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Three Pieces of Glass: Why We Feel Lonely in a World Mediated by Screens
Loneliness is increasingly recognized as a major public health crisis that is on the rise and impacting people of all ages. Addressing the crisis of loneliness from a fresh perspective, this book introduces belonging as an overlooked but critical aspect of a flourishing Christian life.
Eric Jacobsen shows how three pieces of glass--the car windshield, TV, and smartphone--are emblematic of significant societal shifts that have created a cultural habit of physical isolation. We feel increasingly disconnected from the people and places around us. Jacobsen explains how adopting everyday practices and making changes in our neighborhoods can help us create a sense of belonging and rediscover what belonging in a place looks like. In order to effectively solve the problem of loneliness, we need to recover patterns and practices of community life that encourage us to form meaningful connections with people and stories that are part of the places where we live, work, and worship. To this end, Jacobsen offers four redemptive strategies for living a more intentional and spiritual life.
Eric Jacobsen shows how three pieces of glass--the car windshield, TV, and smartphone--are emblematic of significant societal shifts that have created a cultural habit of physical isolation. We feel increasingly disconnected from the people and places around us. Jacobsen explains how adopting everyday practices and making changes in our neighborhoods can help us create a sense of belonging and rediscover what belonging in a place looks like. In order to effectively solve the problem of loneliness, we need to recover patterns and practices of community life that encourage us to form meaningful connections with people and stories that are part of the places where we live, work, and worship. To this end, Jacobsen offers four redemptive strategies for living a more intentional and spiritual life.
288 pages, Paperback
Published May 5, 2020
14 people are currently reading
1107 people want to read
About the author
Eric O. Jacobsen
6 books12 followersEric O. Jacobsen (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith and numerous articles exploring connections between the Christian community, the church, and traditional neighborhoods. He is also the coeditor of Traditions in Leadership and The Three Tasks of Leadership.
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March 23, 2020
Summary: Focuses on loneliness and belonging and the influence of cars, television, and smartphones on the experience, and even design of community and the choices we may make to foster belonging.
A recent commercial for a pizza chain reprises a classic TV scene in which a figure of a somewhat heavy set man who walks into an establishment. In the classic version, he is instantly recognized and everyone calls out "Norm." In the contemporary version, no one knows his name because he hasn't created an online profile tracked on his phone. In the old neighborhood bar, "everybody knows your name." Now belonging is increasingly mediated through a screen.
Eric O. Jacobsen didn't anticipate the commercial, which underscores the theme of belonging represented by Norm that runs through this book. He contends that three pieces of glass, the windshield of the automobile, the screen of the television, and the screen of our smartphones, tablets, and computers have fundamentally influenced our experience of belonging in society.
Jacobsen begins his discussion by exploring the nature of belonging as having to do with relationship, place and story, and levels of belonging from intimate and personal to social and public and how intimate and personal are not enough. He explores the way in which experiences of social and public, together referred to as civic belonging, offer foretastes of kingdom belonging.
The second part of the book then sketches out the nature of kingdom belonging which he characterizes as unconditional, covenantal, invitational, compassionate, diverse, transformative, delightful and productive. He contrasts this with worldly belonging and highlights the inclusive (the images of the feast and the table) and the covenantal relationship character of the kingdom.
Part three considers the gospel and belonging and shows how through the gospel, broken relationships are restored and there is healing for the epidemic of loneliness. For people who feel estranged and exiled, there is a promise of homecoming. And for those living in a story of meagre existence, there is a better and grander story.
The fourth part of the books addresses how the "three pieces of glass" have contributed to our crisis of belonging. The automobile has changed how our living spaces have been configured, from the design of our homes, to the walkability of our neighborhoods, and the location of where we shop and work in relation to where we live. Television changes how we view real people versus our "TV friends." Our smartphones and other devices have led us to substitute virtual for face to face interaction. These have led erosion in the civic realm and an epidemic of "busyness.
The last two parts consider, first, the influence of our choices on our communal life, our public policies, and on our liturgical life and second how we may encourage belonging. The last part reprises ideas elaborated at greater length in Jacobsen's earlier books, Sidewalks in the Kingdom and The Space Between, both influenced by the new urbanism. He looks at the design of our communities, advocating for walkability, our proximity, which includes a parish vision for the church, the making of meaningful public places, and a local culture reflected in language, shared stories, and events.
Writing this review during the Covid-19 pandemic gives me a different perspective on this book than I might have had during "normal" times. The latter two pieces of glass have taken on critical importance both as sources of information (although we have to watch for media overload), and as the one means of connection, or belonging most of us have when we must practice physical distancing--particularly in connecting with family, friends, our church community, our work colleagues, and even our political leaders. For many of us, we can work from home (and this may not even represent a change for some of us.)
