{"id":31626,"date":"2022-09-10T15:37:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/from-isolation-to-community-how-the-church-can-mitigate-the-loneliness-epidemic\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:37:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:37:51","slug":"from-isolation-to-community-how-the-church-can-mitigate-the-loneliness-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/from-isolation-to-community-how-the-church-can-mitigate-the-loneliness-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"From Isolation to Community: How the Church Can Mitigate the Loneliness Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eddi Aguirre photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Kristy Etheridge<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s morning rush hour in New York City. A Manhattan-bound subway car is crammed with at least 100 people, but aside from the familiar squeal of wheels on metal, it\u2019s eerily quiet.<\/p>\n

No one is talking. No one is making eye contact. A handful of people appear to be asleep; the rest are wearing ear buds and grasping glowing screens.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re pressed in together, shoulder to shoulder, but occupying a hundred different worlds.<\/p>\n

If a recent national study holds true, about 43 of those people feel isolated. Almost half of them would say they are sometimes or always lonely.<\/p>\n

And about 47 of them would say they don\u2019t have meaningful face-to-face interactions with others on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

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The younger people would most likely express the greatest struggle in this area; it\u2019s no longer older Americans, but young adults between 18 and 22 who claim the title of the loneliest generation.<\/p>\n

These are a few snapshots from a survey of 20,000 Americans conducted by Cigna, one of the largest health insurers in the country.<\/p>\n

The company called the results \u201calarming\u201d and joined a growing number of voices speaking out about a \u201cloneliness epidemic\u201d with dire consequences.<\/p>\n

Americans of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and income levels are struggling with loneliness, whether they hail from sleepy, one-stoplight towns or \u201cThe City That Never Sleeps.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Dying Art?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe have crowded loneliness,\u201d says James Roberson, lead pastor of The Bridge Church in New York City. \u201cWe\u2019re around people, but no one is connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have crowded loneliness. We\u2019re around people, but no one is connected.\u201d \u2014 @jtrob3 Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

The average age of Roberson\u2019s multi-ethnic, Brooklyn-based church is 26, and 85% of the congregation is single. Loneliness is an issue that comes up repeatedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve observed it quite a bit,\u201d Roberson says. \u201cThe people that you think are social, it does not mean they\u2019re not lonely. And the people that you think are quiet, that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re lonely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe skill of being able to create close friendships is not determined by how many people you have around you. It\u2019s actually by how many people you are intimate with, who can see inside of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberson says the ability to find and nurture those intimate friendships is \u201ca dying art.\u201d To help bring it back to life, he\u2019s encouraging the church to make this commitment: \u201cI\u2019m going to search for relationships like I would water or food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loneliness Is Hazardous to Your Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s good reason to treat meaningful relationships like basic necessities. The effects of loneliness can be extreme, and evidence of a public health crisis is mounting.<\/p>\n

A 2018 article in the Public Policy & Aging Report listed one study after another linking loneliness to a slew of health problems and even early death.<\/p>\n

Depression, dementia, high blood pressure, inflammation, and decreased immunity are all more prevalent in men and women who are lonely. In fact, an analysis of multiple studies involving hundreds of thousands of people found loneliness is as deadly as chain smoking, and deadlier than obesity.<\/p>\n

An analysis of multiple studies involving hundreds of thousands of people found loneliness is as deadly as chain smoking, and deadlier than obesity. Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Longing for Knitted Souls<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Erin Davis began to study these effects after loneliness unexpectedly overwhelmed her in a very public place\u2014onstage during a conference at Lifeway\u2019s headquarters in Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just stood on the stage and cried. And said, \u2018I\u2019m really, really lonely. Would anyone be brave enough to stand with me and say that you\u2019re lonely too?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

About two-thirds of the auditorium stood up. Afterwards, women waited in line to express how lonely they felt. Like Davis, many of them were wives and mothers.<\/p>\n

Sensing she had struck a nerve, Davis turned to the Bible and began an in-depth study on loneliness and community, which led her to write Connected: Curing the Pandemic of Everyone Feeling Alone Together<\/em> (B&H Publishing, 2014).<\/p>\n

