Jesus clearly explained the what and the why of the gospel of the kingdom, but much of the how he left to us to interpret for our day and generation. The new order of human society declared by Jesus can be practically pursued by committed students of the Urantia revelation through the formation and nurturing of local communities. The most important and potentially fruitful work which can be accomplished in the world by those inspired by the teachings of The Urantia Book is creating communities of kingdom believers.

Community Building is Good for You and Good for the Revelation

Communities of geographically proximate Urantia Book readers constitute the primary vehicle for the advancement of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. It is in a community setting where Jesus' central teaching of spiritual family can be most readily practiced. It is through immersion in a community of readers that those new to The Urantia Book can observe the spiritual fruits of the Book ripening in the lives of those touched by revelation.

If we expect to get the most from our association with The Urantia Book, and if we want to be effective at bringing new people to "that which the world needs most to know" (page 2052), then we must nurture and grow the community of readers in which we find ourselves. And the creation of community has value beyond the ambitions of evangelism and growth; building intimacy and trust serves the present members of the Urantia movement by focusing on experiences which contain the greatest survival value -- human relationships. But community building requires commitment and effort. In this article, I hope to show why we should make community building a priority in our lives and how we might go about doing it.

What Is Community?

Webster's Dictionary defines community as: "a unified body of individuals," and as "people with common interests living in a particular area or living together within a larger society." Popular new age author and psychologist Scott Peck, in his book, "The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace," defines his ideal community as comprising the following elements:

• Is inclusive (not a clique, no "out groups")
• Nurtures soft individualism: "has learned to transcend individual differences so that differences are celebrated as gifts"
• Is made up of individuals who are committed to one another
• Is directed by the group process rather than ideas of a strong leader
• Strives for consensus rather than democracy: "in transcending individual differences, a community goes beyond even democracy"
• Is a safe place -- "inclusive of the full range of human emotions," allowing mutual "confessions of brokenness"
• Is able to "fight gracefully"
• Is a group of all leaders

While you certainly may disagree with the feasibility -- or even the desirability -- of creating a community with all of these features, Peck's ideas are provocative.

Author and academic Amitai Etzioni is one of the chief proponents of "the communitarian agenda" which is basically a new political party centered around the ideals of community. In his book "The Spirit of Community -- Rights, Responsibilities and The Communitarian Agenda," Etzioni asserts that for every individual political right there should be a corresponding community obligation. Summarizing his thesis, Etzioni writes: "We were troubled by the finding that many Americans are rather reluctant to accept responsibilities. We were distressed that many Americans are all too eager to spell out what they are entitled to but are all too slow to give something back to others and to the community. We adopted the name Communitarian to emphasize that the time had come to attend to our responsibilities to the conditions and elements we all share, to the community."

According to the communitarians, "social environments, like natural environments, cannot be taken for granted."

The Urantia Book does not treat community as an abstract concept in depth, but I believe that local communities are the fundamental unit of the kingdom of heaven described by Jesus. We know that "the kingdom of God is within you" (page 2084). But Jesus also used the concept of kingdom in a way synonymous with the society of believers or the congregation. For example, when referring to a process of conflict resolution (quoted in full below), Jesus said: "...tell the whole story to the congregation, and then, if they deem wise; let such an unruly member become an outcast from the kingdom?" (emphasis added).

Community Building Takes Work

A part of community development happens naturally, unconsciously. But a good portion of a vibrant and meaningful community must be built through effort, compromise, sacrifice, planning and voluntary service. Any married person will tell you that a meaningful relationship with your spouse requires work. Why should we assume that the benefits of a meaningful community can be had without dedication and commitment? Some make the excuse that they are too busy with career and family to participate in community work. But once formed, a community can lighten the burdens of family life and even contribute to career.

