Let me tell you about a conversation that I had the other day. A few months back we invited a young couple and their children over for dinner at our place. We had had a few short conversations with them in passing at the church and wanted to get to know them better. We had an awesome evening with them and the beginnings of a new friendship. Several weeks later he came up to me at church and wanted to thank us for inviting them to our house. They had been serving at the church for well over a year and we were the first people to invite them over. As a church leader, this broke my heart and really pointed out an area where the church body is missing the mark. How can we gather together Sunday after Sunday and yet never really get to know anyone.
We are created for community, not for isolation. Besides the fact that the Bible talks about the need for community from cover to cover, studies show that people who live without community are far less happy and exhibit very high levels of depression and suicide. One of our greatest desires is to know and be known. How can we know someone or be known if we live in isolation? One of the greatest misconceptions of modern day society is that social media creates community. No, it creates a hollow shell of community. I would bet that very few of your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram followers would be there for you in a time of crisis. And I bet that those that would, are people that you have actually had face to face quality time with.
Do yourself and your community a favor and invite someone to your table for a meal. Find some common ground and build community. You don’t have to agree on everything, just practice kindness and servanthood and see what happens. Strong healthy communities build a strong healthy world. Some of your favorite people are just waiting out there to meet you!