By the same token, people are walking their neighborhoods at safe distances, in some cases meeting neighbors they never knew by name. I know of one neighborhood where a local folk singer set up in his front yard and staged an impromptu singalong. When we can't go to restaurants, sporting events, and many of the other places our cars take us--we are left with walking and a kind of "neighboring" occurs. By the same token, I wonder if fights would have occurred over essential goods in the neighborhood markets I grew up with that occur in our megastores where people come from miles around and it is rare you meet someone you know. You shopped with people you knew in those neighborhood groceries and, perhaps we would be more considerate of the needs of others and neither hoard nor fight. After all, we lived with those people and we would be publicly shamed if we took more than our fair share!
Jacobsen's book makes me wonder whether we will be more mindful about this question of belonging, as we realize how dependent we are upon both in our churches, and in the civic sphere. It makes me wonder if we will take a fresh look at our neighborhoods, both what is good about them, as well as what could be better about our places, and how we connect with each other. With internet connected devices, I suspect it is a bit more complicated. It would not surprise me if life becomes more oriented for more people around these devices. We are doing more education through them, more commerce, more business collaboration, and even more religious activity. While we discover that the church is not a building, will we also jettison the physical encounters that are at the heart of Christian community, from the breaking of bread and the cup to all those meals and potlucks that are some of the best part of our lives? Even before this crisis, I was in conversation with those who talked about declines in church attendance, in which someone pointed to their smartphone and said, "that's because many think they carry church in their pocket."
Yet Jacobsen reminds us of our epidemic of loneliness. He raises the critical question of whether belonging can be mediated through a smart device, or whether the proximity necessary for social and public belonging can be created in a car culture. We may love our TV friends, but will they love us back? Jacobsen's book raises a series of inter-related questions for how the church understands its message, how we steward our technology, and how we configure the places where we live. How we answer those might well make the difference between places where nobody or everybody knows our names.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
A recent commercial for a pizza chain reprises a classic TV scene in which a figure of a somewhat heavy set man who walks into an establishment. In the classic version, he is instantly recognized and everyone calls out "Norm." In the contemporary version, no one knows his name because he hasn't created an online profile tracked on his phone. In the old neighborhood bar, "everybody knows your name." Now belonging is increasingly mediated through a screen.
Eric O. Jacobsen didn't anticipate the commercial, which underscores the theme of belonging represented by Norm that runs through this book. He contends that three pieces of glass, the windshield of the automobile, the screen of the television, and the screen of our smartphones, tablets, and computers have fundamentally influenced our experience of belonging in society.
Jacobsen begins his discussion by exploring the nature of belonging as having to do with relationship, place and story, and levels of belonging from intimate and personal to social and public and how intimate and personal are not enough. He explores the way in which experiences of social and public, together referred to as civic belonging, offer foretastes of kingdom belonging.
The second part of the book then sketches out the nature of kingdom belonging which he characterizes as unconditional, covenantal, invitational, compassionate, diverse, transformative, delightful and productive. He contrasts this with worldly belonging and highlights the inclusive (the images of the feast and the table) and the covenantal relationship character of the kingdom.
Part three considers the gospel and belonging and shows how through the gospel, broken relationships are restored and there is healing for the epidemic of loneliness. For people who feel estranged and exiled, there is a promise of homecoming. And for those living in a story of meagre existence, there is a better and grander story.
The fourth part of the books addresses how the "three pieces of glass" have contributed to our crisis of belonging. The automobile has changed how our living spaces have been configured, from the design of our homes, to the walkability of our neighborhoods, and the location of where we shop and work in relation to where we live. Television changes how we view real people versus our "TV friends." Our smartphones and other devices have led us to substitute virtual for face to face interaction. These have led erosion in the civic realm and an epidemic of "busyness.
The last two parts consider, first, the influence of our choices on our communal life, our public policies, and on our liturgical life and second how we may encourage belonging. The last part reprises ideas elaborated at greater length in Jacobsen's earlier books, Sidewalks in the Kingdom and The Space Between, both influenced by the new urbanism. He looks at the design of our communities, advocating for walkability, our proximity, which includes a parish vision for the church, the making of meaningful public places, and a local culture reflected in language, shared stories, and events.
Writing this review during the Covid-19 pandemic gives me a different perspective on this book than I might have had during "normal" times. The latter two pieces of glass have taken on critical importance both as sources of information (although we have to watch for media overload), and as the one means of connection, or belonging most of us have when we must practice physical distancing--particularly in connecting with family, friends, our church community, our work colleagues, and even our political leaders. For many of us, we can work from home (and this may not even represent a change for some of us.)
By the same token, people are walking their neighborhoods at safe distances, in some cases meeting neighbors they never knew by name. I know of one neighborhood where a local folk singer set up in his front yard and staged an impromptu singalong. When we can't go to restaurants, sporting events, and many of the other places our cars take us--we are left with walking and a kind of "neighboring" occurs. By the same token, I wonder if fights would have occurred over essential goods in the neighborhood markets I grew up with that occur in our megastores where people come from miles around and it is rare you meet someone you know. You shopped with people you knew in those neighborhood groceries and, perhaps we would be more considerate of the needs of others and neither hoard nor fight. After all, we lived with those people and we would be publicly shamed if we took more than our fair share!
