Gunter 3

Part Two: Corporate Formation and Ministry

Devotional songwriter Jon Guerra’s song “Citizens,” from the album Keeper of Day, begins
with the words:

I have a heart full of questions

Quieting all my suggestions
What is the meaning of Christian
In this American life?

These lyrics beautifully capture my sentiments of the past few months. In many ways, my heart
has been bursting with questions. I entered the semester full of questions and with the desire to
learn what it means to live and engage in Christian community. While there will always be
questions, I have learned. And, I hope I have experienced growth. What follows is some of my
key take-aways regarding community life.
Christine Pohl’s Living into Community details four essential practices that are crucial to
develop and sustain healthy community: gratitude, promise-keeping, truthfulness, and
hospitality. These four practices, when lived with conviction, speak the message of Christ into
the world. For, the “best testimony to the truth of the gospel is the quality of our life together”
(Pohl 2). Gratitude, promise-keeping, truthfulness, and hospitality work together to provide
insights into practical ways to engage in healthy Christian community, and thus be a witness of
Christ to the world.
The practice of gratitude should frame every aspect of a Christian life. When “we truly
understand our lives as redeemed by costly grace, then our primary response can only be
gratitude” (Pohl 17). Gratitude flows from a heart that has been touched by the grace of God. In
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells how we should be “singing and making melody to the Lord
with [our] heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:19-20). Furthermore, a life of gratitude “begins with paying attention,
with noticing the goodness, beauty, and grace around us” (Pohl 51). Sometimes we need to pause
our busyness in order to create spaces for gratitude and wonder. When we pause, we are able to
remember and tell of God’s redemptive work, and gratitude becomes an opportunity to speak of
God’s faithfulness; it is a way to minister to those around us. Additionally, for those who have
been impacted by Jesus Christ, “gratitude is not merely an act or an attitude; it us our identity”
(Pohl 25). Our identity as a people of gratitude is constant, established by the unchanging Giver
of good gifts. However, it is important to note that a life marked by gratitude does not deny or
ignore the pain and evil in the world. Rather, to live gratefully “involves knowing that we are
held secure by a loving God, and that the God we worship is trustworthy, despite the nearly
unbearable sorrow we might encounter along the way” (Pohl 26). To live gratefully means we
can say to Lord, even when experiencing great sorrow, “I have trusted in your steadfast love; my
heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with
me” (Psalm 13:5-6). In every season and circumstance, gratitude to the Lord is the right
response.
Practically speaking, opening “each day with an expression of gratitude toward God and
to those around us and ending the day recounting moments of grace and goodness would frame
and daily experiences with thanksgiving” (Pohl 52). Especially in this current season, it has been
 Gunter 4

hard for me to feel like my identity is marked by gratitude, and I have found this practice
extremely helpful. Around a month ago, I committed to maintaining a “gratitude jar.” Each
morning and each night (and occasionally throughout the day), I write down something I am
grateful for and place it in a jar. It has been a powerful visual symbol of God’s grace as I have
seen the jar fill up with small slips of colorful paper. Additionally, I invited my roommate,
Allison, to join in the practice with me. Together, we have been able to share our gratitude and
remind each other of the Lord’s faithfulness in our lives.
Following the practice of gratitude, promise-keeping is also necessary for a healthy
community. We need the practice of promise-keep to maintain our identities as people of
gratitude. To begin with, we “live by faith in a God whose character is steadfast love, so it
should not surprise us that making promises and keeping promises are also at the heart of what is
best in our human relationships” (Pohl 62). Simply put, the Christian faith is rooted in promises.
As Christians, we “understand ourselves as people of the new covenant, the new promise,” born
out of God’s own faithfulness (Pohl 67). The psalmist tells how “the paths of the Lord are
steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant” (Psalm 15:10). Additionally,
when “taken seriously, the words of a promise carry within themselves some of the force of an
action” (Pohl 65). When taken seriously, the words of a promise free us from continuously
asking ourselves how to act in a given situation. In this sense, both the practice of gratitude and
promise-keeping take the focus off of yourself. This thought reminds me of Wheaton’s
Community Covenant. The Community Covenant allows us stand apart as a community; it
strengthens our identity and character. Ultimately, “keeping one’s word and respecting the
commitments of a community are crucial to integrity” (Pohl 88). When we stick to our
commitments, we strengthen the community and our own integrity. In short, it makes us more
like Christ. The faithful promise-keeping practice of the Christian community causes the
community to stand out in a culture that values unlimited options.
Pohl tells how patterns of rest and renewal “are crucial to sustaining fidelity over the long
term” (Pohl 104). Practically speaking, for over a year now, I have committed myself to the
discipline of Sabbath-keeping. This practice has been transformational in my life. The intentional
day of rest each week allows me to spend extra time with the Lord and in community. It reminds
me of my identity as a daughter of Christ: I am set apart, just as the Sabbath is set apart from the
other days. It allows me to rest so I can fully live into my identity and call as a Christian, a
faithful daughter.
The practice of truthfulness, like the other three practices, is reflective of the character of
Christ Jesus. He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 4:6). In making this claim,
Jesus is connecting Himself with the truth. We are able to “live truthfully as we fully embrace
the purposes of God, experience the Holy Spirit of truth guiding us into truth, and as we know
Jesus, who is full of grace and truth” (Pohl 114). The Bible tells us, “let each one of you speak
the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (Eph. 4:25). This command
seems straight-forward, but there are complications. Individual people must be committed to the
practice of truthfulness in order for communities to be marked by truth. However, being “truthful
is not only about speaking hard things, but discerning the whole picture with gentleness,
humility, and patience” (Pohl 115). We must be truthful “with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace” (Eph. 4:2-3). Truth-telling does not necessitate harshness or unkindness.
Additionally, individuals and communities can communicate that they do not want to
hear the truth. People commonly attempt to avoid the truth by choosing not to know. However, if
 Gunter 5