Five Processes Necessary for Meaningful Community

There are a number of practical steps and techniques or processes for community building and extended family formation. These processes can be grouped into five distinct classes:

• 1. The Core of Urantia Community:
• A. Study Groups
• B. Group Worship
• C. Group Service
• D. Special Interest Groups
• E. Fellowship
• 2. Building Group Intimacy and Nurturing New Readers
• 3. Outreach
• 4. Establishment and Maintenance of Mores
• 5. Political Organization

These processes are not sequential -- they are simultaneous and ongoing. And no community can effectively be grown and maintained without engaging in each of these processes to some extent. These processes are described below using examples from the Boulder Urantia community where I live:

1. The Core of Urantia Community: Study Groups; Group Worship; Group Service; Special Interest Groups; Fellowship.

A. Study Groups -- Learning & Teaching The Urantia Book

Study Groups are what we have to start. But like community itself, a quality study group doesn't happen completely naturally. In Boulder we have found that new readers need to be insulated from the often tiresome intellectual pontifications of certain members of the established group. We eventually realized we needed a variety of groups to meet the needs of everyone in the community. In June of this year we began holding study groups in the parish house of a church downtown where the following groups meet weekly all at the same time in different rooms:

• Sequential Reading -- traditional study group
• New Readers -- focusing mainly on the Jesus papers
• Experimental Study Group -- led by a different community member each week with formats which include lectures, work shops, discussions groups, worshipful meditation, Sufi dancing with a Urantia twist, and the presentation of papers such as this.
• Urantia-Oriented 12 Step Group
• Teenagers'Group
• Children's Group
• Introduction to The Urantia Book -- as needed, for those completely new to the Book

To my mind, the greatest advantage of six or seven simultaneous groups is the opportunity for many people to lead and teach. I've studied The Urantia Book for 20 years and, although the Book is clearly a lifetime of study, my main aim is now to teach others about the Book. Sharing the Book's teachings with others is not only valuable service, it is a necessary part of my own assimilation of the Book. The way of the universe is that nothing is learned until it is taught. On page 279-280 the revelators state:

"As you journey toward your Paradise goal, constantly acquiring added knowledge and enhanced skill, you are continuously afforded the opportunity to give out to others the wisdom and experience you have already accumulated; all the way in to Havona you enact the role of a pupil-teacher. You will work your way through the ascending levels of this vast experiential university by imparting to those just below you the newfound knowledge of your advancing career. In the universal regime you are not reckoned as having possessed yourself of knowledge and truth until you have demonstrated your ability and your willingness to impart this knowledge and truth to others."

Everyone needs a chance to teach The Urantia Book. And a community is the best vehicle for providing teaching opportunities.

B. Group Worship

"Worship is the highest privilege and the first duty of all created intelligences." Page 303. Group worship, if executed in a delicate and artistic way, can do much to provide a sense of community and bond its members together.

C. Service Groups

Religion must act. And in Boulder the Women's Corps shows the way as a well organized community service group. Even if such a "corps" does not exist in an area, the work of organizing service givers helps to define and solidify the community. The recipients of the service also hopefully derive some benefit.

D. Special Interest Groups

These include community subgroups loosely organized around a specific interest such as a theatrical or music group, a sports group, a business group, or a spiritual affinity group. By "spiritual affinity group" I mean any form of small group that works on living the gospel. Spiritual affinity groups can be powerful in focusing people on the practice of living in the presence of God. The existence of a variety of informal interest groups in a community makes the community more meaningful for its members and more attractive to outsiders. Interest groups provide evidence of the existence of a dynamic congregation.

E. Fellowship

But perhaps the key activity of a meaningful community is fellowship. To grow and continue a community must be fun. Good parties are an essential part of building friendships and socializing your religion. In Boulder, our consolidated study group starts at approximately 7:15 PM. At 9:00 all the various groups convene in a common area for coffee and dessert. This usually lasts until 9:45. After this there is usually a "salon" or after party where alcoholic beverages are consumed and there is often guitar playing and general carrying on until midnight or so. I can testify that the "after study group salon," which takes place alternately at the private homes of several individuals, is one of the highlights of the Boulder Urantia community and has been quite effective at bringing certain culturally progressive new readers permanently into the fold of the group.

2. Building Group Intimacy and Nurturing New Members

Friendships and intimacy often grow naturally when people participate in the activities described in the Core of Community section, described above. However, a weekly study group and occasional pot luck dinner may not be enough to form the bonds necessary for a group to move beyond superficial pseudo-community. Building group intimacy requires members to "be there" for each other. Jesus *lived with* the apostles and was completely available for them. Members of healthy families make it a priority to do things together and to a lesser extent, those who aspire to community must also make time to spend together. One of the major causes of Judas' downfall was his isolation. He didn't talk to the other apostles about his problems or concerns.