Jacobsen's book makes me wonder whether we will be more mindful about this question of belonging, as we realize how dependent we are upon both in our churches, and in the civic sphere. It makes me wonder if we will take a fresh look at our neighborhoods, both what is good about them, as well as what could be better about our places, and how we connect with each other. With internet connected devices, I suspect it is a bit more complicated. It would not surprise me if life becomes more oriented for more people around these devices. We are doing more education through them, more commerce, more business collaboration, and even more religious activity. While we discover that the church is not a building, will we also jettison the physical encounters that are at the heart of Christian community, from the breaking of bread and the cup to all those meals and potlucks that are some of the best part of our lives? Even before this crisis, I was in conversation with those who talked about declines in church attendance, in which someone pointed to their smartphone and said, "that's because many think they carry church in their pocket."
Yet Jacobsen reminds us of our epidemic of loneliness. He raises the critical question of whether belonging can be mediated through a smart device, or whether the proximity necessary for social and public belonging can be created in a car culture. We may love our TV friends, but will they love us back? Jacobsen's book raises a series of inter-related questions for how the church understands its message, how we steward our technology, and how we configure the places where we live. How we answer those might well make the difference between places where nobody or everybody knows our names.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
October 9, 2020
The car windshield, the TV, and the smartphone. Fascinating look at belonging in our age of mediated screens.
February 20, 2024
A recent commercial for a pizza chain reprises a classic TV scene where a man walks into an establishment. In the classic version, he is recognized, and everyone calls out "Norm." In the contemporary version, no one knows his name because he hasn't created an online profile tracked on his phone. In the old neighborhood bar, "everybody knows your name."
Now belonging is increasingly mediated through a screen.
Eric O. Jacobsen did not anticipate the commercial, which underscores the theme of belonging represented by Norm that runs through his book: "Three Pieces of Glass." Jacobsen contends that the windshield of the automobile, screen of the television, and screen of our smartphones, tablets, and computers, have fundamentally influenced our experience of belonging in society.
Jacobsen begins his discussion by exploring the nature of belonging as levels from intimate and personal to social and public and how intimate and personal are not enough.
The book's second part sketches out the nature of kingdom belonging, which he characterizes as unconditional, invitational, compassionate, diverse, transformative, and productive.
Part three considers the gospel and belonging and shows how broken relationships are restored through the gospel, and there is healing for the epidemic of loneliness.
The fourth part of the book addresses how the "three pieces of glass" have contributed to our crisis of belonging.
The automobile has changed how our living spaces have been configured, from the design of our homes to the walkability of our neighborhoods and the location of where we shop and work in relation to where we live.
Television changes how we view real people versus our "TV friends."
Our smartphones and other devices have led us to substitute virtual for face-to-face interaction.
These have led to erosion in the civic realm and an epidemic of "busyness.
The last two parts of this book consider, first, the influence of our choices on our communal life, our public policies, and our liturgical life, and second how we may encourage belonging.
During Covid-19, these three pieces of glass were important. For many people, working from home and attending church was only possible because of those pieces of glass.
At the same time, people were walking their neighborhoods at safe distances, sometimes meeting neighbors they never knew by name.
I know of one neighborhood where a local folk singer set up in his front yard and staged an impromptu singalong. When we can't go to restaurants, sporting events, and other places our cars take us--we are left with walking, and a kind of "neighboring" occurs.
Jacobsen's book makes me wonder if we will take a fresh look at our neighborhoods, what is good about them, what could be better about our places, and how we connect.
It will not surprise me if life becomes more oriented for more people around these devices. We are doing more education through them, more commerce, more business collaboration, and even more religious activity.
Yet Jacobsen reminds us of our epidemic of loneliness. He raises the critical question of whether belonging can be mediated through a smart device, or whether the proximity necessary for social and public belonging can be created in a car culture.
We may love our TV friends, but will they love us back? How we answer those might well make the difference between places where nobody or everybody knows our names.
Now belonging is increasingly mediated through a screen.
Eric O. Jacobsen did not anticipate the commercial, which underscores the theme of belonging represented by Norm that runs through his book: "Three Pieces of Glass." Jacobsen contends that the windshield of the automobile, screen of the television, and screen of our smartphones, tablets, and computers, have fundamentally influenced our experience of belonging in society.
Jacobsen begins his discussion by exploring the nature of belonging as levels from intimate and personal to social and public and how intimate and personal are not enough.
The book's second part sketches out the nature of kingdom belonging, which he characterizes as unconditional, invitational, compassionate, diverse, transformative, and productive.
Part three considers the gospel and belonging and shows how broken relationships are restored through the gospel, and there is healing for the epidemic of loneliness.
The fourth part of the book addresses how the "three pieces of glass" have contributed to our crisis of belonging.
The automobile has changed how our living spaces have been configured, from the design of our homes to the walkability of our neighborhoods and the location of where we shop and work in relation to where we live.
Television changes how we view real people versus our "TV friends."
Our smartphones and other devices have led us to substitute virtual for face-to-face interaction.
These have led to erosion in the civic realm and an epidemic of "busyness.
The last two parts of this book consider, first, the influence of our choices on our communal life, our public policies, and our liturgical life, and second how we may encourage belonging.
