Good relationships and real community are things I love. Since I believe that engaging in these things and living in a manner that seeks these things out is the way we were meant to live, I found this to be especially helpful when thinking about nurturing relationships and community:

When we remember that hospitality comes from an attitude of welcome, we open ourselves to an abundance of creative opportunities for shaping a hospitable life. Hospitality often involves the practical help of food and shelter, but it also includes the provision of relational connection. Hospitality can be as simple as making extra food for dinner and welcoming our children’s friends to the table or being the one to initiate conversation with strangers at church, parties, or other social gatherings.

Hospitality can also mean sitting with another person over coffee, showing an interest in who they are. The 'ministry of presence,' as Christine Pohl calls it, is hard to comprehend in our task-oriented world. Spending time with another person, listening, sharing stories, and bridging the gap of our modern isolation requires an eternal perspective. If we are aware of our call to hospitality, we will be more likely to remember that people are more important than finished tasks. — Andi Ashworth, Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring, 71.

There are a great number of ways to do this (one of which I've mentioned before). That idea of "ministry of presence" especially appeals to me. Our ministry in this life, whatever form it takes, is person to person. As such, we have no other option but to seek honest and real relationships with those around us. That is the heart of ministry, working to bridge "the gap of our modern isolation." And that, of course, is the core of Jesus' ministry.

(HT: John Barach)