Straight to the Heart: Communicating the Gospel in an Emotionally Driven CultureSample

Community

Human beings are wired to be relational. Extroverted or introverted, we all desire community; we merely seek it in differing ways.

The Heart Culture aches for community and belonging. It is one of their defining values, a root cause that gives life to many of the primary cultural concerns of our day—political divisiveness, sexual revolution, social justice, and distrust of traditional institutions. To speak the heart language today is to speak the language of community.

It is to perceive the yearning that drives people and to recognize that this need can ultimately be fulfilled by Jesus and His church. It is a need that cannot be met by a sixty-second meet-and-greet after the church announcements. Rather, it requires us to be a life-giving community amid a lonely and divided world.

The apostle Paul emphasized unity in the church this way: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3 ESV).

Many have left the church because their hearts were broken by the people inside. Others already on the outside see the dysfunction in the church and feel compelled to find fellowship elsewhere. In a digital and divided world that is becoming increasingly lonely, depressed, and disconnected, we must live up to our calling.

The Heart Culture yearns for community. Rather than reflect the same divisive, exclusive, and tribal spirit of the age, we can be a way station for weary travelers to warm themselves by the fire and find fellowship.

Thinking of your current relationships, what can you do to help “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”?