August 11 Bible Study: Less 19 � Cultivating Community
Taught by Asst. Pastor Mark Porter
Points to Ponder
I. Cultivating community takes honesty
a. You will have to care enough to lovingly speak the truth, even when you would
rather gloss over a problem or ignore an issue.
b. Many church fellowships ad small groups remain superficial because they are
afraid of conflict.
c. Real fellowship, whether in a marriage, a friendship, or your church, depends
on frankness.
d. Frankness is not a license to say whatever you want, wherever and whenever
you want. It is not rudeness.
II. Cultivating community takes humility
a. Self-importance, smugness, and stubborn pride destroy fellowship faster than
anything else.
b. Humility is developed by admitting your weaknesses, being patient with others�
weaknesses, by being open to correction, and by pointing the spotlight on
others.
c. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.
III. Cultivating community takes courtesy
a. Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other�s
feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us.
b. We all have quirks and annoying traits. The basis however, for our fellowship
is our relationship with God.
IV. Cultivating community takes confidentiality.
a. Only in a safe environment of warm acceptance and trusted confidentiality will
people open up and share their deepest hurts, needs and mistakes.
b. God hates gossip especially when it is thinly disguised as a prayer request for
someone else.
c. God is very clear that we are to confront those who cause division among
Christians.
V. Cultivating community takes frequency.
a. Relationships take time.
b. Community is not built on convenience, but on the conviction that I need it for
spiritual health.
c. Our fellowship must have the following characteristics: authenticity, mutuality,
sympathy, mercy, humility, courtesy, confidentiality, frequency.