Together, by the Spirit.

At the heart of this grand experiment that is The Commons lies a basic, underlying conviction about what the Church is: a global and local movement, of the Holy Spirit, in and through people, bound in relationship with the Lord and one another. We are a people, in surrender to Jesus and on mission together, by the compelling and empowering of God's Spirit, made available to us in Christ.

The Church is US. Together. By the Spirit of Jesus. 

The staunch, deep-rooted individualism of our cultural context challenges our ability to truly appreciate this, most days. And the broad influence of the western business model upon the church here in the United States further compounds the issue, as the CHURCH is systematically broken down by our language and metrics: no longer the church, together, we are reduced to "church-goers", "giving units", and the like. We are discipled by this culture to understand ourselves primarily as individuals and consumers of religious goods and services. Through this lens the "church" becomes a venue for affordable, value-added family entertainment, and little more. 

But the Church IS - and must be - more. By grace, we must understand ourselves as something more, other, than that which our culture would determine us to be. We are not mere individuals. We are more than simple consumers. We are the PEOPLE of the King; together, demonstrating and announcing his Kingdom, come.

This is the "why" of our TABLE groups. A growing network of small, neighborhood and mission-centric communities, The Commons seeks to catalyze space for genuine fellowship, hospitality, formation, life-and-mission, communities throughout our region. Diving deep in to scripture, sharing meals and prayers, serving one another and alongside one another, we seek to grow together in our wholehearted pursuit of Christ and his purposes in the world. A grand vision and calling, to be sure; only imperfectly and often fitfully realized. But this is what it means to BE the Church, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, together.

This Sunday, we meet in TABLE groups around our region. Our "open" Table - for those new or not otherwise connected to another TABLE group - will meet 10:00am, at the Grace Community Church campus on Rochester Hill (159 Rochester Hill Rd.). Come, and See!