Learning about community and our culture from Motion City Soundtrack

Last Saturday, I went to a rock show, suffered through a band called Metro Station, basked in the beautiful sounds of Anberlin, Mae, and was first exposed (I know, I know, I should've been exposed a long time ago) to Motion City Soundtrack.

And as people are screaming their lungs out all around me, with smiles on the faces to one of their favorite bands, I started asking, "What is it about rock that resonates so much with it's listeners."

I'm sure this is nothing new, but I think there's something we can learn from rock. I look at our culture today and I see this huge need for community, a need to belong to a cause, a desire to get rid of everything fake and insincere and be real, authentic. Look at rock. Why do people like it? Because it moves them, because it's about life when it sucks, life when it's awesome, love, hate, success, failure, heartbreak, spirituality, all these things. And at a show, you put a whole bunch of people in a room together to their favorite band and you have instant community, a group united because they identify with the songs - they see themselves and their experience in the music. An instant community of people is sharing this intimate moment together at the top of their lungs.

But I wonder if people realize the reason this rock n' roll experience is resonates with them is because they identify with the music, because they are experiencing this instant community for an hour and a half... because it is reflective of something going on deep within them ... a desire for community, a desire to belong.

I think this is reflective of our society. And as believers, there is a lot to be learned. As believers, we are called to take the Gospel to people, and to accompany the Gospel by meeting the needs of those we share it with - evangelism and action beautifully wed. And in our culture, to meet the needs of many is to meet that need of community and belonging everyone has tucked somewhere deep inside of them, whether they are unaware of that or not. People don't want masks, they don't want fake. They want real.

This is the reason the number one way people are coming to Jesus from our generation is through small group Bible study. People crave relationships, community, belonging. People need more than to be told the Gospel leads to life-transformation, they need to see it.

This is also the reason is so important to build relationships with those who don't yet believe and to share life with them. They need to see the Gospel in action.

So enough for now... I'm trying to blog a little bit several times a week to get my thoughts on paper and become a better write... it probably all sucks right now, but I'm hoping this discipline will help...