Posted August 20, 2026
If you’re like me, you have NAG Syndrome today. I’m not talking about a problem in my marriage (though anyone who knows my wife would blame me, as they should). Rather, I’m referring to No Authority Gauntlet Syndrome, which is when you have accountability without authority. You see a problem that needs to be fixed, but you don’t have the agency or resources to do so. It’s even worse when you’re not sure anyone else does, either.
Here are some examples in the news I’ll list without a lengthy description lest I discourage you before I have the chance to encourage you (the latter of which is the purpose of today’s article):
Now to the encouraging part. A church in my area displayed this message on their marquee: “The heart is the engine of the soul. The mind is the steering wheel.”
Let’s find some practical ways to steer our minds toward hope today.
Researchers at Harvard and Duke University recently collaborated in a landmark publication called The Handbook of Religion and Health. Its findings with regard to social health were nothing less than stunning:
A synopsis of the report explained:
Many faith communities provide structured forms of support, including marital education, counseling, and peer support groups. In addition, faith-based welfare and assistance programs often function as informal safety nets, offering material, emotional, and social support during periods of heightened stress such as job loss, serious illness, injury, family bereavement, or natural disasters. Multifaceted marital support during challenges can help protect against divorce.
The study adds that higher levels of religious involvement are also strongly associated with better mental and physical health. The greatest benefits are seen among those who attend religious services weekly or more often, a fact that makes my point today.
Yesterday we discussed the “friendship depth gap” and the importance of developing transparent relationships in which we can share our real challenges and pain. Today, let’s set that conversation in a larger social context.
St. Augustine advised us, “Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.” Such “soul care” has long been the purview of the community of faith.
From the moment three thousand people were baptized at Pentecost, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Every description of the church in the New Testament is collective: a body with many members (1 Corinthians 12:12), a vine with many branches (John 15:1–7), and so on. There are no solos in the book of Revelation.
Paul Minear’s classic study, Images of the Church in the New Testament, lists ninety-six such images. I read through them again and found that each was collective, from “the salt of the earth” to “the people of God,” “the Holy City,” “the new humanity,” and “the kingdom of God.” Apparently, what the Lord said of humanity prior to the Fall—“It is not good that the man should be alone”—is even more true after it (Genesis 2:18). We have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), so we all need saving grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). We best experience such grace when we live our faith in the family of God.
This is why we are urged to pray for each other (Ephesians 6:18), confess our sins to each other (James 5:16), forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32), encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24–25), worship together (Colossians 3:16), and work together (Ephesians 4:16). In short, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).
If you’re looking for hope in hard times, reject the atomizing existentialism of our secularized society and take a step into a redemptive faith community. Share your fears with fellow believers as they share theirs with you. Step beyond what feels safe but lonely into what is risky but transformative.
Tim Keller noted,
“If this world was made by a triune God, a being of community, then relationships of love are what life is really all about.”
How will you experience such “life” today?
“Christian community means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. There is no Christian community that is more than this, and none that is less than this.” —Dietrich Bonheffer
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