Koinonia, like many things in our Western culture, has been reduced to a cliché. Men have formed ministries & churches have formed groups centered around the word, but rarely does koinonia find its true expression. Just a couple of days ago I returned from a conference (for lack of a better word) where koinonia was more than a word. I saw it. I felt it. I witnessed its effects on the people around me. I was in awe of its beauty. I am determined to dwell in its grace.
The Greek word translated as Church is "Ecclesia." It's a word that is used to give expression to those who have been called out & gathered together. It points us to the structure. I have been in ministry for over 20 years and can say that this is what I was trained in. I was taught how to build the ecclesia. How to gather it together. How to keep it together. The structure. What I have discovered is that without koinonia the Church is nothing but a shell. The ecclesia, as a result, has become a place to hide. A place to gather for a religious experience. A place to practice my individual spirituality. While I may gather a few friends along the way, there is no real sense of community. No sense of otherness. And this is what needs to change.
Words like communion, joint participation, and shared life have to move to the forefront of our thinking. I can no longer abide in the safety of my own spiritual experience. It's within the depths of true fellowship (Koinonia) where I discover all that is within me. The Church cannot be allowed to be a place where we hide, but a community from where we emerge. It's within koinonia where we live in honor, where love is our foundation for life, and where we live out the one anothers that have found themselves among the pages of Scripture. Koinonia is not a ministry. It's not a word to describe life groups. It's not a catchy phrase that can be attached to any type of fellowship. Koinonia is the thread that weaves in & out of our lives. It's what binds us together. It empowers us, calls forth our identity, and creates an environment for sons/daughters to arise.
In koinonia, everyone matters. No one can be left behind. It's a place where when one member suffers, every member suffers. And it's also the place where one member rejoices, and everyone joins the celebration. It's no longer about the anointed individual - the grand leader. While leadership has it's place, the ecclesia is not bound to heights unto which one can take it. It relies upon every individual member taking their place within the Body. All of us working together. All of us advancing the Kingdom. All of us sharing in the corporate life.
I ask you, does this sound like church to you? Most people are scared to step out of their individualistic spirituality. Most have not found the safe place of expression & intimacy with others. They have become content to keep everything on the surface. They have not been challenged to dig deeper into themselves or one another. Koinonia refuses that type of lifestyle. It embraces people where they are but will not allow them to shrink back. It continually calls out to the expression of Christ within one another. It sees each of us for who we really are in Him. Why? Because koinonia is devoted to one another in brotherly love & is clothed with honor & humility.
This is the culture I long to see within the ecclesia. True Spiritual Family. A place of belonging, of beholding, & becoming. This is our life together. This is our community. May we never be satisfied with anything less.
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