Friday
I
think that life in the suburbs can easily become a barrier to genuine
Christian community if we are not careful. Let me explain why by
telling you about two experiences I had while leading students on
missions trips many years ago.
The
first experience took place when I took a group of students down to the
south side of Chicago on a mission trip. We stayed in the basement of
an old church at night and worked in a homeless shelter and on housing
projects during the day. I noticed something very interesting about the
houses in this poor inner-city neighborhood that was very different
from the houses in the suburbs where I lived – they all had front
porches. The people were “out front” on their porches talking with each
other and calling one another by name. It seemed like just about
everybody knew each other and folks spent time just talking with each
other out on the front porch. I couldn’t help thinking about how
different this was from my home in the suburbs. I knew my neighbors
names (at least some of them) but we rarely spent time just chatting
with each other. I could drive straight into my attached garage, and
walk straight into my house, and even go out onto my back deck without
having to even see a neighbor.
The
second experience happened on a mission trip with high school students
to Ecuador. As part of our trip, we spent some time in the jungles of
the Amazon basin with an indigenous tribe called the Cofan people. We
helped improve their water supply system, worked on their little church
building, played games with their children and just spent time being
with them. One of the things I noticed right away, was that the Cofan
people did not view home and personal property the same way that we do
in America. They had homes of course, but they spent all of their time
in what they called the “common building” of the village. This was a
large open structure in which the men gathered to talk, the women
prepared large meals, and the children constantly ran in and out
laughing and giggling. As for personal property, the Cofan people saw
all of their possessions as resources for the good of the whole
village. About the only thing they didn’t share were the men’s hunting
rifles. This was partly out of necessity for survival of course, but it
still caused me to think about how isolated and private everything is
in the American suburbs.
Listen again to how the book of Acts describes life among the earliest Chrsitians…
All
the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling
their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every
day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke
bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord
added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:44-47
Both
the people of the south side of Chicago and the Cofan people in the
jungles of Ecuador were extremely poor in terms of their material
wealth. But they were rich in a different way - they were rich in
relationships. Despite their material poverty, there was something
attractive about their life together. When I read the Biblical accounts
of the early church, it is clear that there was something deeply
attractive about their life together too. In fact it was this
attractive quality of community that God used to draw so many people
into His family of faith.
Now,
I am not suggesting that in order to obey God we must all build front
porches on our houses, or start sharing all of our possessions with
those in our neighborhood. However, I do think we need to seriously
consider how our suburban culture of individualism and isolation may be a
serious barrier to the kind of ripple effect of spiritual influence
that God wants us, as His people, to have in the world.
Jeff Frazier
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