We must build trust among ourselves and consciously practice being a family. This can be practically pursued through intimacy building exercises. These exercises include personal sharing, game playing, and trust exercises such as standing in a circle around a blind folded member and catching or supporting him as he falls to different sides of the circle. Exercises like this may seem dumb or too new age, but major corporations are now sending their managers to "team building" seminars where such trust building exercises are employed.

The process of nurturing and intimacy building becomes absolutely critical in the case of new readers. Almost every new reader can find objectionable aspects of The Urantia Book. Unless an experienced reader/sponsor is available, and a new reader feels comfortable enough to discuss the Book and ask questions of the sponsor, the odds are that the new reader will misunderstand and reject the Book.

One of the keys to the success of the Alcoholics Anonymous organization is the use of sponsors for new members. The AA sponsor nurtures the new member and helps him or her understand the 12 step process. Many successful churches designate a sponsoring family for new members of their congregation.

Those new to The Urantia Book may profit greatly from a knowledgeable sponsor and, if a new member does not have a friend who has brought him to the group in the first place, it is up to the community to see to it that each new reader receives a sponsor.

But the role of sponsor goes beyond explaining the Book. New community members must be given a sense of belonging, they must be introduced and subtly "courted" by the group. Take a new reader out to lunch, invite him or her for a beer; with The Urantia Book in common, you shouldn't be wanting for conversation! Unless they are nurtured and made to feel loved, all but the most aggressive and determined new members will drop out of a group before they have a chance to feel at home.

3. Outreach -- Urantia Book Evangelism

The Urantia Book is clear that outreach is not optional for those who recognize the authority of the Fifth Epochal Revelation:

"If something has become a religion in your experience, it is self-evident that you already have become an active evangel of that religion since you deem the supreme concept of your religion as being worthy of the worship of all mankind, all universe intelligences. If you are not a positive and missionary evangel of your religion, you are self-deceived in that what you call a religion is only a traditional belief or a mere system of intellectual philosophy." (Page 1780)

Community can play an important role in the outreach process and has done so successfully in Boulder. At least four times in the last three years, the Boulder Urantia community has assembled over fifty people who were interested in receiving an introduction to the Book. These introductions consisted of explanations and testimonials from a variety of speakers and a slide show profiling Book readers -- why they read the Book and how it has changed their life. After the formal presentation, those attending were treated to dessert and had a chance to talk one on one with community members about the Book. Those who attended the introductions were brought by community members (through the promotion of "bring a buddy night") and by newspaper ads. I know that organized introductions have also been held in San Francisco where potential new readers were assembled via invitations distributed at Jesusonian Foundation's Urantia Book booth at the Whole Life Expo.

The process of organizing a public introduction or an outreach booth is a community building experience in itself. I know that many community members are given new courage and enthusiasm for the Book when they hear it boldly proclaimed and articulately explained in public. As with teaching opportunities, it is through a community of readers that the best outreach opportunities are provided. Personally speaking, I derive so much pleasure from talking to those unfamiliar with The Urantia Book, that I would gladly pay money to do it! But Urantia Book outreach must be carefully planned and executed with skill and finesse. Jesus admonished his followers:

"Some of you, before you entered the kingdom, were very shrewd in dealing with your business associates. If you were unjust and often unfair, you were nonetheless prudent and farseeing in that you transacted your business with an eye single to your present profit and future safety. Likewise should you now so order your lives in the kingdom as to provide for your present joy while you also make certain of your future enjoyment of treasures laid up in heaven. If you were so diligent in making gains for yourselves when in the service of self, why should you show less diligence in gaining souls for the kingdom since you are now servants of the brotherhood of man and stewards of God?" (Page 1853)

In order to maintain its vitality, a community must bring in fresh perspectives and new enthusiasm. The process of outreach is essential for every Urantia Community. "The social characteristics of a true religion consist in the fact that it invariably seeks to convert the individual and to transform the world." (Page 1781)

