Proximity

Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, in their book Emerging Churches, write:

"Creating a vital community is a challenge in our current
cultural context. People are both hungry for relationships and yet at the same
time ill prepared for the costs involved. In a culture in which casual
relationships or contractual relationships are the norm, it is difficult to
build relationships on deep foundations that can survive disagreements and
disappointments. People are more prone to walk away when the going becomes
difficult than to work through a crisis to the point where a new depth of
understanding is reached."

In the Aussie (or is it British?) accent of Desmond from Lost, all I can say is "Amen, brother." This has certainly been my experience over the past few years, and I have a string of fractured/failed relationships to prove it.