In his work, Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage, Kurt Vonnegut writes: “What should young people do with their lives today?  Many things, obviously.  But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”

We live in a time of profound communication technology.  We have smart phones, social media, instant video “chatting” with others, texting, and emerging technologies that can link us with practically anything and anybody.  Yet we dwell in a culture that is vastly lonely and disconnected.  People today yearn for community and a place to belong in an ocean of isolation.

You and I see this regularly in public.  A few days ago I went out to eat with some friends and noticed that  4 people near me (presumably a family) were sitting at a table and no one was talking; instead, everyone was texting on their smart phone.  It reminded me of the famous song line, “so close and yet so far.”  In this post-Christian culture, we are living in days where there are many people but few connections, many opportunities but few realizations, many islands but few bridges.

The antidote to loneliness is interactive, relational community, a platform where people are bonded to one another in Christian love and hope.  Through the blood of Christ and the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel declares that a “people belonging to God” has come.  (1 Peter 2:9).

Think of the value and benefits of community:

*In community, I am valued and treasured.

*In community, I have a significant role to play.

*In community, I draw strength and help and can give peace and love to others.

*In community, I feel deeply connected to others and can receive wisdom and perspective.

*In community, I find my identity and purpose  for living, giving me hope for today.

 In this culture, people long for community, and the gospel addresses it powerfully.  Since the church houses “fullness of the deity of Christ” (Colossians 2:9-10), people should see the life of God and the relational goodness of Christ present within and among her people.

But does the world see this?

Much of the current-times indictment against today’s church–and rightfully given–is that normal, everyday people (not the atheists, agnostics, skeptics, etc.) don’t see the relational, redemptive fullness of God within her people.  Sadly, they often see bickering, complaining and grumbling among God’s people over issues that are miniscule in comparison to the needs of the culture.  Times like ours require focused spiritual leadership that challenges the people of God to be “balms in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.”  We need to be people who care, neighbors who help, a spiritual family that comforts, and the Body of Christ that supports.

Post-Christian thinking people are looking for community, a genuine place to connect relationally with others and to find authentic answers to their questions from people who care.  When churches commit to become “relational bridges” to their local neighborhoods and to offer a safe place for people to explore the gospel in a non-judgmental attitude, the attraction-factor will begin.