4. Establishment and Maintenance of Mores

"...the morality of interpersonal relationships...is the seed and secret of the continued and purposeful growth of society and government, human or superhuman." (Page 433)

The inevitable result of growing intimacy is conflict. And in some ways, a bit of strife is a good sign of community progress. But conflicts need to be worked out and loose community guidelines are often helpful in the process of resolution. This is where *mores* come in. The process of creating and upholding community mores is touchy, but undisputable necessary, in a growing community. Community mores are not handed down by the elders as a code of conduct; they evolve like common law through the resolution of individual cases. The process by which community mores are established and maintained is described by Jesus on page 1763:

"If your brother sins against you, go to him and with tact and patience show him his fault. And do all this between you and him alone. If he will listen to you, then have you won your brother. But if your brother will not hear you, if he persists in the error of his way, go again to him, taking with you one or two mutual friends that you may thus have two or even three witnesses to confirm your testimony and establish the fact that you have dealt justly and mercifully with your offending brother. Now if he refuses to hear your brethren, you may tell the whole story to the congregation, and then, if he refuses to hear the brotherhood, let them take such action as they deem wise; let such an unruly member become an outcast from the kingdom."

A recent example occurred with a mentally disturbed study group attendant who would monopolize the discussion with her opinions. Several people took her aside and tried to point out her indiscretion. We suffered her for over two years, agonizing over whether we were being Jesusonian enough in our tolerance and respect for her. She did not, however, respond to the corrective suggestions of the group, and it became apparent she was a self-absorbed bully. Eventually, twenty of us voted to exclude her, and we sent her a letter kindly asking her not to come back to the study group. Thus a more was established: thou shalt not monopolize group discussion after being lovingly and repeatedly informed of your faux pas.

A community which does not act to provide this process will eventually become dysfunctional and handicapped. Until a group functions to establish and maintain mores, it will be perpetually retarded in its development.

5. Political Organization

No community can effectively function without leadership. And if leadership is based on consensus, then the more leaders the better. As mentioned earlier, Scott Peck asserts that the ideal community is made up of all leaders, and I believe this is a healthy aspiration. The "all leaders" ideal is possible even allowing for obvious differences in human ability and motivation when you acknowledge that community leadership should not follow the corporate or hierarchical model. "Servanthood" is perhaps a better term for the concept of community leadership. Community leaders are not necessarily elected or officially recognized; they are the people who merely do things to advance the community. Organizing, persuading, publishing, hosting, performing, cleaning up, donating, serving in almost any way provides leadership in a community. It is through participation that leadership is manifested.

The functioning of consensus within a community does not require formal meetings or unanimous approval prior to action. Consensus simply means that those taking action are not running rough shod over the objections of other community members. "Bringing everyone along" is ideal as long as community progress is not perpetually retarded by the objections of its most conservative constituents. Consensus should be an ideal and not necessarily a rule when it comes to community organization.

It takes organization to put on a conference or hold a public introduction to the Book. It even takes organization to hold a pot luck meal. It is somewhat inevitable that some form of group organization will emerge within a community, even if the organization is formed anew for each discrete project. I think it is worth while for Urantia communities to form Societies and affiliate with The Urantia Book Fellowship, or other international networking organizations.

But I do not believe that community leadership should be formalized by, or limited to, the officers of the Fellowship Society. Fellowship societies ought to be parallel to and reflective of, but clearly secondary and independent from, the functioning of the organic community. It continually puzzles me why the leaders of The Fellowship do not recognize the fundamental importance of local Urantia communities. It is not through geographically diverse committees that great things are accomplished, it is through local communities. Without the active functioning of such groups, The Fellowship's General Council is like a head without hands or a body. Organized communities are the doers of almost all that is worthwhile in the Urantia movement.

Are We Talking About a Religion?

If you are thinking that my definition of community is merely a religion in disguise, my answer is: maybe. To the extent that the community is synonymous with the congregation or brotherhood of Jesus? teaching, then it must function like a religion. We know from The Urantia Book that religion is, by definition, personal. But we also know that the socialization (through community) of personal religious experience has great value. On page 1092, a Melchizedek of Nebadon states:

"There is a real purpose in the socialization of religion. It is the purpose of group religious activities to dramatize the loyalties of religion; to magnify the lures of truth, beauty, and goodness; to foster the attractions of supreme values; to enhance the service of unselfish fellowship; to glorify the potentials of family life; to promote religious education; to provide wise counsel and spiritual guidance; and to encourage group worship. And all live religions encourage human friendship, conserve morality, promote neighborhood welfare, and facilitate the spread of the essential gospel of their respective messages of eternal salvation."