During Covid-19, these three pieces of glass were important. For many people, working from home and attending church was only possible because of those pieces of glass.
At the same time, people were walking their neighborhoods at safe distances, sometimes meeting neighbors they never knew by name.
I know of one neighborhood where a local folk singer set up in his front yard and staged an impromptu singalong. When we can't go to restaurants, sporting events, and other places our cars take us--we are left with walking, and a kind of "neighboring" occurs.
Jacobsen's book makes me wonder if we will take a fresh look at our neighborhoods, what is good about them, what could be better about our places, and how we connect.
It will not surprise me if life becomes more oriented for more people around these devices. We are doing more education through them, more commerce, more business collaboration, and even more religious activity.
Yet Jacobsen reminds us of our epidemic of loneliness. He raises the critical question of whether belonging can be mediated through a smart device, or whether the proximity necessary for social and public belonging can be created in a car culture.
We may love our TV friends, but will they love us back? How we answer those might well make the difference between places where nobody or everybody knows our names.
August 22, 2022
The prominence of glass (windshields, tv & smart phones) has less to do with humans rejecting community and more to do with community design that has rejected humans.
Technology is a coping mechanism for the absence of community, not the cause of community’s absence. In this work, Jacobsen ignites the imagination in the reader for the power of place and community today as a sign toward ultimate belonging in the Kingdom of God.
This is a good one.
Technology is a coping mechanism for the absence of community, not the cause of community’s absence. In this work, Jacobsen ignites the imagination in the reader for the power of place and community today as a sign toward ultimate belonging in the Kingdom of God.
This is a good one.
January 11, 2026
Thanks NetGalley and Baker Academic & Brazos Press for the ARC.
"Three Pieces of Glass" by Eric O. Jacobsen discusses community and the three pieces of glass that may be destroying it: car windshields, tv, and smartphones. We increasingly feel disconnected and lonely and only everyday changes can fix it. Jacobsen believes that by restructuring our neighborhoods and daily habits we can begin to reform meaningful connections.
This book has so much good knowledge to share. I definitely believe that our technology tends to isolate us and change our society, but I also don't know that I've lived any other way. (Whoops, can a 23 year old talk about the good old days??). We have created spaces where isolation and separation is the norm... and maybe it's not so normal after all.
Jacobsen did his research on this one. There tends to be a lot of sources and circling back. I would argue that this book reads more like a research paper than anything. While it begins to feel a little lengthy, I feel that most of the work here was needed for the reader to absorb the enormity of what kind of lifestyle is being (almost) forced upon us each day. We rush and we hurry. We look at our phones and text. We watch tv to escape for a little bit. But when's the last time we had lunch without checking our phones?
I think that the twenty to thirty year olds are starting to feel this tension. We didn't grow up fully with smartphones, but the technology was there. We place little phone jail boxes on our tables at meal time and we say that we need to hang out more. But maybe that isn't quite it.
I gave this book four stars because it gave me a lot to think about. I want to have meaningful connections and real relationships. I want to know my neighbors and make eye contact with the people I pass on the street. I know my soul craves connection. The real question is: how do I foster this practically? I think Jacobsen's book is a good place to start.
"Three Pieces of Glass" by Eric O. Jacobsen discusses community and the three pieces of glass that may be destroying it: car windshields, tv, and smartphones. We increasingly feel disconnected and lonely and only everyday changes can fix it. Jacobsen believes that by restructuring our neighborhoods and daily habits we can begin to reform meaningful connections.
This book has so much good knowledge to share. I definitely believe that our technology tends to isolate us and change our society, but I also don't know that I've lived any other way. (Whoops, can a 23 year old talk about the good old days??). We have created spaces where isolation and separation is the norm... and maybe it's not so normal after all.
Jacobsen did his research on this one. There tends to be a lot of sources and circling back. I would argue that this book reads more like a research paper than anything. While it begins to feel a little lengthy, I feel that most of the work here was needed for the reader to absorb the enormity of what kind of lifestyle is being (almost) forced upon us each day. We rush and we hurry. We look at our phones and text. We watch tv to escape for a little bit. But when's the last time we had lunch without checking our phones?
I think that the twenty to thirty year olds are starting to feel this tension. We didn't grow up fully with smartphones, but the technology was there. We place little phone jail boxes on our tables at meal time and we say that we need to hang out more. But maybe that isn't quite it.
I gave this book four stars because it gave me a lot to think about. I want to have meaningful connections and real relationships. I want to know my neighbors and make eye contact with the people I pass on the street. I know my soul craves connection. The real question is: how do I foster this practically? I think Jacobsen's book is a good place to start.
September 17, 2020
This is a sterling example of a fantastic idea that was poorly executed. I picked up this book excited for its insights (based on the author's last book)and came away with jumbled bits of disjointed facts and stories. From the use of Scripture to justify things that need no explanation (like like community is good) to belaboring the fact that we are in a fragmented age, I just didn't know what to do with all the snapshots in this book. It's like someone grabbed a bunch of photos they liked, put them together and said "look, here is a story you should read." Lastly, the title came across as misleading as he didn't get to it's idea until well into the second half. Oh well...
