Why We Feel Lonely - with Eric O. Jacobsen

Are you experiencing loneliness? We drive to work. We drive back home from work. We watch some TV. When we have some free time, we are scrolling through something on our smartphones. No wonder we’re so lonely! We’ve been set up to not be connected to our neighbors.  Today’s guest is author and pastor Eric O. Jacobsen. Eric is the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Washington, and received his Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary. His latest book is Three Pieces of Glass: Why We Feel Lonely in a World Mediated by Screens (Brazos Press, 2020). As the subtitle suggests, we are experiencing loneliness because we spend so much time not walking among people so that we can have authentic relationships. Rather, our world is mediated through our windshields, our televisions, and our smartphones.  His first book was Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith (Brazos Press, 2003). He wrote a more in-depth theology on this subject with The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment (Baker Academic, 2012). Eric is dedicated to the idea that people should be connected in a good way by the built environment, but that we humans have not taken the care to create such spaces for human flourishing.  Thanks for listening! Your hosts are Brendan Romigh and Dr. Bob Robinson, the Executive Director of Reintegrate. Go to re-integrate.org for the latest articles on reintegrating your callings with God’s mission, online resources for further learning, links to the Reintegrate YouTube channel, and more. On Reintegrate’s podcast page, you’ll find ways to email us or call us to comment on this podcast. Get full access to Bob Robinson’s Substack at bobrobinsonre.substack.com/subscribe