The first time I traveled to the famed American port city of Boston, I built time into my schedule to tour its well-known sites. I followed the famous Red Line through the heart of the city’s historical district, made my way to the waterfront, walked the naval yard where my father had been stationed during the Korean War, and spent some time at the Commons. But I confess that what I really wanted to find was a bar! The Bull & Finch Pub, to be exact. You may know it by another name—Cheers.

The Bull & Finch Pub was the inspiration for the hit TV series Cheers, which remains one of my favorite series ever. While still popular on Netflix, younger readers will be more familiar with its lead actor, Ted Danson, as the demon-turned-good architect of The Good Place. But during its run in the ’80s and into the ’90s, Cheers earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a (then) record of 117 nominations.

So, while I was in Boston, I wanted to see the real thing. And I did. I went in, ate lunch, and had a great time. As I was walking out, I began to think about all the things that made me like that series—the memorable characters, the funny stories, the great one-liners. But it clicked with me that what I liked most was something deeper. In truth, I was drawn to the sense of community. At Cheers, everybody seemed to care about each other, support each other, and accept each other’s weaknesses. It was the kind of place you’d like to be able to just go to and hang out. Even the theme song, which was almost as popular as the show itself, made you feel this way: “You want to be where everybody knows your name.”

There’s something about community—the relationships, the sense of belonging, the support and encouragement, the sympathy and understanding—that deepens our lives and anchors our souls. But the community pictured in shows like Cheers or Friends, or more recently in This Is Us or Stranger Things, pales in comparison to the truest, best, clearest picture of community that has ever been presented—the new community, called together by Christ for Christ, better known as the Church. And no better snapshot of its life can be found than in the second chapter of Acts:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and miraculous signs performed by the apostles. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (vv. 42–47)

In this portrait, we find that the new community that Christ came to establish is a place where there is love, intimacy, service and honor. A place, as it has often been said, where you can love and be loved, know and be known, serve and be served, celebrate and be celebrated. Those are four things that are marks of this new community and that are indispensable to a life in Christ.

Love and Be Loved
The first mark of the new community is that it is a place where you can love and be loved. In writing the history of the early church, Luke observed, “They devoted themselves to the… fellowship” (Acts 2:42). The word he used for “fellowship” was the Greek word koinonia, which has to do with companionship, sharing, and being connected with another person in intimacy. It is the expression of enthusiastic love. People were taking the “high road” with each other, never assuming the worst or giving in to suspicion. True koinonia is when people are completely upheld, completely accepted, and completely supported. “To love a person,” said the great Russian novelist Dostoevsky, “means to see him as God intended him to be.”

Know and Be Known
Not only did Luke say that they were devoted to the fellowship, he also noted that “all the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:44). They were sharing, talking, revealing—they were not holding anything back. The truth is that we all have weaknesses. A true community allows people to stand up and say, “My name is John, and I’m struggling with porn; my name is Betty, and I have breast cancer; my name is Steve, and my marriage is falling apart; my name is Carol, and I just lost my job; my name is Alice, and I’m lonely.” Community is not simply being able to reveal who we are, but for that revelation to be in safe hands. Knowledge of one another in the new community is not the basis for wounding, but rather for healing through the giving and receiving of grace, love and support.

Serve and Be Served
The third mark of the new community is that it is a place where you can serve and be served. When Luke described the early Church, he noted, “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:45). There was a spirit of giving to each other at points of need in the community. Do you have a group of people in your life who really know you, really care about you, really love you, and are committed to your spiritual growth and development?

A young woman in our church experienced the horror of being diagnosed with breast cancer. After the cancer was discovered, it was considered advanced enough to require a radical mastectomy. She was quickly surrounded by prayer and support, phone calls and texts, Facebook postings and meals, and all the counsel and advice their network of medical friends and family could provide. As I drove to the hospital for a room visit, I passed by multiple members of the church in the parking lot on my way in, who had stopped by as well. When the ordeal was over, she expressed to me how she couldn’t have imagined going through it without a church family—how isolating it would’ve felt without the support of her community of faith.

Celebrate and Be Celebrated
A final mark of the new community is that it is where you can celebrate and be celebrated. Notice how Luke ended his summary: “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46-47). They were being together and enjoying it. They were in each other’s homes, sharing meals, laughing and talking, celebrating life with each other and with God. It was so good that other people who weren’t even Christians wanted to be Christians because of the community!

As Anne Lamott has written, “No matter how bad I am feeling, how lost or lonely or frightened, when I see faces of the people at my church, and hear their tawny voices, I can always find my way home.”

And that’s what the church, at its best, is meant to be.

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