Rend Collective is a Christian band but it does not mean that its members are all immune to cluttered spaces and discord, especially since they spend so much time touring together in a cramped bus.
And while many people like to think that touring involves band members enjoying lots of laughter and beautiful sceneries, it also comes with its own challenges.
"Some days we spend most of our energy trying to ignore the collection of shoes that clutter the bus floor and empty water bottles that seem to appear on every surface. Yes, we all know we love and care for one another, but some times we just get into survival mode and climb into our bunks as soon as humanly possible," the band shared in a new post on their website.
The band said that "people are challenging" since they're all so different, and it could be easy to get disappointed when idealistic views of community don't match the reality. "We're all frustrated idealists who end up hopping around from one group of friends to the next, and church shopping because we can't stand the people we're with," it said.
Rend Collective then shared their secret for living together, and that is acceptance - the same way Jesus Christ came into the world and accepted the flaws of humanity.
"It doesn't matter if your community is in your church, at work, or on a tour bus, people are still people. And more often than not, we've found, they're the beautiful and broken people God has given to you," the band shared. "As a band family, we're learning if we want things to be different in our immediate community, it needs to start first in our own hearts with God. We're learning inwardly pointing our fingers at those around us, only breeds loneliness and discontent."
Rend Collective said that the time they learned how to accept "the not so lovely parts about each other," was the time they truly enjoyed living together.
"The joy of living in community is not that people are there to meet our every need— only God can do that. But the joy of community is learning to serve other another and fighting to be the person who stays when everyone else wants to leave," the band said. "That's the joy of having family, the immense joy of being in the family of God."
