Real Community

I've been pondering for some time what it would look like for followers of Jesus to really live in community in this day and age. On my street alone are dozens of "christian" friends. Many of them I see a only a few times a year. We live hundreds of feet apart and don't have community!

In the new testament, particularly in Acts, I read of a group of people who were devoted to one another in love. People whom sold their own possessions and pitched in to help one another and meet other's needs. They did not seem to be working to get a bigger house, new car, or running to the soccer game either.

Today, when we see people do that sort of thing, (live together in close community) we jump to conclusions that they're a cult, etc. In my experience, it's often "church" people who are most likely to be against the idea of this kind of close community.

What community look like on 21st century western culture? We can barely stand to give each other 15 minutes and converse beyond the weather and the weekend football games. How can we live in community like the first-century church? Is community the same in every century and culture?

Is community a fruit of our walk with the Lord, or is it something to do in obedience and response to what we see in scripture?

Does it form itself (divinely of course), or is it the purposeful pursuit of believers?

I like the idea of a common life with my friends in Christ, but at what point is "community" reached? How do you know when you have it? How much should it be strived for?

I do know that I live in a culture that trumpets the virtues of community, but is feverishly creating a lack of community in the process. How did this happen? What is God calling me and my family to do?

These are the things I am struggling to find.