![]() ![]() As a Christ-follower, you are now part of the Body of Christ-the universal Church that spans continents and centuries and life itself, inclusive of all who call Jesus their Lord. We are communal beings created in the image of the communal, triune God. In fact, the word “worship” is usually understood in Scripture as a corporate verb. How appropriate then that we are called together to fellowship and worship together and to disciple one another. Community is where we learn, grow, give and receive affirmation and affection and so much more. Think about this-you may be the one at your next assignment with the most experience in community. It is our job to take what we have learned from our past communities and take it with us wherever we go next in order to create and include others in something even better. Once we have experienced deeper Christian community, our hearts eventually ache for this kind of community again. Maybe you had to leave a great group of close friends who’d seen each other through some heavy things, or perhaps you had just begun to forge meaningful relationships when your orders came. When you PCS, it can be challenging, time consuming or tedious to put in the work to find a group of Christ followers with whom you can connect. Your life as an officer may include a lot of transient faith and community. You just can’t have an alive and growing faith without plugging in to the global community of believers (see Romans 12:4–6). As odd or as obvious as this may sound, the Body of Christ and Christ Jesus are inseparable. That’s why God commanded the truth of Christ’s redemption to be delivered through the fellowship of community. Just like all those little sad minions, we can go through the motions of life without joy. Being in the military, most of us have had some form of “community with a mission” that we’ve been a part of, so we get that.īut a mission and purpose that is soul fulfilling with the joy of the Lord is at a whole different level. That’s really how our lives were before we belonged to the Body of Christ. The games and foods that used to bring them joy are empty and unfulfilling. They are so depressed they can barely stand. At the beginning of the film, when they are without a big, bad boss or a purpose, those normally chipper yellow guys are miserable. Those are our marching orders as a community of believers, and we have to make the decision every day to carry them out. We are commanded by Jesus to go, tell, disciple, baptize, teach and keep the faith (Matthew 28:18–20). Our faith is never meant to be a private thing. Since the time of Pentecost in Acts 1, the Church-the Body of Christ-has been given the common goal of sharing the Good News. Since the beginning, we were created for community. Haven’t you experienced the most significant times of bonding and connection when you were working together, joint effort and joint conviction, toward a common goal? There’s a biblical reason for that. Think of your friends, colleagues, brothers and sisters in arms, and even your spouse. ![]() ![]() That common purpose is what forges those bonds between you and others. It’s not just a group of people with similar interests, but a body of believers united for a common purpose. Just like these silly banana-eating little guys, each of us was created with an innate desire to belong to a community in fellowship. The movie “Minions” takes place as a sort of prequel to the other films in the series and features the funny little yellow pill-shaped characters whose only true desire in life is to be together and find and serve the biggest, baddest boss out there! Nothing is more important to them-it is their purpose. ![]()
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