Banana Peels and Community

Every week for the past year and a half I have met with group of guys (which started with 5 guys and has now expanded to 12) to share life and accountability with them. From those times I've learned a lot about myself. One thing I've learned is that I am horrible at shooting things into the trash can. Now this might not seem like a profound statement, but this stupid fact became very profound to me this past week.

Each Thursday of the school year I walk into the upstairs computer room at Faith Christian School, rearrange the desks into a circle, wait for the bell to ring, hang in the hall till all the guys are in the room, begin our discussion, and eat a banana. Eventually we get to the point where our discussion is done and we are about to close in prayer. It is are this time that I take my banana peel and try to throw it into the trash - wherever it might be - and every day for the past year and a half I have missed. (Well I made it once, but only three guys were there - figures - so they said it didn't count).

Anyway, yesterday that time came again. Daniel Trout was sitting in front of the trash can, and started to move so I could shoot. I yelled at him, and told him to move back, "Cause it not a legit shot if you take the challenge away," I told him. Then, checking the wind and stretching a bit, I took my shot. Swish! I made it in! Finally!! Suddenly, the guys all started cheering and clapping for me and then we all began to laugh. It was in that moment, of accomplished banana peel tossing that I realized something: our group had become intimate community.

What do I mean by intimate community? I mean that our time together wasn't just the minutes we shared on the clock in the same room, rather it had a depth to it. We had journeyed together for the past year and a half, built trust, and shared laughter together. We talked of Jesus, shared our struggles, and exchanged our really random/strange/stupid stories that lacked any real importance at all. There was a level of consistency and vulnerability there, as well a level of deep friendship. The moment I shot that banana peel I saw what true community looked like: True community is a place where we mourn and cheer for each other; it is a place where we know each other at every level; it is a place where even the stupidest things can be profound and bring us closer together; it is a place where we see each other living life together just as Jesus did.

Yesterday I decided that I love true community.

P.S. I was going to name this post 'Apeeling Community' but decided to save you all the agony.