Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. Back in the early 1830s, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville came to America under the guise of studying America's prison system. What he really wanted to know, however, to help his own country, was how America had thrived as a democratic society without falling into tyranny. He documented those observations in the classic work Democracy in America.
One area that he famously highlighted was how Americans spontaneously cultivated civil associations. And I quote, Americans of all ages, he wrote, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds, religious, moral, grave, feudal, very general and very particular, immense and very small. End quote. Through these associations, Tocqueville believed, Americans had learned to practice and thus protect their freedoms.
Even more, as he put it, a key result of living out freedom in this way is, and I quote, the heart is enlarged and the human mind is developed. this way of life was, in other words, quite formative.
Now had this visit happened today, Tocqueville might have instead been struck by the loss of strategic associations. As Catherine Gianno recently wrote in Fortune magazine, America is seeing a massive number of closures of what sociologists call third places. These are places outside of home and work, like coffee shops, movie theaters, libraries, museums, rec centers, restaurants. Certainly, the rise of online shopping and streaming, along with DoorDash and the residual effects of COVID-19, are reasons for these closures, as well as the popularity of so-called virtual reality. Altogether, the result is that fewer people even want to leave their homes.
However, this is a trend that dates before the pandemic and even the internet. Nearly 25 years ago, Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam noted in his book Bowling Alone that more people were bowling, but alone instead of by joining bowling leagues. His concern was not for the future of the sport, it was for the future of America's civic engagement. As one scholar asked, reflecting on Putman's work, have our capacities for joining with others been eroded by forces of modern society and technology? Are we becoming more and more a nation of solitaries and couch potatoes?
In her piece, Giono also pointed to the health effects that are related to the loss of third places. One study found that chronic loneliness carries the same mortality rate as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The U.S. Surgeon General has advised that people who are socially disconnected face up to a 29% higher risk of premature death. As psychologist Dr.
Julianne Holt-Lundstadt said in an article, we've designed our world, our society, for efficiency and economic benefit and not necessarily for the thriving and well-being of humans.
Well, these are all trends that provide yet another opportunity for the church to offer something better, something true, something good to the world. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means assembly. It refers to a gathering of saints who worship the Lord together, localized in worship and community. That's why Paul could write to the church of God that is in Corinth. Part of the church's calling is precipitated on the truth that faith is personal but not private.
It is to be lived out together in the real world, working to extend Christ's kingdom over every square inch of reality. The church then has a special responsibility in the cultivation of true human flourishing. As Colson Center Dean Michael Craven has put it, when believers are deeply formed by scripture, when Christ is exalted in every sphere of life, when the gospel is proclaimed and embodied, everything, communities, families, institutions, and cultures change. Not because cultural transformation is the mission, but because it's the fruit of the mission. End quote.
This vision of the church goes far beyond gimmicks and giveaways, coffee shops and performances. When true discipleship and formation take place, when lives are transformed in community, The result's nothing less than the hands and feet of Christ extending beyond the church walls to restore what's broken in his name under his reign. Even as the church battles its own challenges these days with attendance, it's still to be a place where we meet together, encourage one another in love and good works. It's a vital source of life. not only to Christians, but to the wider culture, especially one progressively acting in non-human ways.
Quite simply, the health and future of the Church is directly tied to the well-being of humanity. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored with Andrew Carico. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, leave us a review wherever you download podcasts. And for more resources or to share this commentary with others, go to breakpoint.org.
Christians are people of hope. We might not feel like we have hope, but there is hope. There's hope for the story of the world. As Christians, our hope isn't simply wishful thinking. Our hope is rooted in Christ Himself.
Truthrising the Study is a free study and explores the four truths that ground authentic hope. Christ is arisen, Christ is Lord, Christ is making all things new, and He has placed us here for this time and place. Take the next step in understanding hope that is anchored in Christ. Sign up for Truthrising the Study at Colsoncenter.org/slash study. That's colsoncenter.org slash study.
