Without fail, the Lord provides a burden for me each year that I have typically shared here. Over the last few months, the one aspect of our walk with Christ that has been most apparent and problematic has been the way we American Christians practice community—or fail to practice it, as the case more often is.

A few questions regarding community that never seem to be far from my thoughts:

Do we meet together and practice community in the same manner as the Spirit-directed early Church did?

Do we value community in such a way that we ensure that the spiritual gifts of individuals in the church community are allowed to operate when we assemble together?

Do we lay down our selfish selves so that we are always thinking of what is best for the church community?

Do we maintain a belief that corporate sins are just as heinous as individual sins and live in such a way as to address and correct them?

Do we ensure that each person in our church community has his or her needs met, physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

Do church leaders identify and stoke the gifts of people in the church community?

Do we maintain a “flat hierarchy” leadership style that ensures that leaders are considered equals in the church and not an elite class within it?

Sadly, in most churches today in America, the answer to most (if not all) of those simple questions is no.

Changing those answers to yes will be the major theme of Cerulean Sanctum in days to come.

Stay tuned.