Friday, Chicago, Illinois

For the past two days my colleague Dr. Glenn Sparks and I delivered a lecture and workshop on small groups to a conference at the amazing Willow Creek Community Church. This "mega church" is in the affluent northwest suburbs of Chicago and is truly an incredible place. Last night I performed a lecture and standup comedy to an audience of several thousand. And this evening it was broadcast to many thousands more around the country. It is always a blast as a performer to do my thing in front of a large, appreciative audience.

The gathering was for this popular, annual conference attended by several thousand from around the country. Like many large congregations Willow Creek is engaged in an ongoing effort to encourage those who attend their services to become active in small group experiences. Too often visitors to these churches remain worship spectators and never personally engage in relationships with the others all around them. So a zealous effort has emerged to encourage people to meet together and form lasting relationships with other members. To this end they have embraced the thesis and perspective of Refrigerator Rights as part of their initiative for encouraging congregations to promote the development of small groups.

Chicago, Illinois

Tomorrow evening I will be giving a keynote speech at the Willow Creek Church outside of Chicago. This huge and active congregation is holding an annual conference on small groups and their role in the congregation. It’s an exciting opportunity for me (and my research colleague Dr. Glenn Sparks will be joining me) because of the obvious synergy between the idea of cultivating small-group life with the message of our book Refrigerator Rights.

The essential message of our book is that the combination of constant moving with hours of attachment to screens - television, the Internet and other devices - has combined to create a typical American lifestyle that is detached, singular and separate. And such a lifestyle is directly associated with the problems we are facing with stress related disorders especially depression and anxiety. What is your lifestyle? Do you have the social support network you need to function?

Do you have Refrigerator Rights?