financial matters while living is also part of sharing community together. This is also our trust base. There are many scammers and online predators out there so having biblical family is essential, especially for the elderly, infirm, and poor. We can help each other in many different ways beyond financial advice or help. Prayer is essential as was in the early church model in Jerusalem.

— Interpersonal community as an extension of community

So I said before that interpersonal communities are not communities per se, not even really a virtual community. We can be tied together by specific values, goals, and traditions. In the business world we have ties such as a memorandum of understanding. The is a business document spelling out two or more organizations interract. This might be a bit formal for an ad hoc group who just likes to meet together on Thursday online for a discussion about poker or religion. Without some ground rules, however, things can get misunderstood and even become hostile. Most online social media sites have at least a few basic ground rules: no hate speech, no political commentary, no religious discussions, etc… The goal is a smooth flowing communications, friendships, and cooperation.

So how does all of this aid in repairing broken relationships?

At the heart of repair and mending is the idea of understanding and trust. I understand your views and you understand my views.

This follows closely with respect. I may not fully agree with you or even fully understand you but I respect your views and your methods. The old adage respect is earned hold true here. Sometimes you even have to earn respect if you don’t already have it. I have leared that the hard way when some don’t respect my views and opinions. Dignity is a cousin to respect because that is how we treat others we respect.

Patience and vigilence often are traits we need to develop over the long run. If we disagree on a point then time sometimes bring us closer or at least builds up a wall of seperation. Walls keep things out and also things within. For instance, we might know to keep our political views to ourselves within certain groups.

A third point on repairing broken relationships is toleration. If I don’t completley understand another and have little respect for them or their views then I can at least tolerate you and your opinions. Toleration and acceptance are close cousins because when we tolerate others we accept them for who they are and what they believe.

The bottom of relationships is open hostility and anger. Pretty much no relationship at all.

— Hierarchy of Relationships

Just like Maslow’s hierarcy of needs there is a hierarchy of relationships:
If no mutual understanding and trust, then at least respect and dignity. If neither then toleration and acceptance. The bottom of the pyramid is hostility and anger.

Hostility and anger are not a good place to be. David and Saul never reconciled. David always respected the house of Saul but Saul got fits of rage and died indirectly because of his hostility toward David. Unfortunately David and Jonathan’s relationship got cut short because of Saul’s behavior.

Over the long term Jacob and Esau had toleration and acceptance. They never seemed to really trust each other nor understand each other well. Maybe they respected each other’s boundaries so they agreed to stay apart most of the time. Years after their split Jacob sent waves of gifts ahead of him toward Esau to ensure peace and tranquility. Jacob respected his elder brother with a dignified reunion. Esau for his part did not kill Jacob and so tolerated him.

King David’s anger was quelled after awhile against Absalom in regards to Amnon’s death. King David eventually let down his guard against Absalom and that had tragic consequences. When we move into toleration and acceptance that should not be the same as complacency. We like to say forgive and forget yet sometimes ill behavior lingers and ends up being problematic in the long run as it did with Abaslom. We can forgive but do not forget when someone is unrepentant and rebellious.

Judah and Joseph eventually reconciled completely with Judah respeciting Joseph’s new position in Egypt. If you remember the story, young Joseph had several dreams of grandeur so his brothers despised him. If it wasn’t for the intervention of Reuben, the eldest, they would have killed Joseph. Joseph ends up saving all of Israel by becoming the second most powerful person in all of Egypt. The brothers even prostrated before him.

I think the pyramid of relationships can also work as co-equals not just as ruler to subject. Jacob and Esau were brothers and Esau was the eldest. David and Jonathan are probably the closest we have here of mutual understanding and respect, Jonathan just had family problems which clouded his relationship with David.

The whole community benefits when we reach the top of the hierarchy in terms of our relationships. Guards need to be maintained while operating at the toleration and accptance level. It is true that respect needs to be earned. Eli’s sons neither respected their father’s wishes nor the office for which they inherited. Inheritance is not enough, we need to be true leaders. Leaders need respect and dignity which is often earned, but it is even better when they are fully understood and trusted.