Knowing Your Neighbor

Maybe you've heard about this story. Maybe not. A pastor in the suburbs of San Diego is hosting a Bible study in his home. Parking space within the cul de sac becomes an issue (can we relate?). Neighbors complain. The county investigates and suddenly the government is being accused of shutting down Bible studies. This blogger says there are larger issues and themes at work in this story. I tend to agree.

Where Do I START?

It always sounds so significant to read about the benevolent exploits of others who are much farther down the road. Getting started, however, always seems to take so much more energy. There is no momentum. Little creativity. Much resistance to new and undeveloped potential. Could it be that starting this engaging process that leads to significant opportunities is really all about ... engaging? What if each person on the team pledged to have one conversation per week with someone outside this church regarding their real needs that seem to be shaping their destiny. At the very lest we can pray for those we encounter and possibly those conversations (engaging) may lead to other more tangible expressions of God's overwhelming care.

Isn't it true that the tongue is often what leads the body? Well tongue, do your thing, get us started.

The Family Camping Out Back

Another story from NPR's Planet Money blog about how families are becoming homeless. And more questions about how we (the church) respond?

Public Art 2

Not only can public art beautify neighborhoods. This talks about a project that was intended to actually make the street safer for kids by painting it.

New Urbanism

The idea of new urbanism has been around for a while. New urbanists focus on the need for communities and neighbohoods that are conducive to human interaction (walkability is important) rather than just ease of automobile traffic (i.e. suburban sprawl). Eric Jacobsen is a pastor in a new urbanism community and has a great book "Sidewalks in the Kingdom" that addresses how Christianity speaks to these kinds of issues. The video below is great.

Engaging Our Community in Service

Check out this link on engaging with our community in service:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/spring/8.67.html

Reading this article touched on some of the content of our seminar this past Saturday (May 16). And of course, has lots to do with our engaging our commumity. The premise of the article is that Christians serving the community alongside their non-Christian neighbors is a form of evangelism. The author is saying that by serving together with non-Christians, we introduce them to Christians, allow them to see the love of Christ at work in and through us, and often times introduce them to the church (depending on the location of the service project). This may be a little down the road for us - I don't know - but well worth keeping in mind.

White House Social Innovation Fund

I was reading on www.whitehouse.gov and saw this on the White House Social Innovation Fund. What a great idea! That means money will be available to replicate successful social programs across the country. We'll have to see where churches and religious organizations stand in getting some of that money. I'm sure there will be a way for us to get it if there were a program we wanted to replicate through our church. This fund goes into effect for fiscal year 2010.

Check out this blurb on the Social Innovation Fund:

http://www,whitehouse.gov/blog/What-Is-the-Social-Innovation-Fund/