Screen Play (32 page)

Manhattan: Lonely Island

An Essay on Community

I began work on
Screen Play
with a poignant image in my mind, a picture of Harper surviving in the empty Chicago apartment, then relocating to another lonely place, the crowded island of Manhattan. And still feeling degrees of separation.

In my other life as a speaker and teacher, I often give talks on the importance of living in a fulfilling and sustainable community. It’s something I believe is God’s intentional design for us, and I encourage others to join their lives in community. But what exactly is it?

A group of singles was chatting on Facebook, posting comments that tried to answer that question about what it means to be a part of community. “Community,” one wrote, “is my network of family and friends.” “Community is a place where I feel accepted.” “Community is where I belong.”

How can something be defined that looks so different to each of us? Something that can mean everything from the clubs we join, to the friends we have, to people living in cooperatives and our grandparents’ nostalgic neighborhoods from a half-century ago?

Wherever and however we find community isn’t as important as what happens to us when we’re engaged in it. As we encounter a true experience of community, we recognize its perfect shape for filling that vacant space in our lives. In meaningful community, a social DNA exchange takes place among us. When we gather with those who love us and whom we love, community bestows to us its resources—things absent from a life lived alone. Community is where we receive the gifts of profound and fulfilling fellowship, and where we practice our own God-given spiritual gifts.  

Community happens everywhere, and forms anywhere and forms quickly, but surprisingly, it doesn’t happen every time a group of people get together or even when Christians meet.  

For example, in high school I sang with five guys in a vocal harmony group called Northshore. We experienced real community and remain friends today. However, when I worked in a “Christian” company for three years, an environment where you’d expect a certain degree of spiritual community, community never happened.  

Pastors understand the importance of community and therefore encourage their flocks to meld into close community. Small groups are formed with the best of intentions, meeting to study God’s Word, share a meal together, and fellowship with one another. But following months of study and discussion, regular meetings, and coffee cake, some groups may have yet to experience even a spark of community. Why?  

In his groundbreaking book
The Search to Belong,
author Joe Myers says communities need to flow together spontaneously, not be pulled together by the force of their being simply “a good idea.”  

If Myers is right, churches that insist on small groups as the critical model for bringing about spiritual growth and connectedness may become frustrated even as they multiply their numbers, because they still fall short on building authentic community.  

My favorite community Facebook post read simply, “We can’t live without each other, and we cannot live without God!” As Christians, we’re called to live in unity with God, made possible through Jesus Christ, and in unity with one another. Inside the sphere of community is the access point to the beauty and riches God has enclosed in the skins of His people. It’s the place where we can experience the truest expression of ourselves. In community, we engage in active relationship with one another. We live out Jesus’ calling to be one as He and the Father are One (John 17:22).

Which Character Would You Like to See in a Sequel?

Readers often tell me when they’ve enjoyed one of my characters. Sometimes they say they’ve enjoyed them so much, they’d like to see that character return in a sequel. Have you ever felt that way? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts. Take a look at the list below of some of the most popular characters from my first three novels. Send me your favorite pick for a sequel at [email protected], and who knows? Your vote may just lead to an all-new story! I look forward to hearing from you.