“we have deliberately closed our eyes to what is going on, ignorance does not free us from
responsibility” (Pohl 147). We must be committed to the truth in order to embody openness and
reconciliation. Lastly, it is important to note that “fallenness means that we are not able to
discern and speak the truth perfectly and that we need the help of God and others” (Pohl 131-
132). We must continually rely on the Holy Spirit and people we trust to point us back to the
truth.
The practice of hospitality is at the root of Christian life. It allows us to draw “from
God’s grace and [reflect] God’s graciousness” (Pohl 159). In other words, “we respond to the
welcome that God has offered and replicate that welcome in the world” (Pohl 159). Like each of
the other practices, we must never make hospitality itself into an idol. Rather, hospitality should
flow out of a love for Christ and a desire to live a life that reflects His character. Within the
context of the early church, “Christian hospitality was a central witness to the truth of the gospel
and to its transforming power” (Pohl 162). In the book of Acts, a woman named Lydia is
converted and baptized by the apostle Paul. Immediately after she was baptized, she said to Paul
and his companions, “come to my house and stay” (Acts 16:15). She responded to the truth of
the gospel with an act of hospitality. Later in the same chapter of Acts, a Philippian Jailer is
transformed by the gospel and baptized. After his baptism, “he brought them [Paul and his
companions] up into his house and set food before them” (Acts 16:34). Again, we see acts of
hospitality as a response to the transforming power of the gospel.
Even though hospitality is response to the gospel, it does not always come easily; it can
feel inconvenient. Pohl tells how “opportunities for hospitality often appear in the form of
interruptions” (Pohl 165). Emmanuel Katongole and Christ Rice expand upon this idea. They
say, the “community of Jesus is not a spiritual gated community or a ghetto of moral
righteousness. Instead the stranger constantly interrupts our life. Hospitality, openness, and an
ongoing engagement with the stranger are hallmarks of our life together” (Moore 298). We must
be willing to allow interruptions to create opportunities for ministry. This can only happen when
others feel welcomed.
Moreover, “Because hospitality is part of what it means to be human, every human being
flourishes in the context of welcome” (Pohl 164). Every human being flourished in the context of
welcome; how true this is! One practical way that I have committed to the practice of welcoming
is by offering those who enter my space either hot coffee or tea. Many times, I have been
surprised by the response I get. For example, a few months ago, I was in my apartment and a
friend, Johnnie, needed to stop by to pick something up. Johnnie and I are friends, but we are not
close and have not had many one-on-one conversations. So, when he stopped by for what was
supposed to be a quick visit, I offered him coffee, and he said yes, to my surprise. Johnnie and I
then sat in my living room and talked over warm drinks before he was on his way. I was
surprised by his acceptance of my offer, but I should not have been, because we all flourish in
the context of welcome. There is great value in inviting others into your spaces.
Hospitality must be rooted in both gratitude and rest. Simply put, the apostle Peter
commands, show “hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). And, clear
rhythms of rest and renewal are also necessary for a life of Christian hospitality. Hospitable (and
grateful, faithful, and truthful) people and communities burn out very quickly without “some
form of Sabbath-keeping” (Pohl 160). Patterns of rest provide the renewal needed to be a
hospitable people.
Lastly, sometimes hospitality simply includes opening our hearts and giving our time.
This idea is clearly illustrated in the modern fable The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse,
 Gunter 6

written and illustrated by Charlie Mackesy. The lovable and thought-provoking tale follows the
four unlikely friends and the lessons they learn together. At one point, the boy raises a difficult
question: “What do we do when our hearts hurt?” His wise friend the horse replies, “We wrap
them with friendship, shared tears and time, till they wake hopeful and happy again” (Mackesy).
The practice of hospitality creates space for growth and healing, a space where our hearts can
learn how to hope again.
The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra develops and repeats the following chorus:

I need to know there is justice

That it will roll in abundance
And that you’re building a city
Where we arrive as immigrants
And you call us citizens
And you welcome us as children home.

Like Guerra, I have come to a place where I do not know all the answers. However, I am
confident in the Lord’s abundant justice. He is building a community of people where one day
we will all arrive as citizens and children. Then we will experience perfect community, but until
that day, we must work with intentionality to bring God’s kingdom to this earth. And, one of the
most powerful ways we can show others the truth of the gospel is by how we live together.
 Gunter 7

Works Cited

Guerra, Jon. “Citizens.” Keeper of Days. Thorndale Records, 2020, Spotify.

Mackesy, Charlie. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse. New York, NY: HarperCollins
Publishers, 2019.

More, Charles E., ed. Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People. Walden, NY:
Plough Publishing House, 2016.

Nouwen, Henri. "Moving from solitude to community to ministry." Leadership 16.2 (1995): 81-
87.

Pohl, Christine D. Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us. Grand Rapids,
MI: Eerdmans Pub., 2012.

Shiflett, Diana. Spiritual Practices in Community. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018.