The need for Community

At a recent small groups conference at Saddleback Church Randy Frazee spoke on the ?call to community.? He reported the average American family manages 35 separate relationships on a day-to-day basis?children, extended family, neighbors, government, school, friends, work, Starbucks employees, landlords, telemarketers, etc. And this is before that family gets invited to church, which usually adds another 6 or more connections. He refers to this phenomenon as ?crowded loneliness.? We are in desperate need of meaningful relationships, yet too busy and too pulled to maintain them. Even worse, our attempts to relieve our sense of isolation often contribute to our fragmentation. Out of Ur 2/27/07