"These guys are reading my mind! Or, maybe I am reading theirs since they have been doing for years what I have been thinking about for months!" While seeking some counsel for our mobile home community ministry from missional thinker and coach Lance Ford, he recommended that I read Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon's book, "The Art of Neighboring." A very quick read, I loved it! As I read it, I was glad I already had a rough outline for an upcoming sermon, because I could easily have been accused of outright stealing their insights. But I really didn't! I was already discovering their thoughts on the application of the second-greatest commandment, ("Love your neighbor as yourself"). My neighborhood "map" sat in our kitchen junk drawer, on which we wrote the names of our neighbors after moving into our house a few years ago. We organized a neighborhood block party last summer! The connections were unbelievable! I, however, was not living in the depth of relationships of these two authors enjoy with their neighbors. I still have a lot to learn. No, wait. I still have a lot to practice.
But this isn't about me. I don't want you to look at me. I want you to read this book. These guys are up front with the fact that this is no evangelism program, or strategy to merely get a chance to tell your neighbors about Jesus. It is about learning to live in community with your neighbors, loving and serving each other, building real relationships. (We know, however, that the best spiritual conversations happen inside of genuine relationships).
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| The Neighborhood Map - Genius! |
If you have ever waved at your neighbors while pulling into your garage, wondering what exactly they do for a living, this book is for you. If you have ever driven to the grocery store for a sack of sugar, really only needing 1/2 cup but too embarrassed to ask the lady across the street because, honestly, you don't really know her), this book is for you. If you nod to your neighbors while driving to church, as they mow their grass, and wonder what it would take for them to join you, this book is for you! If you look to see what the neighbors are doing while peeking through the blinds of an upstairs room, this book is definitely for you!
Pathak and Runyon combine Bible teaching, practical steps and personal stories to help make their case for building relationships. For instance, the remind us that we might not be the best person to actually host a neighborhood block party. They tell us not to organize one all on our own, but to get at least another couple of help. Good suggestions! They teach how to set up appropriate boundaries so that we don't let neighbors take advantage of us. Very helpful! And they tell their story of what happened in theirs and other cities around the nation who have taken the "neighboring" challenge.
Pick up a copy today! You will be done reading it by next week. You will be inspired for months! But be warned: you will never again drive down your street seeing things as you do now!
