Neighbors
As we continue to think about living on mission, Heidi and I have really been challenged to connect more with our neighbors in meaningful ways. When Jesus said in Matthew 22:39 to “love your neighbor as yourself” – what if He actually meant our neighbors? Those closest to us – right around our very home?

It’s SO easy to give a quick wave as we drive by, pull into our driveway, move quietly into the comfort zone of our home – and miss the incredible opportunities for gospel-centered connection with the mission field that is closest to us.

In their excellent book, The Art of Neighboring, authors Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon challenge us to recognize that God has placed us in our specific neighborhood for good reason. To let the love of Christ – the gospel – spill over into each of these relationships.

“Neighborhood Family Meal”
This fall, we began to have what we’ve simply called a “Neighborhood Family Meal” at our home one night a week. Anyone in our neighborhood is invited. The purpose is simply to get to know our neighbors better – and talk about ways we can bless our neighborhood! Only requirements are: 1) you’re a neighbor, and 2) you like to eat.

Caesar Kalinowski, who spoke at our recent Global Summit, says that “everyone needs to eat” – and with most averaging 3 meals a day, there are 21 opportunities a week to “casually yet effectively share life and God’s kingdom without feeling the pressure to add something new to our schedule.” So we’re taking him up on that.

Here are 3 things we’ve learned as we’ve piloted this missional idea of a “Neighborhood Family Meal”:

1. Everyone likes to eat. At first, I wasn’t sure how hard it might be to pull this together. But I’ve found that once we started asking people if they wanted to come eat at our place with other neighbors, the rest fell into place pretty easily. In fact, since this is open to anyone in our neighborhood, our biggest problem is having enough space to fit everyone!
2. Most LOVE the idea of blessing our neighborhood. We’ve talked openly about finding out what various needs are in our neighborhood, and thinking about how we can help each other out. It definitely takes some intentionality – but gives each of us a purpose greater than ourselves.
3. It can get a little messy. Let’s face it –  we’re all human – and relationships can get messy! On our first night as we were talking around the table, it became evident that one neighbor wasn’t thrilled with the other neighbors’ dogs – who all would admit – LOVE to bark. But at least they’re talking about it… And being around the table together diffused some of the tension – because we were eating good food!

Our neighbors have enjoyed coming up with a “theme” for the food each week. One week it was Italian. The following week it was Mexican. Next week, we’ve simply declared it “international” week. We have Hindu neighbors across the street bringing an Indian curry dish, a Greek Orthodox family two doors down bringing a Greek dish, a family who has adopted a child from Russia deciding if they might bring something Russian. I’m thinking we’ll make some Pad Thai…

What are some ways you might “neighbor” well? If you have some ideas, we’d love to hear from you. And if you try the “Neighborhood Family Meal” idea, send me a pic. We can put it up on Twitter and let people know. (I know Mark & Meredith Irving, our Pastor of Adult Discipleship, just had a neighborhood “white elephant” Christmas party last night – I’m looking forward to hearing how it went.)

For Gospel Transformation,

Brian

For other missional thoughts, read these previous posts on “Pilot Ideas” and “5 Ways to Live On Mission in Your Neighborhood.”

Reach Brian Petak, Pastor of Outreach and Missional Living at .