Y’all are generous people, and I know you are great at giving. But how are you at receiving? As part of our series on building community, we’re going to talk about what generously giving AND receiving in community looks like. It might be hard to process, and you might not agree with me, but hear me out.
It’s probably not surprising that our Biblical inspiration for this series is the early church, described in the first couple of chapters of Acts. In this episode and the next one, we’ll break down parts of Acts 2:44-46 and see what we can learn about community from them.
In the NIV, the verse says:
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”
The ESV gives a little different picture at the end of vs. 46. It says:
“…they received their food with glad and generous hearts”
Most of the time, when we talk about community, we focus on verse 44, where everyone is selling things and giving to each other, but we miss the part in v. 46 where it says they RECEIVED generously as well.
Whether your roadblock is on the giving side or on the receiving side, I want to share three things you can give and three things you can expect to receive from your community.
Giving
- Your uncommon perspective.
- Your platform.
- Your best content.
Receiving
Now remember, in community, we RECEIVE generously, so this is what you can expect to receive from your community.
- Feedback
- Testimonials and Referrals
- Buying (or buying in)
I know some of this episode may have been hard to hear, and you might not agree with everything I’ve said. That’s okay. Just head back to Acts 2:44-46 and ask God how that applies to where you are in your community-building process.
ACTION STEP:
I know you guys are great at giving to your community. I see you out there doing it all the time. So for your action step, I want you to stretch a little bit into your DIS-Comfort Zone. Let your community know what you need. Give them an opportunity to buy or buy-in. If you do it publicly on social media, tag me @doanewthing and use the hashtag #justonesimplething so I can share with my community too. Let’s practice receiving generously.
RESOURCES: Esther Littlefield and I have a new resource coming to help you build a community that buys. Visit the Cultivate Your Community page to sign up and be notified when it is ready!
Book Recommendation: Moving Forward: Inspiration for the Go-Getter Jesus Girl by Me!!! (The Find Your People section has some good thoughts about community.)
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