Thursday, August 6, 2009

Urban Meyer's definition of community

"It's Melrose. It's Bluewater Bay. It's Buchholz High School. It's watching Nate pitch Little League and it's no cow pasture. It's a big-time field at Diamond Sports Park. It's my church, Queen of Peace, where I know the priest now. It's Ballyhoo's, and they put me and my daughter at a corner table and we laugh. It's being out in a boat on Lake Santa Fe watching the sun set. It's a conglomeration of comfort. I can drive to my office in seven minutes. I can be at Bluewater Bay in 18 minutes if I hit the lights right."

The Gainesville Sun (Aug. 5, 2009)

I like that. I like that one of the reasons Meyer gives for loving Gainesville is that he has a church that he can call "my church", a church where he knows the priest and the priest knows him. Not merely a place to attend. I wonder if most evangelicals would consider this a priority? Perhaps a lot of us prefer the anonymity of not being known? Although Meyer's way of thinking may come more naturally to Catholics than Protestants (because of the parish system, etc.) it's one of the reasons Shannon and I decided to join the church we did. We could have chosen to attend a big church that has more to offer or drive outside our community to a church that more closely matches our personal preferences, but a big part of community for us is having a church home, close to home, where we can plug in and be known. We are blessed to have found that.

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