Are we a Caring Community? How does a Caring Community look like? In True Way, do our people show genuine concern for one another? Each Sunday, when someone did not turn up for service, do we know? In our Discipleship Groups (DGs), when someone perpetually did not come for DG meetings, do we know? When someone has drifted from their faith in Christ, do we know? When someone did not join a DG or serve in any ministry, do we know? When someone has some health issues, do we know? Are we a Caring Community?
During one of the Sunday sermons, I heard this phrase: “Caring is Sharing”. This captures my attention. Let me explain these two words for us. I managed to hear a YouTube video, “Understanding the Phrase: ‘Caring Is Sharing’” on this and found it helpful to share here. The word, “Caring”, refers to “the act of showing concern and empathy towards others.” It means that one is “being kind, helpful and understanding.” The word, “Sharing”, refers to “the act of giving a part of something you have to someone else. It could be sharing food, time, experiences, or even emotions.”
From the above understanding, we would learn that “Caring is Sharing” is something that is workable in our True Way culture. It should not be difficult to practise among us. What I am trying to arrive at is how we can build a more Caring Community. We want our people to really feel cared for. We do not want them to think otherwise. Interestingly, the word, “Caring”, encompasses the idea of concern and empathy. Showing concern, we must really begin to display this attitude. That is what a Christian Community is meant to be. With concern coupled with empathy, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I think that we can do it. Can we not be asking ourselves how we are caring for others each Sunday and during each week?
As a DG leader, I would text my DG members when they did not turn up for service, showing my genuine concern for them. I would convey to them that I have been praying for them. I did the same when they did not turn up for DG meetings. My DG members are in my prayers. When I care for them is when I share with them my concerns for them. My regular concerns for them are their devotional time with God and their spiritual growth in Christ. I will encourage them to set aside time for the reading of God’s Word and prayer. I also encourage them to come for Sunday services and DG meetings. I know that there are DG members, either in my DG or in other DGs, who have not returned to church for the onsite services. It is my earnest prayer that the Lord God Almighty will convict them and direct them back to His house (the church), to worship Him.
So, my question for us is: “How can we be a more Caring Church?” In small or big things (ways), let us be caring. Showing a little care for others does mean a lot to those who have received such a care. There are several ways we can show care for our people. One way is to send a simple text message to someone who is missing from church like this: “How have you been doing recently? I have not seen you for the past two Sundays in church. Hope that all is well with you. Is there anything that I can pray for you?” You may not need to write all these in one text message but stagger them instead.
Another way is to share our emotions and our experiences with each other. For example, you may express that you have a tiring week, and you need to have their prayer lifted to God on your behalf. Or you may express that you are rather stressed with your workload, and you need to be strengthened by their prayer for you. Or you may even share how you cope with your workload so that others can learn from your experiences. Or you may need a listening ear to hear your frustrations with someone at home, or in your workplace or perhaps, even in the church.
Still another way for us to be caring towards others is to speak words of encouragement to one another at the right time, at the right place and at the right moment. The ways suggested above are not exhaustive. You may come up with other ways in which you may want to show others that you are a caring person.
For those who have a good grasp of God’s Word, you may want to show caring by journeying with those who need to be grounded in their faith in Christ through having Bible Study sessions with them like the A Basic Christianity (ABC) class or the Studies in Christian Living (SCL) class.
I would like to end this perspective with these Bible verses:
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18 ESV)