The five processes of community building proposed in this article provide a practical way to go about achieving the purposes and goals of socialized religion. Thus community building does consist largely of "group religious activities." However, the concept of community should not be misunderstood as a mere euphemism for institutional religion. In the Melchizedek's discussion of institutional religion quoted above, the dangers of group religious activity are also made clear:

"But as religion becomes institutionalized, its power for good is curtailed, while the possibilities for evil are greatly multiplied. The dangers of formalized religion are: fixation of beliefs and crystallization of sentiments; accumulation of vested interests with increase of secularization; tendency to standardize and fossilize truth; diversion of religion from the service of God to the service of the church; inclination of leaders to become administrators instead of ministers; tendency to form sects and competitive divisions; establishment of oppressive ecclesiastical authority; creation of the aristocratic "chosen-people" attitude; fostering of false and exaggerated ideas of sacredness; the routinizing of religion and the petrification of worship; tendency to venerate the past while ignoring present demands; failure to make up-to-date interpretations of religion; entanglement with functions of secular institutions; it creates the evil discrimination of religious castes; it becomes an intolerant judge of orthodoxy; it fails to hold the interest of adventurous youth and gradually loses the saving message of the gospel of eternal salvation." (Page 1092)

God forbid the type of community I advocate should ever become characterized by any of these pitfalls of formalized religion. Let communities strive to achieve the best aspects of socialized religion without being contaminated by the diseases which plague the religious institutions of our day. So perhaps it is merely a matter of marketing -- that is, act like a religion in many ways, just don't call yourselves a religion and you will attract more people and stay out of a lot more trouble.

But no discussion of community and group religion would be complete without reference to The Urantia Book's discussion of cults and the necessity of symbolism. On page 966, a Brilliant Evening Star of Nebadon tells us:

"Regardless of the drawbacks and handicaps, every new revelation of truth has given rise to a new cult, and even the restatement of the religion of Jesus must develop a new and appropriate symbolism. Modern man must find some adequate symbolism for his new and expanding ideas, ideals, and loyalties. This enhanced symbol must arise out of religious living, spiritual experience. And this higher symbolism of a higher civilization must be predicated on the concept of the Fatherhood of God and be pregnant with the mighty ideal of the brotherhood of man." (emphasis added)

This higher Civilization referred to by the Brilliant Evening Star is, I believe, synonymous with the new order of human society proclaimed by Jesus in his talk about the kingdom of heaven. The higher symbolism needed for The Urantia Book? "the restatement of the religion of Jesus" -- is not a trademarked logo, it is art forms which communicate spiritual truth to people's hearts on an emotional level. Art of this magnitude is not the product of a virtuoso artist working in a cultural vacuum. It is produced by the flowering of a society -- the flowering of a community -- that is directed and focalized by artistic members of that community. "Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years' thinking in common, by the body of people, so that the experience of the mass is behind a single voice." Virginia Woolf.

The spiritual renaissance we are all waiting for, the "enthralling epoch of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment" (page 2082), will be spread through spiritually inspired art. And vibrant communities will be the womb from which this spiritually symbolic art is born.

Conclusion?

Community is the brotherhood, the loving family of Jesus' teachings. Community is not about an insular cult or a group brought together by a charismatic leader or held by pressure or guilt. Community is about commitment, duty, and obligatory participation achieved through the establishment of commonly held beliefs about the meaning and value of community and its manifold personal and familial rewards. To those who aspire to be the "...new leaders, spiritual men and women who will dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings" (page 2082), look around and ask yourself: where does the work of building the new order of human society begin? To me the answer is obvious: building the kingdom of heaven starts with one's self, continues within one's family, and has its most tangible outward manifestation in the community. Individual families are the cells, and communities are the organs within the body of the kingdom. So let's get to work!