February 28, 2020
Relationship is the glue that bonds a society together. Driven by a desire to belong, we live in a challenging environment to navigate between our inner needs and outer cultural climate. Author Eric Jacobsen calls refers to this as "the crisis of belonging." Why a crisis? It is because of three key challenges or barriers that are keeping people from one another: Relational; Place; and Narrative. Throughout the book, readers will see how these three challenges constantly prevent people from finding their sense of belonging. Written in four parts, Jacobsen skillfully guides us through the reasons why we are increasingly lonely. Beginning with the scene from Cheers where the chorus chimes, "You want to be where everybody knows your name," he paints a picture where we all long to belong. With rising fragmentation of society, the diminishing common spaces to gather, and the loss of a common story that we can share in, it is becoming harder to build relationships. The irony is that, while we all want to have our own private spaces in life, we hide that innate desire in us to want to connect publicly. Jacobsen looks at the problem of relationships and belonging through several different angles.
From a definition standpoint, he gives us the tools of language and the proper vocabulary to pin down exactly what is happening, what we need, and how to go about filling in relational gaps. He defines belonging as a "complex but ultimately coherent phenomenon essential to human thriving." Simply put, what makes it complex is the three key aspects of belonging: Relationship, Place, and Story. What makes it challenging is how to make them all coherent. From a relationship standpoint, we can understand relationships in terms of four levels. Intimate Belonging is most personal with our spouses or perhaps a best friend. Personal Belonging is the kind we have with family and other friends. Social belonging is that kind we experience with others we know fairly well while Public Belonging is about our experience with the rest. We need all four levels of belonging, albeit each at different circumstances. From a Church standpoint, Jacobsen reminds the Church that her call is to be a "sign, instrument, and foretaste" of the gospel. Such a call transcends all of the human relationships we form. In fact, the reason we desire to belong is to be part of the larger context of kingdom belonging. This is so significant that the author dedicates five chapters just to talk about the character, the shape, the differences, and the promise of covenant belonging. Only about halfway through the book, Jacobsen finally reveals what the "three pieces of glass" are all about. In fact, it is about the three technological symbols of car, TV, and the Smartphone. All of them are ubiquitous in their respective eras, the Car culture in the post-WWII era, the TV in the post-Vietnam war era, and the Smartphone in the Millennium. In fact, these three pieces of glasses are metaphors to describe how the technological age has challenged the age-old need of people to belong. They have become the very things that divide us, separate us, and keep us apart. Far apart. Not only do they increase our productivity, they also increase our propensity to be constantly busy. They feed on one another to worsen any state of loneliness. Jacobsen also cautions us on jumping in with inappropriate solutions. Solutions such as consumerism. For relationships cannot be resolved simply by throwing money at them.
Cars can bridge distance but they cannot necessarily bridge relationships. Smartphones help us connect from a distance but they distance us from people near us. Yet, Jacobsen poses a very interesting question: "Despite growing concern about it, why is smartphone use continuing and even growing?" Perhaps, it is habitual. Taking the observations of James KA Smith, Jacobsen uses the metaphor of the mall as a way to describe the effects of consumerism. The last part of the book is dedicated to putting forth ideas on how to live more intentionally with relationships and holistic belonging in mind. In design, we can find creative ways to ease community living. In proximity, we think of ways to put connectivity primary, and convenience secondary. In placemaking, we create spaces for interaction. In local culture, we encourage the sharing and telling of stories.
This is a very intelligently written book, full of metaphors and insights into our modern way of life. There are always multiple layers of understanding which the author clearly and carefully peels away to show us the root of the issue. Issues such as the different levels of relationships to help us decide which and how to spend our limited time and resources on. Of course, there are limitations to such a model due to the different contexts and the unique personalities. Plus, what is public now may become private overnight. Sometimes, relationships do become social or personal depending on the different roles and circumstances. What I like is the way Jacobsen takes the metaphors of visible objects like cars, TV, and Smartphones to drive home the problem of loneliness and our need for belonging. They also highlight the irony of life. With the rise in our standard (and cost) of living, we give up something much more valuable: Relationships. In fact, the author is quite brilliant in how he sets the stage first to present the problem. Like peeling an onion, with each layer removed, he exposes the innermost tears of desires in our hearts to connect and want to connect. We have substituted community for convenience; common interests with individualistic preferences; and common places for private spaces. If we do not take notice and modify our choices, we might not just be isolating ourselves into oblivion, we would also be digging our own graves of loneliness.
This book is a wake-up call that says our relationships are at stake. We need to pay attention to the very things that are dividing us before it is too late.