One of the phrases that jumped out at her came from an ancient story of friendship: \u201c\u2026<\/em>the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David\u2026\u201d<\/em> (1 Samuel 18:1, ESV).<\/p>\n

Within those words, Davis discovered a root cause of her loneliness: \u201cMy life was not knit together with anybody else\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Are We Lonely?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Why are so many people trading deep, \u201csoul-knitting\u201d relationships for surface-level interactions that lead to isolation? There are many factors, but experts say three of the big ones are busyness, individualism, and those ever-present glowing screens.<\/p>\n

People are busier than ever; it\u2019s not surprising that relationships fall by the wayside, especially as families increasingly pack up and move away from their relatives. And then there\u2019s the rising tide of individualism\u2014the world view that puts self above all else.<\/p>\n

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See also  How to Build Friendships With Other Pastors<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWestern culture tends to be very individualistic,\u201d says Dr. Derwin Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church in South Carolina, and author of several books including The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches About Finding True Happiness<\/em> (B&H Publishing, coming in June 2020).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re individualized, people become a commodity or a means to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray seeks to show his church that the Bible is a communal book, and Christianity is a communal faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of being made in God\u2019s image is a desire for community, because God has never been alone,\u201d Gray says. \u201cFather, Son, and Spirit have existed eternally in a love relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

If God doesn\u2019t see fit to be alone, neither should we.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of being made in God\u2019s image is a desire for community, because God has never been alone. Father, Son, and Spirit have existed eternally in a love relationship.\u201d \u2014 @DerwinLGray Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were created for connection,\u201d says Joshua Straub, PhD., Lifeway\u2019s marriage and family strategist. \u201cWe\u2019re hardwired for connection. We know this Biblically, but neuroscience research shows this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Science also shows screens are rewiring our brains. And you don\u2019t have to be a scientist to notice some of the ways screen time is replacing in-person interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think screens are a massive issue in our culture today,\u201d Straub said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely nothing can replace eye contact for brain development in kids and for deep connection within a marriage. I think technology and busyness are two of the greatest culprits to deeper connection. When we\u2019re running frantic and busy, we miss slowing down enough to get face-to-face eye contact with our kids or with our spouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Straub adds that missing out on familial connections can be traced to pressures outside the walls of the home.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be intentional to fight against the cultural tide,\u201d he says. \u201cCulture will make you believe you\u2019re missing out \u2026 but the thing we end up missing out on are the people under our own roof, who are the people we love the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Church vs. Loneliness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As Christ followers pray for strength and wisdom to resist the cultural tides that lead to isolation, there are abundant opportunities to be light in a dark and lonely world. Here are three of them:<\/p>\n

1. Help people connect to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Slowing down and seeking God is counter-cultural. Encourage individuals and families to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8).<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where you go back to some of the ancient spiritual disciplines,\u201d Gray says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce a week, how are you setting aside a day where you are communing with the Lord\u2014where you are delighting in things you like to do, without your mind racing? Also, learning the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Talk about loneliness and mental health.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that in the church, sadly, we have not talked about mental illness,\u201d says Gray.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really strange to me how the people who will say, \u2018Don\u2019t take medication for mental illness\u2019 are the same people who will get immunization shots before they go to India on an international missions trip. God made medicine. God has equipped people with the necessary skills to help. And it requires a community to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Do life together. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The first Christ followers were inseparable. They didn\u2019t just see each other once a week; they were in each other\u2019s homes, at each other\u2019s dinner tables, sharing what they had and learning together (see Acts 2:42-47). This is our blueprint for community.<\/p>\n

Roberson breaks it down for an Instagram audience: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to take pictures of the food; we really want people to eat with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christ-centered community is built on honesty, unconditional love and radical forgiveness. It\u2019s difficult, inconvenient, and messy. But it\u2019s worth it. Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Christ-centered community is built on honesty, unconditional love and radical forgiveness. It\u2019s difficult, inconvenient, and messy.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople walk into our home and see brothers and sisters who are totally different, sharing their hearts and committing to one another,\u201d Roberson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can go anywhere and mess up and be left out. I can be cancelled anywhere. The church is different because we commit to broken people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kristy Etheridge<\/h2>\n

@KristyNEWS<\/p>\n

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Kristy is a New York City-based freelance writer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n