Too Much Stimuli

Sometimes I have nothing to say...other times I must work to focus my thoughts in only one or two directions with all the random input which has been collected throughout the day or week.

I guess I'll let some things gush out first which have been stewing for a few days. I finally finished a book I've had laying around for a couple of months. Perhaps my penchant for perusing multiple books as once is not very effective. As of this week, my commitment to read one book at a time (in about a week or less) has birthed out of the undisciplined practices of my past! (and there was great rejoicing from my wife who thinks I should actually read the books I have)

As I was saying, I finished Joe Myers' book...


I like Joe's writing style and the information he shares...but ramifications are a little scary. Being a little more careful with the ways in which we promote and discuss community and belonging is not so much a scary proposition though. I suppose what is most scary to me is how many people we've pushed away from healthy community because we want it to look a certain way. Yeah...that's scary to think about.

So now for the 'way forward' right? Well, according to Joe...it's a matter of recognizing the organic and healthy ways in which people actually connect and 'belong.' He refers to four spaces in which connecting and belonging usually take place (based on research by Edward Hall I think). It's really an accurate and descriptive lens for viewing relationships. Public, Social, Personal, and Intimate are the areas in which relationships exist. To make a long post short(-er)...we often try to force belonging and community into personal and even intimate categories when what is needed is a realization that a lot of healthy community and connection can happen in the public and social spaces...i.e. the front porch.

Ray Oldenburgh and his disciple Howard Schultz (Starbucks) would call it the 'third place.' But I would agree with Myers that we need to encourage more of these social-to-personal environments (median spaces) as places to enjoy appropriate and healthy kinds of relationships. I see a great church and friend of mine in ministry promoting this through a coffee-house endeavor in Newark, OH. They are remodeling an old firehouse into a "front porch" for the community. I can't wait to stop in and enjoy the space with them soon.

Well, I could go on...but it's time to press on. I'm a quarter of the way into "Myth of a Christian Nation" by Greg Boyd. This is going to warrant a few doozies to spark some comments!