The Source and Solution of our Division
Reclaiming the power of Christian community in an isolated age.
This article is coming a few hours late, as I needed extra time to reflect.
The fractious state of dialogue on university campuses has been thrust into the public consciousness over the last few weeks. There is no doubt that a deeply concerning phenomenon within the Western world is inhibiting our ability to wrestle with ideas, especially ideas we don’t like.
The Real Issue on Campus
The most concerning trend on university campuses is not political division or a particular ideology. The greatest threat isn’t even in the realm of ideas, dialogue, or opinion. What is it?
Isolation.
The modern world is more isolated than ever. Today’s student can progress through an entire degree without ever really interacting face-to-face with another human being.
They can Uber Eats their meals instead of cooking with friends. They can request rides from anonymous drivers instead of carpooling or taking the bus. They can attend online classes without meeting an instructor. They can stream endless entertainment, receive therapy, or even pray with an AI assistant. Any sexual fantasy can be satisfied through pornography or chat rooms.
The result? A profound and deeply destructive loneliness.
Loneliness and Its Consequences
Combine this paucity of meaningful human interaction with the never-ending stream of influencer content and algorithms feeding one-sided views of the world, and you get destruction
Loneliness, paired with social media, is the perfect breeding ground for anger, resentment, self-loathing, and ironically, a hatred of others.
It’s easy to devalue people we disagree with when we never have to interact with them. It’s easy to demonize entire groups when we’ve never shared a meal with them.
The Antidote
Christians have the perfect antidote: the Church.
In a world shouting and tragically, shooting at each other, I reflect on the Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians: “God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.”
The Church is the means by which we can live into the beautiful reality that the dividing wall of hostility has been torn down.
But how?
The Power of Hospitality
We need to open our homes, not our phones.
As Christians, we are commanded to be hospitable (Romans 12:13). Hospitality is one of the most underrated, underleveraged, and underappreciated tools of the Kingdom of Jesus. In a world where we are tempted to seek the largest platform to shout at the largest number of people, choosing to enter the slow, countercultural revolution of opening our homes and hearts is a radical statement.
This is why my family and many members of our church choose to live in proximity to students, because only by entering their world can we actually bring change.
In our homes, we can share meals and build trust; we can listen to questions, hear pain and grief, and point people to the glorious grace of Jesus. We can provide a loving and comfortable space. We can open the pages of Scripture, look to the life of Jesus, and discover that he truly has good news for the human soul.
Breaking Isolation
The Church must break isolation through our homes rather than feed it through our phones. We need incarnational communities—where our personal brokenness is visible to others and the necessity of the Gospel is abundantly clear.
The Church is perfectly positioned to embody the goodness of Jesus. Just as Jesus used a meal and hospitality to bridge the gap between Zacchaeus and his followers, so too can we use our homes to bridge the gap with those we might even see as enemies.
Imagine if every Jesus-follower in North America committed to putting down their phone and instead welcomed those around them into meaningful relationships. What a world we would see.
A Call to Action
The isolated echo chambers of our bedrooms will tear us apart. But if we can open our homes to the stranger and the enemy, we can see a lonely generation integrated into an eternal family of hope.
Who can you invite over for a meal today?
Very well said. Some people also brought this exact issue up over a meal at my house, and it became hours of deep conversation and an opportunity to strengthen one another to have faith in Jesus. A community that brings the hope in Christ and loves one another is definitely the solution to what’s been happening recently, not the tallest, but shaky worldly platform.