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CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: IT WORKS!
Andrzej and Sharron Kurpiel reflect on the challenges of a shared lifestyle in Christian Community
Discovering our true selves
Andrzej: I'm glad our family are in Christian community as it's the best model of New Testament Christianity the children will ever experience. They can see and know the living full gospel which includes the new alternative society Jesus has brought us into.
However, the reality is hard and difficult at times. One of my most painful lessons is that I'm limited and I have to live with the fact that I cannot do all the things I'd like to do. Some of my reactions to others are conditioned by my upbringing and fears from the past and I've had to find healing for these.
The great joy and at the same time, great pain of living in community is discovering myself - especially the things I never knew were there - the things that are undesirable about me. Having my life so closely entwined with others causes me to grow more quickly.
A major disappointment is when you are let down or ripped off by people you've laid your life down for. Our lifestyle does leave us open and vulnerable but we simply share in the experience of Jesus and join Him in it for the sake of the lost.
I have determined never to be crippled by fear; never to stop taking risks; never to stop being vulnerable to new friends and fellow Christians alike. This is what I really live for - to see others rescued, delivered, equipped and matured in Christ.
Sharron: Sharing our lives with our brothers and sisters in Jesus and the different people who come to live with us, from all sorts of backgrounds, has given me more insight into God's heart and how He loves us so perfectly.
Before I moved into community I thought I was a reasonably easy person to get along with; but after moving into a shared lifestyle I realised I was a difficult person to live with. Many of my weaknesses came to the surface and God began to deal with me in a deeper way than He'd been able to up until then.
Learning to get along with others under the same roof is an important part of it all. You have to sacrifice your time and energy for others.
I have seen how our children have benefited from living in community - making many friends and being involved in lots of different activities. Others in the house have taken them under their wing; teaching them to play the guitar and keyboard; making posters and cards with them and being there to answer questions.
Our children have seen the reality of Jesus in our lives and in the lives of others living with us and have developed an understanding and sensitivity to people.
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It works!
