Faith for Exiles by David Kinnaman & Mark Matlock & Aly Hawkins

Author:David Kinnaman & Mark Matlock & Aly Hawkins [Kinnaman, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living, Church work with young adults | Evangelistic work, | Discipling (Christianity) | Young adults—Religious life—Statistics, | Internet—Religious aspects—Christianity | Christianity and culture, REL070000
ISBN: 9781493415946
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-09-02T21:00:00+00:00

Rediscovering Relationships in the Church

Mistrust and relational isolation cut at the heart of human and Christian community. To use a simple metaphor, the walls are higher and the barriers are thicker between us and meaningful relationships. And that means it’s more difficult for us to find critical, livable answers to some of our hearts’ deepest longings.

Am I loved?

Who are my friends?

Does anyone care about me?

As we said earlier, the church can and should provide answers to the deepest questions of humanity in and through Jesus. In this case, our search for relational intimacy and supportive, others-oriented community is found in the church. As part of the community of Jesus, we bear one another’s burdens. We experience love and intimacy. In short, we find that we are loved, we experience authentic friendship, and we discover people who care deeply about us.

In exile, the church can provide answers to a relationally hurting society. The Christian community today has an amazing opportunity to address the epidemic of isolation and counteract the atomizing effects of digital Babylon—and thereby diminish the mistrust and isolation we’re all experiencing.

Did you catch that? The church can help fill a massive gap in our society: the desire to be loved, to be acknowledged for more than what we produce, to be known.

Resilient disciples have robust relationships in many different dimensions of their lives. In our survey, we inquired about relational connections without specifically talking about church, faith, or Christianity. As you can see in table 7, resilient disciples are far and away more relationally well-rounded than others their age.

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