The Case for Community (Part 3)
Our search for belonging and where we’re finding it
This article is part of the three part series. Read Part 1. Read Part 2.
Why has Starbucks been so successful over the past 20 years? It seems that they have transcended business and a created a kind of culture — a way in which we live. Is it because they offer the best product? Do they sell the best coffee?
Of course, there are many reasons for organizational success. But I’d submit that one of the key factors in the growth of Starbucks is their clarity on what they’re selling. They don’t sell a product. They sell community.
Starbucks was built not on the premise of providing the best coffee but on creating an Italian style community café in America. Howard Schultz wanted to build the type of “third place” where people could connect in between work and home.
Two of Starbucks four corporate values relate directly to community: “Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome” & “Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.”
All good marketing attempts to fill a deeper need than the product itself. Selling community works because as humans, we need it! And we’re looking everywhere to find it.
Long before Maslow told us in a hierarchy that we need to belong, God said it in Genesis — “It’s not good that the man should be alone.”
God was right. It’s terrible to be alone. In fact, we’re seeing the terrible effects of loneliness in America right now. Go ahead and google “loneliness epidemic” and you’ll be reading for days. Health insurer Cigna has found that loneliness is a greater threat to our physical health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day or obesity!
U.S. News reports that, “Only 27 percent (of Americans) feel they belong to a group of friends, and 24 percent report they can find companionship when they want it. Additionally, 1 in 5 Americans rarely, if ever, feel close to others, and only about half, 53 percent, report having meaningful, in-person social interactions with friends or family on a daily basis.”
The younger the generation, the lonelier they feel. About 60 percent of those in High School or college right now (Gen Z) feel left out or isolated from others.
No wonder Millennials (24–38) and Gen Zers (18–23) are talking about community all the time! We’re lonely as heck and it’s literally killing us!
In previous generations, people would find their sense of belonging in their workplace or local church. But as distrust in institutions has grown, people are scrapping for community anywhere they can find it.
One popular source for community has been CrossFit and other workout groups. These groups provide people the opportunity to organize around a common mission: get fit and win competitions. If you grew up in church, you may be surprised that many people are now finding deeper, more meaningful friendship in Camp Gladiator or their Tough Mudder team then they’ve ever found in a Bible study class.
In one of the most interesting articles I’ve read in a while, the Pacific Standard explains that “young people are exhibiting behaviors in workout groups that you’d usually associate with a religious congregation. Weddings are celebrated in workout spaces, with the trainers as celebrants.”
We’re seeing a similar phenomenon with the rise of atheist “churches” and universities beginning to include “micro-communities” into their housing options. Concerts and music festivals also play an important role in giving an this generation a sense of community and coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety and depression.
Essentially, our culture is saying, “we want church, but we don’t want organized religion.”
This is a unique opportunity. The Spirit has given us exactly what we need in an age like this. We don’t need to retreat. We have what people are looking for!
The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus experienced rejection and isolation so we wouldn’t have to (Matt. 27:46). When we surrender our lives to Him, we have fellowship (Koinonia) with God and each other (1 John 1). In Jesus and His Church, we find the sense of belonging we’ve always longed for. Not only that, we get to participate in the greatest rescue mission of all time (Matt 28:18–20).
If you’re part of a small group or house church, join me on a mission. Let’s fight against the effects of loneliness. Bible study alone is not giving people what they need. Brownies and small talk aren’t cutting it. This generation has zero interest in comfortable, surface level religion.
Let’s step up to the plate and give people what they’re really asking for — Gospel-centered, mission-driven, community.