Eric O. Jacobsen is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Washington, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Rating: 5 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Academic and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
From a definition standpoint, he gives us the tools of language and the proper vocabulary to pin down exactly what is happening, what we need, and how to go about filling in relational gaps. He defines belonging as a "complex but ultimately coherent phenomenon essential to human thriving." Simply put, what makes it complex is the three key aspects of belonging: Relationship, Place, and Story. What makes it challenging is how to make them all coherent. From a relationship standpoint, we can understand relationships in terms of four levels. Intimate Belonging is most personal with our spouses or perhaps a best friend. Personal Belonging is the kind we have with family and other friends. Social belonging is that kind we experience with others we know fairly well while Public Belonging is about our experience with the rest. We need all four levels of belonging, albeit each at different circumstances. From a Church standpoint, Jacobsen reminds the Church that her call is to be a "sign, instrument, and foretaste" of the gospel. Such a call transcends all of the human relationships we form. In fact, the reason we desire to belong is to be part of the larger context of kingdom belonging. This is so significant that the author dedicates five chapters just to talk about the character, the shape, the differences, and the promise of covenant belonging. Only about halfway through the book, Jacobsen finally reveals what the "three pieces of glass" are all about. In fact, it is about the three technological symbols of car, TV, and the Smartphone. All of them are ubiquitous in their respective eras, the Car culture in the post-WWII era, the TV in the post-Vietnam war era, and the Smartphone in the Millennium. In fact, these three pieces of glasses are metaphors to describe how the technological age has challenged the age-old need of people to belong. They have become the very things that divide us, separate us, and keep us apart. Far apart. Not only do they increase our productivity, they also increase our propensity to be constantly busy. They feed on one another to worsen any state of loneliness. Jacobsen also cautions us on jumping in with inappropriate solutions. Solutions such as consumerism. For relationships cannot be resolved simply by throwing money at them.
Cars can bridge distance but they cannot necessarily bridge relationships. Smartphones help us connect from a distance but they distance us from people near us. Yet, Jacobsen poses a very interesting question: "Despite growing concern about it, why is smartphone use continuing and even growing?" Perhaps, it is habitual. Taking the observations of James KA Smith, Jacobsen uses the metaphor of the mall as a way to describe the effects of consumerism. The last part of the book is dedicated to putting forth ideas on how to live more intentionally with relationships and holistic belonging in mind. In design, we can find creative ways to ease community living. In proximity, we think of ways to put connectivity primary, and convenience secondary. In placemaking, we create spaces for interaction. In local culture, we encourage the sharing and telling of stories.
This is a very intelligently written book, full of metaphors and insights into our modern way of life. There are always multiple layers of understanding which the author clearly and carefully peels away to show us the root of the issue. Issues such as the different levels of relationships to help us decide which and how to spend our limited time and resources on. Of course, there are limitations to such a model due to the different contexts and the unique personalities. Plus, what is public now may become private overnight. Sometimes, relationships do become social or personal depending on the different roles and circumstances. What I like is the way Jacobsen takes the metaphors of visible objects like cars, TV, and Smartphones to drive home the problem of loneliness and our need for belonging. They also highlight the irony of life. With the rise in our standard (and cost) of living, we give up something much more valuable: Relationships. In fact, the author is quite brilliant in how he sets the stage first to present the problem. Like peeling an onion, with each layer removed, he exposes the innermost tears of desires in our hearts to connect and want to connect. We have substituted community for convenience; common interests with individualistic preferences; and common places for private spaces. If we do not take notice and modify our choices, we might not just be isolating ourselves into oblivion, we would also be digging our own graves of loneliness.
This book is a wake-up call that says our relationships are at stake. We need to pay attention to the very things that are dividing us before it is too late.
Eric O. Jacobsen is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Washington, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Rating: 5 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Academic and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
May 5, 2020
The major contribution of Three Pieces of Glass is its well-articulated theology of human belonging, which informs a Christian response to widespread loneliness in the US. All persons can experience loneliness, all persons can move toward meaningful belonging, all belonging is part of God's original design for human beings. The book's thesis is that places and physical settings - neighborhoods, business districts, public spaces - inherently foster or hinder someone's ability to experience belonging. The book does a great job connecting concern over place with God's invitational nature. Three Pieces of Glass asserts that how Christians engage with urban places and advocate for improved settings is a God-honoring extension of hospitality into the civic and public realm. The author builds the case for belonging as a common grace bestowed by God for all humans to enjoy, and then urges Christians to take steps, individually and communally, to practice hospitality through "place-making": neighborhood design, urban planning, transportation, and local culture.
Of the glass mentioned in the title, the car (windshield) gets the most attention since most of our urban settings are built on the car scale, a scale that makes driving, not walking, natural and convenient. Walking and biking are held up as being ideal ways of interacting with neighbors. I would have appreciated a fuller view of civic hospitality that included buses and trains, which is missing here. Any sizable city that excels at walkability and bikability also makes easy, clean public transport a priority. Three Pieces of Glass urges Christians, with good reason, to rethink the rural sentimentalism that often underlies our hesitance to be involved in cities. However, I was looking for some discussion of how green space fits within our city environments and influences human flourishing. Cities that lack meaningful interfaces with natural landscapes can foster a detachment from the created order, which feeds into the consumerism and acedia that form the crisis of belonging in story that the book discusses later.
