Raymond Chang kicked off his Orange Conference 2023 talk with a question: Would you rather be ridiculed or ignored?
When a student was asked, he chose ridiculed, because at least he was being acknowledged and felt like he belonged.
According to Ray, “We were made for belonging.”
TENx10 is hoping to disciple 10 million young people in 10 years, connecting with them in key areas. And one of those is cultivating a sense of belonging.
Ray explained that true belonging demands more than a one-on-one relationship, though. It connects to the communal and societal. Sure, it’s great when one person notices us, but we long to be embraced by the entire community and society.
“We must cultivate a multi-dimensional belonging.”
Ray shared that belonging is also deeply theological. It’s grounded in Scripture. At the cross, Jesus reconciled us to God, saying we belong. But the reconciliation we are called to is interpersonal, communal, and societal.
Steve Cullum 