For the first time in over fifteen years I'm living in the dorm. It's true. Well, I can qualify that--it is graduate student housing with private rooms and no communal showers. Still, it is a residence hall just the same.

But, strange to say, it's been a good experience so far.

In fact, living smack dab in the middle of a Christian academic community has been anything but a downer. Now, lunches include discussions with a professor researching how the British are embracing the neo-paganism of Druid groups. The dining hall becomes a place where Canadians, South Africans, and Americans can compare the use of the words washroom and bathroom. Early Friday mornings are about dragging hall mates out of bed in order to put in an hour and a half of hoops. Afternoons may mean carrying a hurt buddy off the soccer field--and then running to get him dinner. A trip in the car can turn into advice from a brother who knows first-hand the plight of the inner city. And any evening can be a time of assembling for prayer.

Some say that many of us regard college as one of the best times of our lives because of its resemblance to real community. The question that comes to mind is: "How can we practice this way of living once we are out in the 'real world' living life?" How can we keep this sense of community?

Community is something we often discuss here in the cyber-village called Common Grounds. I don't know if I have much wisdom to offer on the subject, just these few broadcasts from my dorm dwelling. However, two aspects of community come to mind. First, there is something about just being, namely being with other people. Not meeting for a scheduled appointment with people. Not joining up with a group because there is a job to be done. Community grows out of the simple, lived-out presence of other people. Community forms by happenstance. Perhaps providence is a better word.

Second, from where I stand, it looks like we are meant to assemble. We are meant to come together and congregate, to form the ecclesia. And no other assembly is like the body that has Christ as its head. This meeting of minds, joining of hearts, and even combining of strengths should really be the foundation of our daily routine.

What are your thoughts? Maybe you have some insights gleaned from the meanderings of your own life? In what ways has God caused fellowship with others to erupt out of your everyday world? Hopefully, my time in this "community laboratory" will translate into some insight into how I might be able to live out life in the 'burbs, the high rises, and the wood-framed houses I will soon find myself in.