The Unexpected Ways of God: Boy Bands

What can Teen Boy Bands teach us about our God’s hope for our lives?

I’m guessing that if you look back at your life your best memories and your most joyful moments were times when you were surrounded by people you love. It is certainly possible to feel joyful and fulfilled when you are alone, but the presence of others has a way of turning up the volume.

Speaking of turning up the volume, have you ever noticed the cycle of eerily similar boy bands that pop up every ten years? In the late 1980’s, there was a wildly popular musical group of five young men called “New Kids on the Block.” About 10 years later, “N’Sync”, a group of five young men, achieved similar popularity. Ten years after that, “One Direction” burst onto the scene.

These groups (and there are many others) actually use a formula for their music. They all are groups of 4-5 individuals because scientists have found that when a group of people sings in 4-part or 5-part harmony, it lights up the brain in a different way. Something within us is deeply drawn to the sound of 5-part harmony. It’s as if there is something within us that is naturally drawn to the community.

In the book of Genesis, God actually makes this point very clear. After creating Adam, the first human, God says, “it is not good for man to be alone…” We were hard-wired to be in community with others. It’s not easy to be in a community with others, but there’s no denying that it is an essential piece of how God created us.

This is why we practice faith together with others. We can’t possibly perfectly believe on our own. We need the support and the faith of others to hold us up and inspire us. As my friend likes to say, “Faith is made whole in community.”