The research is real - people don't trust institutions! But people still really want to belong to something that connects them to others.
The research also shows that they want to belong somewhere that allows them to participate in social transformation, personal transformation, creativity, relationship, having purpose, and accountability.
That last one really caught my attention. We tend to think of accountability as a top down, authority structure concept. But here's a contemporary description of that accountability: “ If I don’t show up, I want people to notice that I’m not there, and I want to be held to that."
Wow! What a different way of thinking about it. Not as burden or shaming, but, as a hope that people will desire your presence enough to say we miss you, we need you! What would Two Rivers Church (or any organization) look like if we all gave permission to each other to exercise accountability by saying 'we miss you!’? GS