The huge value of the book is that it frames a conversation within the Christian community where no significant conversation exists.Three Pieces of Glass book develops both the theology and the language needed to articulate biblical and practical reasons to consider belonging as a product of place. It assembles a set of useful concepts and terms to describe the ways that urban setting influences belonging, including the overlooked in-between places and thresholds in our private and public spheres. Three Pieces of Glass creatively and cleverly broadens the horizons of where and how Christian hospitality ought to play out, and puts out a call to undertake activities that haven't traditionally been viewed as part of the gospel mission but which have a real potential to address loneliness for all.
Of the glass mentioned in the title, the car (windshield) gets the most attention since most of our urban settings are built on the car scale, a scale that makes driving, not walking, natural and convenient. Walking and biking are held up as being ideal ways of interacting with neighbors. I would have appreciated a fuller view of civic hospitality that included buses and trains, which is missing here. Any sizable city that excels at walkability and bikability also makes easy, clean public transport a priority. Three Pieces of Glass urges Christians, with good reason, to rethink the rural sentimentalism that often underlies our hesitance to be involved in cities. However, I was looking for some discussion of how green space fits within our city environments and influences human flourishing. Cities that lack meaningful interfaces with natural landscapes can foster a detachment from the created order, which feeds into the consumerism and acedia that form the crisis of belonging in story that the book discusses later.
The huge value of the book is that it frames a conversation within the Christian community where no significant conversation exists.Three Pieces of Glass book develops both the theology and the language needed to articulate biblical and practical reasons to consider belonging as a product of place. It assembles a set of useful concepts and terms to describe the ways that urban setting influences belonging, including the overlooked in-between places and thresholds in our private and public spheres. Three Pieces of Glass creatively and cleverly broadens the horizons of where and how Christian hospitality ought to play out, and puts out a call to undertake activities that haven't traditionally been viewed as part of the gospel mission but which have a real potential to address loneliness for all.
September 10, 2024
This was an interesting and easy to read/follow book on a really significant topic. Lack of belonging and the loneliness crisis is one that churches and all of society should be concerned with, especially with the rise in connected issues like anxiety and mental health issues.
The three stars is because I don't think the book hit it's brief. It had lots of interesting ideas and well thought through arguments and even some practical application and examples. However the title "Three pieces of glass" and subtitle referencing "a world mediated by screens" is somewhat misleading. The author focusses on one of these pieces of glass throughout (the windscreen) and the others feel like late add-ons. It's really a book about how urban planning and design around the car has led to the belonging crisis the author describes. If that's what you know picking it up it's a solid 4/5, plenty to take away from it and a worthwhile book! I mainly got the book to focus on the other two screens and so it wasn't what I'd hoped or expected, but I did enjoy it anyway!
The three stars is because I don't think the book hit it's brief. It had lots of interesting ideas and well thought through arguments and even some practical application and examples. However the title "Three pieces of glass" and subtitle referencing "a world mediated by screens" is somewhat misleading. The author focusses on one of these pieces of glass throughout (the windscreen) and the others feel like late add-ons. It's really a book about how urban planning and design around the car has led to the belonging crisis the author describes. If that's what you know picking it up it's a solid 4/5, plenty to take away from it and a worthwhile book! I mainly got the book to focus on the other two screens and so it wasn't what I'd hoped or expected, but I did enjoy it anyway!
January 2, 2021
I savored this book. The writing is very engaging, and the ideas are profound but accessible and practical. Some of the highlights for me are beyond the 3 pieces concept. The church as a sign, an instrument, and a foretaste of heaven, specifically the shalom and belonging of heaven is my main takeaway. Also, the importance of story, what stories we tell and share, and how our stories can fit into the big stories of God's kingdom is worth chewing on for a long time. Finally, the role of place in connecting with others and feeling at home, and our ongoing homesickness as we long for reunion with God resonated with me.
The author attributes the sign, foretaste, instrument idea to Lesslie Newbigin, but spins out applications that fit today's circumstances. I hadn't heard this concept before and I'm glad to have been introduced to it. I want to share the concepts and vision with my church and my women's Bible study.
The author attributes the sign, foretaste, instrument idea to Lesslie Newbigin, but spins out applications that fit today's circumstances. I hadn't heard this concept before and I'm glad to have been introduced to it. I want to share the concepts and vision with my church and my women's Bible study.
May 17, 2020
This was an interesting book to read for a few of reasons:
1) It’s a book about community, loneliness, and technology and I read it during the COVID-19 quarantine
2) It was written by the senior pastor of the church where I attended high school youth group in Tacoma, WA
3) The content itself was very thought-provoking
Here’s an equation that sums up the book:
Tim Keller’s Center Church +
Andy Crouch’s The Tech-Wise Family +
James KA Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom / You Are What You Love +
Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon’s The Art of Neighboring +
Lots of good info about urban planning =
Three Pieces of Glass
Here’s a free spoiler (not really): the three pieces of glass are the car windshield, the television, and the smartphone
1) It’s a book about community, loneliness, and technology and I read it during the COVID-19 quarantine
2) It was written by the senior pastor of the church where I attended high school youth group in Tacoma, WA
3) The content itself was very thought-provoking
Here’s an equation that sums up the book:
Tim Keller’s Center Church +
Andy Crouch’s The Tech-Wise Family +
James KA Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom / You Are What You Love +
Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon’s The Art of Neighboring +
Lots of good info about urban planning =
Three Pieces of Glass
Here’s a free spoiler (not really): the three pieces of glass are the car windshield, the television, and the smartphone
October 25, 2021
Jacobsen says that our use of three pieces of glass - the car windscreen, the TV and the smartphone - are culturally responsible for generating the loneliness so widely felt in Western society. Jacobsen's solutions especially focus on reconfiguring the built environment to make walking more attractive. It's simulating stuff, but I was disappointed at how little there was on the effect of TV and smartphones - and how we might develop alternative liturgies.
