One of the real needs among young Christians and older Christians alike is a sense of community. We need to find ourselves connected to Christ’s body just as we are connected to Christ himself.

I don’t think liturgy alone is enough to accomplish that. What I mean is, if all we do is worship in the same place at the same time, I don’t think we will build community.

Community can be built on Sunday morning, but it happens through greetings, conversations, hugs, smiles, tears, testimonies, confessions, shared prayers… things that may or may not happen during our structured worship hour. If our members arrive right on time, worship in isolation, then leave right after the closing prayer, they won’t experience community.

We need to talk with one another. Not just small talk. Actual conservations.

We need to eat together. That’s something that’s in danger of being lost in today’s church. Meals are not a distraction nor frivolous entertainment. They are a crucial part of our life together.

We need to pray together. I’d love to see us reach the point where the clusters of conversation in our meeting places regularly evolved into clusters of prayer. If someone tells you good news, why not offer a prayer of thanks? If someone mentions an illness, why not pray for relief? What if each conversation regularly led us to a time of prayer?

One danger of teaching these things to new Christians is that they won’t necessarily see them in older Christians. (Won’t necessarily see them in me!) But if we begin teaching new generations a better way, maybe we’ll motivate ourselves to practice community in a more open way.

One of the keys to helping new members become a part of the body is to help them find a way to serve. As I discussed a few weeks ago, I think we’re far too obsessed with plugging members into preaching, teaching, song leading, etc. Those things are good, but when we communicate that those are the principal ways to serve in the church, we disenfranchise large swaths of the body.

People need to serve in ways that fit their skills. When they do, they’ll not only feel better about their Christian walk, they’ll also edify the body.

Last year, one of the young couples from our bilingual group had a baby. One Sunday, they had a blessing over this couple in the main auditorium. People there didn’t really know this couple, and I don’t know that that changed much after the baby blessing.

Then a couple of months ago we put in a new community playground by our church building. The man who originally did the concrete work did an amazingly shoddy job. Instead of redoing what he’d done, the scoundrel walked away from the job. This same father who had the baby blessing stepped in and did the job. He did excellent work, even providing some extras that weren’t in the original plans.

After that construction work, lots of people at church know who this young man is. What wasn’t accomplished through a moment in the assembly was achieved by a work project. This man was able to use his skills for the church and felt quite good about it. In many ways, he became more a part of the whole church than he had been in the past.

As we look to help new members find their way, it’s good to remember that everyone would like to contribute, everyone would like to feel needed, and not everyone is gifted at speaking in public or singing. Find the ministry that God has prepared for each Christian, rather than forcing them into preset roles.

Yesterday I was asking about where to begin with teaching someone who is new to the Christian life. I got a good variety of feedback, both here, on Facebook, and by email. My current writing project has the working title Starting (or Restarting) with Jesus, so I’m spending a lot of time thinking about these things.

Even though I’m writing a book, I’m not in favor of just handing a book to a new Christian and expecting that to teach them what they need to know. In fact, the book I’m working on is designed to be used by an older Christian working side-by-side with a new Christian. I want to encourage conversations on certain topics, rather than attempting to funnel information to a new convert.

That said, here are some of the suggestions I received from yesterday’s post:

• One preacher mentioned that he sits down and shares an apple with a new Christian. As they eat, he talks about Commitment as the seeds, with Church being the core, Character being the pulp of the apple, and Creation the skin.
• Another reader mentioned beginning with the story of Jesus, reading a gospel. They mentioned Luke; I usually suggest Mark as a starting place, followed by John. But I definitely agree with the focus on the gospels.
• In a comment here, Robert emphasized the need to reshape the worldview of the new follower, plugging them into the church and helping them find their place to serve. He also said to focus on Jesus and our Christian walk, leaving worship controversies out of the discussion.

Good thoughts. More ideas?