A few days ago I worked up the courage to attend a meetup hosted by one of my favorite bloggers (who also happens to be a psychiatrist.) His blog, Astral Codex Ten, is about as nerdy as the name implies and has a global following. Recent blog posts were related to obscure pregnancy interventions, current developments in artificial intelligence alignment, Paramount Leader of China Xi Jinping's dictatorship, and general patterns of scientific discovery. About 30-40 readers attended the gathering in a food court in Irvine. We were a socially-awkward group, to put it kindly. I fit right in. The best part of the meetup was getting to meet the host and blogger Scott Alexander. Meet an intellectual hero, check.
While the meetup was interesting and the conversation stimulating, I was most struck by the psychology that was at play behind the scenes. I imagine 70-80% of us were pretty strong introverts and would have been more comfortable reading Scott's blog in the seclusion and quiet of our own homes. Yet we were drawn to gather with a group of strangers to talk about our lives and issues that were important to us. On the surface it would seem that the decision to attend the meetup (for most of those in attendance) was made primarily because we were intellectually curious and wanted to explore a range of ideas with like-minded (and equally nerdy) individuals. Key here is the idea that this exploration was with others. I can't prove it, but I suspect that beneath the desire to engage in heady discourse was a shared thirst for community. This is a nearly universal desire. We want to belong, to be "part of something", and this seems to be somewhat independent of our personality.
At the same time, I doubt many of the attendees consciously thought "I want to satisfy my need for community and I think this Astral Codex Ten meetup could be a good way to meet that need. Therefore I'll go to this little shin-dig." That sort of thinking sounds absurd! Instead, they likely had a louder craving for discussion about topics they cared about and the matter of community was a distant second. Yet for most of the attendees, what ended up being the most satisfying element of the meetup? Was it truly the intellectual exploration or was it the interpersonal connection and sense of belonging which accompanied the discourse? It was likely both.
As social beings, we come together for nearly infinite reasons. Yet that initial reason becomes inseparable from the sense of community which we experience once we are together. I can't speak for others, but the most fulfilling part of the communal experience for me is not solely the reason which first brought me to the community but that in combination with the connection I experienced as a member of that community. For the meetup I attended, conversation about AI and infrastructure was the dialect of our little enclave, the language which we spoke at varying levels of fluency and through which we connected with one another and built our temporary community.
I can't help but consider how this applies to the communal experience of the Church. We come together because of a shared system of beliefs but more beautifully (and formatively), redemption through Christ and our loving response to God. On a different level though, we are members of the Church regardless of our physical church attendance. In essence, Christ makes us part of His community prior to our actively seeking it out. It simply comes along with having a relationship with Him. What an interesting idea: We are united as a community primarily because of our relationship with Christ. That which brings us to the community, connection and relationship, also binds us to one another and forms the foundation for the connections which we form with another. In this instance, the fulfillment of community through connection with others is organized around that which drew us to the community in the first place, connection with Christ. Connection built upon connection, a single relationship providing the scaffolding for myriad other relationships. I find this incredibly satisfying.
Though I will likely not attend another Astral Codex Ten meetup (I’d rather read the blog in solitude :), my experience reminded me of the centrality of human connection regardless of our initial reasons for seeking out the company of others. It also gave me a new perspective on the role of connection in the body of Christ, the Church. Connection upon connection, extravagant love which brings forth extravagant love. I think I'll soak in the beauty of this for a little while.