If you’ve been to a hip evangelical church in the last decade, you’ve probably heard the phrase “doing life together.” It’s the solution for twentysomethings’ need for a spiritual support system and community. It usually takes the form of a group of people who meet regularly to study the Bible and socialize.
The tragedy is that “doing life together” in America is a program now and doesn't often happen organically. Most people live 20 minutes or more from each other, drive 45 minutes to work and live such segmented lives that community has become largely an emotional necessity, not an economic one. If Christians didn’t get together and “do life together,” they’d rarely see each other. What used to happen in the course of living—running into neighbors at the grocery store or passing them while walking to the theater—is now a program that happens on a schedule. When did this deconstruction of community begin?
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