Week 7 Thursday Blog

Week 7
February 26th, 2009
People—Campus vs. Church

The difference between “getting along with people” in a campus setting versus a church situation:
In regards to campus living, I am going to be more specific. The people that you get along with on campus are your roommates (including all in your dorm/lodge/apartment etc.), classmates, and professors
-The people that you are in constant contact with

Similarities:
Before I point out the differences between the two, I would am going to point out the similarities.

Ordered Relationships
Both have ordered relationships. By ordered relationships there are those are your in close contact with (roommates, friends, etc.), those you work with (classmates, possible same as roommates and friends), and those you work for (professors). Each relationship is different based on the order. In a church there are ordered relationships those you are in close contact with (the people you do ministry with, teach Sunday school with, your family, friends) the people you work with (the people you do ministry with, the people you may actually work with outside of church, etc.) and those you work for (ultimately God, but for the church, the board, the staff…those in authority in the church).

Observation of Differences:
1. At school you get along with people to just get through, at church you get along with people to have a peaceful life.
Being on campus, you will need to get along with roommates because you live with them. Living in an environment that you do not get along with someone is draining. You get along with your roommates to get through. If their sloppiness annoys you, you don’t confront them you get along, because you are just trying to get through.
However, at church someone’s sloppiness is something you live with week in and week out just as you do with a roommate, but the difference is this, with a roommate you can… switch roommates, ignore their sloppiness until the end of the semester or year. At a church you do not get such options. If a staff members sloppiness bothers you, you need to know how confront them in such a way that does not impose you getting along with them. You get along with people to have a peaceful life, so when conflict arises, it needs to be dealt with.

2. A church you are more of family, at college you can ignore people, if you want to.
Living on campus, you can choose to get along with people or not. You can choose to be a loner or be in a community. With a church, you are in a community. There is no fighting it and if you were to, then you do not belong in church quite frankly. For the church is a body of believers, a group, that works together for the sake of the same purpose….

3. A church has a corporate purpose, at college there are individuals living together finding their own purpose.
A church has the purpose of brining others in communion with God through the preaching and teaching of God’s word, the sacraments, and having a rightly ordered community. Everything is done for the betterment of the church and for those who come in contact with the church. On campus, a college student is working towards their own purpose and goals while living in a community. There is a dichotomy between the two. Getting along with one another in a Church is part of the purpose, and college, it is not.