Being Unproductively Available in Your Neighborhood

Posted in Community 3 Comments

To 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