A friend of mine sent me an email the other day grieving over the shallow nature of relationships in church and the inability for most Christians to experience authentic community. Here's my response. It's a little long, but I think it hits a chord we've been trying to get at.

"I think you're right on the nose concerning the shallow relationships we experience in church and elsewhere. Getting beneath the tough exterior of people's existence is a little like mining for diamonds with a toothpick. We've been going at this 'missional community' thing (or at least pointed in that direction) for 8 months now and we're finally arriving at some real gems.

I'm finding that the tools most valuable to uncovering God's missional communities are things like time, patience, and the slow, constant pressure of the Spirit drawing us into further apprenticeship to Jesus. Remember the movie "The Shawshank Redemption?" Tim Robbins' character escaped prison using only a tiny sculpting tool. He did not use explosives or incite a riot (which would draw lots of attention and failure could mean death). He did not decide to escape and then make a quick, unplanned attempt the next day (which would increase considerably his chance of failure). But, he also did not throw himself on the 'mercies' of the parole board hoping (wishfully) to be released early. Instead, he chose a path the required the one thing he had plenty of...time. Patience is not a wimpy virtue, it is a subversive weapon. It can destroy enemies that seem overwhelmingly massive and strong, and it will go undetected. If we are determined to find "freedom from our sinful self-life," individually and corporately, then we must determine to stick it out with Jesus for the long haul. Our prisons of addiction, greed, lust, anger, etc. are more impenetrable than Alcatraz ever was. But as ones who are determining to submit our entire life to the kingdom of God, we have the advantage of time, each other, and the Creator of the Universe. Pretty cool, huh?"