Truly the community

There has been renewed action regarding fellow freaks doing crazy things to be close to one another.

And I'm loving it.

You will find few people who believe more strongly in community through proximity. I just think there is something so important about living so close to one another that you end up "running into each other" and having unplanned, informal interactions. I think the closer, the better (up to a point...I'm not advocating a compound or anything here!).

I'm just amazed by how proximity can influence relationships. For instance, we used to live on the other side of the block from Patrick and Brandy. Now, by typical standards, that's pretty darn close. But, after finding a larger house that we really liked, we ended up moving across the street from them. I had no idea it would make such a difference. Before, if they wanted to see us (or vice versa), it was still worth making a phone call first. Now, they come over here or we go over there, and it could be five minutes or five hours, depending upon the situation.

So what's inspired me to write about this?

First, Johnny and Natalie, after starting out with a very modest home in the neighborhood where many of us live, decided to build a house in a new development of Waco. They wanted more space, a nicer place, and to not have to deal with all the challenges that come with an old home. I mean, who could really blame them? But after less than one year, they felt like it wasn't worth it. They sold their really nice home and moved back into a nice, liveable house so that they could be physically closer to people they love (and who love them). It didn't come from pressure. It didn't come from side-jabbing-comments about how they should do it for Jesus or the kingdom or whatever. It came out of them experiencing churchlife and wanting more of it.

And then there's Greg and Vena. Greg and Vena live in this neighborhood, yet they are selling the house they own to rent a house on the same street we live on (not to imply that they are moving to be closer to me, but it does come at a time when we have been spending more time getting to know one another). Not only that, but they are selling their house to Chris and Leslie, fellow freaks, so that they can move into this neighborhood from about 20 minutes away.

So Johnny and Natalie are back. Greg and Vena are closer. And Chris and Leslie are getting to experience life together (in physical proximity) for the first time.

One word: Awesome.

Okay, so here are a couple of disclaimers: First, not everyone in our church lives in such proximity, and I am in no way saying that everyone should. But overall, I think it's a very good thing. Second, I must admit that I have oversold proximity in the past. Simply living close together does not guarantee churchlife, or community, or anything else. It all still takes work, and sometimes a lot of it. So living together is not the end-all, be-all.

But it's certainly a start.