Solitude is a gift; loneliness is a pitfall. You can have thousands of “friends” on Facebook and “followers” on Instagram and still have no people in your life that truly know who you are and what is going on in your life. You might as well be called “sir” or “ma’am” and that be a reflection of the depth of relationships in your life. 

This isn’t about personality type–of course some of us find more energy in connection with people, and others are more comfortable being alone and don’t need as much relational time. We typically label that “extroverts/introverts,” although it’s more complex than that. Regardless, we all thrive when we have meaningful relationships. 

We know that.

But do we know that the church is meant to be the epitome of a thriving and relational community? Do we know that the Church was once considered a family? What if the Church was a multi-ethnic, multi-generational family of people who all are bound by the saving grace of Jesus Christ the Lord?