“The Unexpected Impact of Community”
Dear writer,
I hope you had a beautiful week and considered who might join you as you journey toward publishing. This week, we’re going to look at the next level of community: a writers group.
Having one or two key people in your life as a writer is indispensable, but there is a special life and energy that’s generated by engaging with a larger community of writers. As mentioned before, we don’t know what we don’t know, and you don’t have to be deep friends with another writer to enrich their lives or be enriched by them!
You see, writer, fruitfulness comes from cross-pollination. When we spend time with a larger group of writers, we make and receive deposits of wisdom, perspective, and experience, we never would have imagined. But before we dive in, let’s take a look at some others whose journey and work were enriched by being involved in community.
Groups in History
A beautiful example of the power of group engagement is the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. Though that movement is known for impressive figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, it was the persistent gathering of everyday people to create and implement strategies test the new laws banning segregation. Many critical instances of civil disobedience began with just a few but quickly grew as others joined and created the momentum needed to move officials to actually honor the new laws. The results of these individuals’ commitment to community changed the trajectory of our nation forever.
Now, here’s the interesting thing, writer. Many of these people remain unknown today. But when we commit to engaging with a body of writers to serve the Lord, not only are we strengthened, but we cannot calculate how our participation will multiply the impact of God’s work in and through us all.
Groups in the Bible
David is another great example of a man who committed to living in connection with a group of people. As anointed as David was, he would have likely amounted to little without his mighty men, who fought alongside him and for him and even—at times—briefly opposed him. (Like when their families were kidnapped at Ziklag!) These men were far from perfect, and here’s the thing, writer. There are times in community and groups where we won’t completely agree and get along. But just as David leaned into the Lord and remained committed, so should we.
You see, David would never have been able to save, protect, and establish peace for Israel without the help of these mighty men. Committing to community is always worth the cost, because it grows our ability to impact more people than we ever could alone.
Groups in Life
My strongest experience in a group was when I led in my church community in varying capacities over seven years. As I worked alongside multiple leaders, I was encouraged and challenged while we walked together toward our goals. God used that time not only to grow my leadership skill but also—through several key relationships—to heal me from past childhood hurts that would have prevented me from entering into my current work and ministry. Though at times the relationships were fraught with difficulty and some of us have fallen out of touch, I hold each person in high regard for the impact they had on my life. And I’ve been told by those who stayed that many also entered into larger ministry and life capacities because of my impact on them.
Groups in Your Life
You see, here’s the thing, writer. We all carry the presence and image of God in us. As we willingly bring our full selves to the table and receive the full selves of others, even in moments of difficulty, it creates the rich environment needed for our lives to truly build and grow the most. Because here’s the thing. We are part of a body. The only way any part of the body thrives is by remaining vitally connected to and integrated with the other parts. Let me show you…
• For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. – 1 Corinthians 12:14-18
• And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ – Ephesians 4:11-13
• Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. – Ephesians 4:15-16
• The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. – John 17:22-23
You see, writer, it’s as we commit to journey together that God uses our individual giftings to amplify, refine, and strengthen one another. And that is also when our witness to the watching world is the strongest. Just like the freedom fighters in the civil rights movement. Or David and his mighty men who established the Kingdom of Israel. Just like my church group launched many of us into ministries of our own.
Where to Start with Groups
I can promise you writer…community is always worth the trouble. Because it is in learning to walk and work together that we truly begin to be transformed into the image of Christ. So are you ready engage in a writers group and community of your own? Here are a few things to help get you started…
1) Pray. God builds communities and His body. The body works best when all parts come into alignment under His headship. Now, while you cannot expect perfect alignment from others (that’s why we grow together!), it’s wise to begin by aligning yourself and seeking the place God has for you. That’s often the place where our presence will bear the most fruit.
2) Commit. Once you know where God seems to be leading you to engage, make a quality decision to commit to actively walking and working with that group of people for a period time. After all, a plant that is continually uprooted will never have a chance to grow. A good rule of thumb is this: if God led you into thing, wait for Him to lead you out of it. This allows Him to accomplish all He intends in and through you in a season and keeps our flesh from short-circuiting our growth process!
3) Be Vulnerable. Using wisdom, be willing to share your writing life. Don’t assume your experience and input doesn’t matter. You never know how what God’s doing in your life might touch and strengthen the life of another. After all, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word, and as we share what God is doing in and through our writing, it builds a hopeful expectancy in others.
4) Ask Questions. Community is one of the most beautiful and fruitful gifts I know of. Being interested enough in others to really get to know their writing journey and needs, not only deepens your connection with them but also enables you to pray for one another and to bear life’s burdens together. And here’s the thing writer. Asking questions also means being bold enough to answer questions about your writing journey and needs, too. Sometimes we deny people the blessing of giving into our lives (since it is more blessed to give than to receive). Even if not all the input and “help” we receive from others is perfect (and may at times be totally wrong), as we engage in the process of community, our own discernment and clarity grows. Because here’s the final thought…
As we invest in a group of people, we willingly take on some of their frailties and burdens, and they take on some of ours too. There are many difficulties and challenges we simply weren’t designed to overcome alone and the solutions we need are often found in the life of another and in a willingness to enter into the pain of another person as well. But as we open ourselves to give and receive fully, we encounter life in ways that begin to expand us into the fullness of all God has called us to be.
Just like David with his mighty men whose rough and tumble help prepared and him to bring unity to the tumultuous nation of Israel. Just like my church group grew us all past things that had stunted our effectiveness for Christ. Just like the combined efforts of the civil right movement amplified the voice of a nation. As we commit to enter into community, we also amplify one another’s voice and impact in surprising ways—individually and together.
So, I encourage you, today. If you haven’t yet, consider engaging in an active community of writers or even in your church! God may lead you to a group for a season or for a lifetime, but as you commit to His body, you will be amazed to see how He grows His multilayered glory through all of you.
#growth #community #writersgroup #EveryWriterWriting
