Les Henson
We live together in a world that is yearning for intimacy. The failure of individualism and hyper-individualism to satisfy human needs has created a hunger that moves beyond the need for community. People are looking for a place or a group of people with whom they can be real, where they can remove their masks and be themselves with all their failures and hang-ups. Yet, at the same, time they are distrustful of those who would take advantage of them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that young people have become obsessed with sex, which offers them intimacy and ecstasy without the pain of commitment or vulnerability.
In a world yearning for safe, vulnerable intimacy, what does the church have to offer? It will take more than polite chit-chat over coffee and biscuits after the church service to meet the deep loneliness and longing that many people are experiencing in today’s world. People need a safe place, and those who are open and willing accepted them for who they are with no strings attached. They need acceptance, not judgement. They long for authentic, deep and meaningful friendships with those they trust and respect.