“Community life in Britain has weakened substantially over the past 30 years” (BBC News, December 1, 2008)

Well there’s a surprise. People are dying for community. We were made to be in community by a God who is community by His very nature. We’ve been made in His image so no surprises then that one of the desperate needs of our nation and its capital city is that of community.

The one place I believe that genuine community can and should be found is that of the local church. Sadly though, that often is not the case. As soon as our church life becomes about providing a “service” then I think we’ve missed the point. We need to create a place where a group of people can be found as they are but in a place where God can do a new thing within their lives…a community that says with everything it breathes;

“God loves you just the way you are. But He loves you too much to let you stay that way”   (Ashley in Junebug)

So go ahead and use this research to do a loneliness audit of your local community but the attached report (see below) goes much further.

Obviously the BBC are spending a lot of money working out their audience and the resulting demographics. In the report they divide the UK into “radio areas” ie. BBC Radio Cumbria but they have used these geographical borders to research local issues ranging from poverty to education. Pretty useful information if we plan to be part of churches that engage with our local community. The full report is 98 pages but don’t worry there are lots of graphs and pictures! I recommend downloading it by clicking here Changing UK (BBC Report)

I’ve never been to Barcelona but I would love to one day. Gaudi who designed many of the historical buildings in the city also is the architect responsible for the Sagrada Familia – a cathedral that never got finished due to his death and the Spanish Civil War. But even from this unfinished masterpiece – something about it still glorifies God and I guess that’s how I feel. I hope these unfinished thoughts glorify God in some way in the same way that I hope that I glorify God despite being a work in progress…

A lot of these thoughts will be scattered – that’s just the way my brain is. A lot of these thoughts will be unfinished – that’s because I am. Maybe friends will read this. Maybe they won’t. Maybe other planters – both practitioners and theorists -  will comment. Maybe they won’t. To be honest I’m not that bothered – I just have so much to work thru in my head that this seemed as good a place as any to begin…