Need #2: Community
The extended family support system disappeared several decades ago. The mega-churches (where anonymity is easy and often desired) are expanding at the expense of the small, community church. We don’t even know the names of all the people who live in the homes adjacent to ours. The pressures of just balancing work and family don’t leave any time for finding or investing in friendships. We were built for relationship; it is part of our inner-wiring. As time passes, however, this need is going unmet. Here are some ways that our culture is attempting to fill that hole – from virtual communities (online gaming, chat rooms, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) to the emergence of “conversational hangout” businesses such as bakeries/delis, coffee shops and bookstores).
Need #3: Time Management
We are not the farmers and assembly line workers of time past; we don’t wake up each day knowing exactly how we are going to spend our time. We don’t have a rhythm of chores and tasks that need to be performed. Our choices are open-ended and thus overwhelming. As a result most of us live with this anxiety of “Am I spending my time wisely?”. We suffer from paralysis from analysis. We are under the tyranny of the urgent. Our lives have become passive and reactive instead of intentional and focused.
Need #4: Dealing with Change
Most people don’t like change; most prefer the merry-go-round instead of the roller-coaster. Change is messy (previous two sentences are references from the movie, Parenthood). For most people who have lived on this planet; their lives were just like the lives of their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. That is not the case anymore. We are living in transitional times, and the pace of change is only increasing. We have seen three major shifts in the entire history of humanity:
-shift from hunter-gatherers to agrarian societies
-shift from agrarian to an industrial society
-shift from an industrial society to an information society
In fact, many would say that the pace of change is so rapid, that those living today will experience two major shifts in their lifetime - the 3rd one listed above which we are in the middle of right now, and then a shift from the information society to the conceptual society (See books such as A Whole New Mind).
Like storms that develop when a cold front meets a warm front, our world is becoming increasingly hostile as the deep fundamentals of time (see time management above), space (the world is flat – cultures assimilating), and knowledge change. Recognizing, acknowledging, accepting, and even embracing change are deep needs in our society today. Change is here; let’s stop pretending it isn’t. Shift Happens.
Need #5: Creative Outlets.
We are made in God’s image, and God is the ultimate creator. I believe this aspect of God’s character lies deep in our core. I believe most of us find great satisfaction in seeing how things we design and/or create manifest themselves in the world and in the lives of others. Like parents sending their kids off to school, we find great joy in sending our creations out into the world. However, most of the joy and satisfaction comes in the process of creating and not the creation itself. We all need to find healthy ways to find expression for the creative desire that lies dormant in most of our lives.
Summary
This list of needs is not exhaustive; there are many, many more. However, these are the needs that capture MY attention. In fact, I would say that these are felt needs in my own life. It is also worth noting that these needs don’t exist independently of each other – they are all intertwined.
Future Posts on this topic:
-My Stewardship Package
-My Vision / Ideas on how My Stewardship Package intersects with the needs I have listed
-Conversation with myself
This is utterly prophetic and I'm with you all the way. Keep it coming.
Posted by: Beyond Words | January 28, 2008 at 07:40 PM