October 6, 2023
Good read. I went in hoping for something along the lines of David Zahl (Low Anthropology, Seculosity). It certainly deals with the type of subject matter as Zahl, and from a more overtly Biblical perspective, but without the same precision and winsomeness. All in all, a good book, but a bit heavy to wade through. The book itself is not as inviting as the community the author hopes to help create.
May 5, 2021
Eric O. Jacobsen is currently one of my favorite theology authors, focusing on embodiment and belonging. Having read his previous books, the first half of this book is repetitive, and the titular three pieces of glass don't come up until better than halfway in. While it did refer to the topic, I'm not convinced that this title is the best fit for this particular book.
June 20, 2021
I read this book during the height of Covid19/Quarantine, and it had a profound impact on my mental health in a time of such isolation. I really enjoyed how it made me realize the changes I can do to connect more with others, and also made me realize what a longing I had for God in my life. Can't recommend this enough, excellent read. 5/5 stars.
May 4, 2022
Overall, this book is really good. It challenged me and educated me. I do think that the title and description of the book don’t actually get at what the heart of this book is about. Very little time is actually spend on the 3 pieces of glass and their ramifications. However, the actual topic of the book (belonging) is very interesting and worth reading about.
November 7, 2021
Good “explainer”. Changed the way I view neighborhood design and the role of cars.
February 28, 2024
Didn't learn anything in the first half of the book. But once he finally started talking about the titular three pieces of glass a little over halfway through, it started getting interesting.
October 11, 2025
Every once in a while, someone writes a perfect book for you, and this is one of those for me. Rings all my bells.
November 8, 2023
Reliability: Although I am not an expert in any of the fields Jacobsen contributes to, his research seems reasonably thorough, if not exhaustive.
Accessibility: "Pieces" is more academic in its approach than I first expected, but Jacobsen's terminology and organization are not out of reach for the typical reader.
Commentary: I appreciate the way Jacobsen demonstrates that the virtues of the Church extend beyond her walls. It's often tempting to think that the benefits of the Gospel exist ONLY within the Church, but this is not true. Jacobsen rightly clarifies that Salvation is only available in communion with the Body of Christ, while also reminding us that many "foretastes" of the "fringe benefits" of the Gospel are really experienced and even intuitively understood outside the Church. In this book, he argues that a sense of belonging is one of the benefits of the Gospel that people can get a "taste of" outside the Church; neither in a saving nor complete way, but in a way that American Christians forget to engage with, as a rule.
Jacobsen's admonition is also very practical, suggesting ways that individuals can improve the "belonging" around them; ways that Christian congregations can regard their LOCATION as a place of ministry, rather than a merely logistical (in)convenience; and ways that municipalities use policies that will either support civic belonging, or prevent it.
Accessibility: "Pieces" is more academic in its approach than I first expected, but Jacobsen's terminology and organization are not out of reach for the typical reader.
Commentary: I appreciate the way Jacobsen demonstrates that the virtues of the Church extend beyond her walls. It's often tempting to think that the benefits of the Gospel exist ONLY within the Church, but this is not true. Jacobsen rightly clarifies that Salvation is only available in communion with the Body of Christ, while also reminding us that many "foretastes" of the "fringe benefits" of the Gospel are really experienced and even intuitively understood outside the Church. In this book, he argues that a sense of belonging is one of the benefits of the Gospel that people can get a "taste of" outside the Church; neither in a saving nor complete way, but in a way that American Christians forget to engage with, as a rule.
Jacobsen's admonition is also very practical, suggesting ways that individuals can improve the "belonging" around them; ways that Christian congregations can regard their LOCATION as a place of ministry, rather than a merely logistical (in)convenience; and ways that municipalities use policies that will either support civic belonging, or prevent it.
April 4, 2020
I read this book on a piece of glass. But that wasn't the only irony. I read this book about the epidemic of loneliness due to lack of civic belonging during the coranavirus epidemic which has forced us all inside our homes, socially distant. It made me long for the shalom that only Christ’s return can ultimately provide to this broken world. But if he tarries and we are able to go back out again, I can’t wait to fully re-engage with placemaking and the practices explained in this book. Jacobsen has a winsome way of explaining biblical-theological concepts and their intersection with historical-sociological trends. I pray more Christians will engage with the needed perspective he brings. This book might be his best and most accessible yet!
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