Stronger Together: Pursuing Your True North With OthersSample

Josh didn't try to become isolated.

As an intentional leader, Josh always had a to-do list on his desk and a strategic plan on his wall. He was proactive about getting out to mountain bike, spending date night with his wife, and teaching his boys how to use tools.

Yet, one day, Josh realized he felt isolated. He was struggling in ways that no other man knew about. He didn't have deep friendships, and so he realized he wanted more.

For many of us who are like Josh, community feels elusive. As Stephen Mansfield notes, isolation often hits hardest in adulthood: "When a guy gets into his business life, when he marries, when he has children, it starts to isolate him...men find themselves drowning in a sea of casual relationships."

This isolation isn't just uncomfortable—it's dangerous. Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has called isolation "the most prevalent health issue in the country." Cambridge psychiatrist Dr. Richard Schwartz adds that "those who were more socially isolated were much more likely to die during a given period than their socially connected neighbors, even after you corrected for age, gender, and lifestyle choices."

For some of us, community is a dream we've been chasing. You might church-hop, never finding a place that meets your expectations. You read about the early church in Acts and think, "Must be nice, but that's never happened for me."

Others view community as a nightmare because people in the church have wounded you. Those scars make perfect sense—and they make it hard to connect.

What's fascinating is that despite all the potential difficulties of living in community, Jesus prioritized it from the very beginning of His ministry. In Mark 1:16-20, we see Jesus immediately calling disciples to follow Him. Before performing miracles or launching His public teaching, Jesus sought out companions for the journey.

Throughout this plan, we'll explore why Jesus prioritized community and how we can follow His example. The big idea is simple but profound: We cannot follow Jesus alone; we need community.

When life shakes you and when something unexpected throws you for a loop, you need something to reorient you to true north (i.e., what's most important). Knowing who you are in Christ and remembering the challenges you've faced with Him are a part of that true north. But so is the community of believers surrounding you!

Tomorrow, we'll explore the first reason Jesus chose to build a community: because even the Son of God didn't want to walk the road alone.