Paul Pettit

BOWLING ALONE In his landmark 2000 book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Harvard professor Robert Putnam makes the case that Americans have become a nation of loners. He cites declining membership in groups like the PTA, Kiwanis, churches, book clubs, garden clubs, political groups, and, yes, even in bowling leagues. Putnam shows that we are increasingly engaging in privatized forms of leisure (like watching TV, surfing the Internet, playing video games) rather than connecting with others. Though our lives are increasingly peopleless, our hardwired need for connections pines away deep within our souls. Technology designed to enhance the quality of our lives is driving us apart. This loss of connectedness with others is not some nebulous intangible but a factor that affects the quality of our lives. —Paul Pettit, Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publishing, 2008), 82.