Being Unproductively Available in Your Neighborhood
Posted in CommunityTo be more available in our neighborhoods sometimes it means making choices that seem unproductive. It’s amazing how busy our lives are. Especially when we are a part of a large church where there are always opportunities to get together with people or participate in activities. Not to mention all of our day-to-day responsibilities. These things are not bad in and of themselves but over the last few months I have noticed that busyness makes us less available in our neighborhood.
My wife and I are learning to make adjustments to our schedule to be available to our neighbors. The other day we were getting ready to go grocery shopping. As we opened the garage we noticed our neighbors outside playing with their children. This was a great opportunity for us to connect with them so we chose to postpone our trip to the grocery store.
On the surface this might not be a big deal but it was a difficult decision because it forced us to change our schedule. It was inconvenient and seemed insignificant at that time to ‘hang out’ with my neighbor. In some ways we were unproductive because we didn’t get the grocery shopping done. My wife and I were challenged to sacrifice our schedule and preference in order to be available to
our neighbors.
Being purposefully available in our neighborhood is not easy because it means we are making conscious choices to put ourselves in places where we are available even when it is inconvenient for us. Even when it seems like nothing gets “accomplished”.
Every neighborhood is different and has unique challenges. What are some decisions we can all make in our neighborhoods to be more accessible to those God has called us to love?
by: Pastor Matt Swaney
March 25th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I live in a very interesting neighborhood. I live in a posh area where people are friendly, but like to keep to themselves. I work in Aflac and if I were a betting man I’d be more likely to sell people policies door to door than I would share the gospel. But something God made me aware of a few things
1. you don’t have to be from the same church to fellowship with one another:
There is a Christian family a few houses down, but they go to a different church. I am thinking this is the window God has opened to push the gospel forward in our community.
2. Community events:
Throw a party or maybe pass around fliers offering free favors (i.e. car wash, helping someone move, paint their house, ect)
3. The little things matter:
Just walk around your neighborhood, engage in conversations, and say hi.
4. Don’t be deceived:
Sometimes we put off our responsibilities to socialize and think ” I’m doing this for the kingdom.” Keep in mind there is a difference between unproductive sacrifice and putting off our responsibilities.
Those are my 2 cents.
God bless!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Matt, I’m excited about the new blog. Thanks for sharing your story.
Some decisions that I think we can all make are the decisions to:
•Pray more for our neighbors and for opportunities to talk with them and discover their needs
•Prepare our homes so that we are ready to invite people in
•Be very transparent and teach others about our own lives and what Jesus Christ has done (The Gospel)
•Know our community (i.e., what are the main gathering places, who are the influential leaders in the community, where can we find the poor and outcasts who are usually most separated from community, learn the names and stories of our neighbors, etc.)
I am reminded of what God said to the prophet Jeremiah when the people of Israel were living in exile in Babylon. I think we should live like this in our communities as we carry the gospel to our neighbors and look forward to the new heavens and the new earth:
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
-Jeremiah 29:7
Just as the people of Israel looked forward to returning to Jerusalem, we look forward to the new heavens and the new earth. It does not eliminate our responsibility to care for the communities of our sojourning, it reinforces it.
We should decide to seek the good of our neighbors and our communities for this life and the age to come.
I would also encourage everyone to read Luke 10:25-37.
The example of what you and your family did is so much in line with the example given by Jesus through His story of the Samaritan man who helped the Israelite who fell into the hands of thieves and needed compassion. So many other “religious leaders” passed by on their way to do other things, but the Samaritan made great sacrifices of time and money to care for the man in need.
One of the biggest decisions for us to make is to obey the command of Jesus to “go and do likewise”.
I think there are many different decisions we can each make to provide more opportunity to be in positions that make us ready to help, rather than ready to pass by on the other side of the street. Those decision will look different depending on where we live, where we work, our ages, whether we are married or single, whether we have children or not. Deciding to be available and seek direction from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit is probably the most important initial decision we can make, aside from all of the activities we can decide to do.
As we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, He will provide what we need to live, and He will lead us to do things that will go far beyond what we can even begin to imagine now.
Thanks for your post. I look forward to more and hope we can get some good discussions going on here.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Great post. So true.
I was thinking about this. Now that spring and summer are approaching, the days are getting longer and that means we can get outdoors more often. I was thinking of taking family walks in the evenings just after dinner. I guess kids and dogs are a great excuse to get outside and meet neighbors!
btw, yay for Cornerstone blog! I hope you guys continue posting. I really want to hear people’s success stories as they live out community and read general thoughts on being more gospel-centered. (and, often for us office-job-types, we do have the time to check a blog while at work…)