Placed For A Purpose

With it being the start of a new year, we decided to take this opportunity to provide a Guided Neighborhood Prayer Walk with a focus on new beginnings. Walk with us for 10 minutes through your neighborhood, asking God to lead and guide you into new habits and actions that will help you love your neighbors. You’ll pause to pray for your neighbors, that the Lord would meet them right where they are at and that they would experience him in new ways in this year.

Breath Prayer:  Your mercies are new (inhale), Great is your faithfulness (exhale).

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Sleepovers? Yes, sleepovers. Today we invite author and journalist Peter Lovenheim to share the story behind his beautiful book, In the Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time. Though his neighboring journey in Rochester, NY, was birthed out of tragedy, it’s a story of redemption. Join us in learning from him about the art of observation, the importance of fostering connection amongst neighbors, and what it looks like to seek the welfare of our neighborhoods. Together, we'll explore how this effort can, at times unexpectedly, unfold as the very crucial support we'll rely on ourselves when the time comes.

In The Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time

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Today we’re talking about how to disagree well with our neighbors. Tim Muelhoff, Professor of Communication at Biola University, has given his life’s work to this topic of what he calls Winsome Conviction (also the title of his book we discuss). Through storytelling from his own life and current events, Tim uses practical and Biblical wisdom to help us learn how to dialogue with our neighbors. We talk about having convictions like steak, being chimps vs. rhinos, categorizing and characterizing people, inviting feedback, and the risks of being civil.

SHOW NOTES:

Contagious Holiness

Winsome Conviction Project

All Sides

Winsome Conviction Book

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Should I stay, or should I go? In our highly mobile culture, it can be challenging to stay in one place and put down deep roots. In today’s episode we’re joined by Alan Briggs, author of Staying Is The New Going. We discuss the benefits of longevity, faithful presence, the glory of the mundane, and the risks of being rooted. Briggs explains “incarnational ministry” and what it can look like to have “front porch” mentalities. He provides vision and stories for the impact of the “slow burn” of staying engaged in our neighborhoods for the long haul.

Stay Forth Leadership Podcast

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🎶Surprise, Surprise 🎶 Whether you’re ready or not, December is here. That means the Christmas season is upon us. With full schedules and high expectations for the holidays, loving our neighbors can feel like an add-on. Listen for some holiday perspective on being present and 4 steps for how we can love our neighbors this advent season. As we show up at home, prayerfully we’ll hit January feeling closer to Jesus and our neighbors, rather than soul-starved.

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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Follow this link to share your neighboring stories with us or tell us your thoughts on today's episode.

In this episode, David Burton, who serves as a Community Development Specialist for the University of Missouri, joins us to talk about becoming an engaged neighbor in our neighborhoods. He also shares his neighboring journey about how went from thinking he was a good neighbor—and realizing he wasn't—to actually becoming an engaged neighbor.

SHOW NOTES:

Engaged Neighbor Pledge

Asset Based Community Development

101 Acts of Neighboring

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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Follow this link to share your neighboring stories with us or tell us your thoughts on today's episode.

With it being Thanksgiving week, we decided to take this opportunity to provide a Guided Neighborhood Prayer Walk with a focus on gratitude. Walk with us for 10 minutes through your neighborhood, thanking God for the beauty of your surroundings—whether the natural creation or man made buildings. You’ll pause to thank God for your home and your neighbors, praying that you would be blessed to be a blessing to those around you. 

Join with us in giving thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever (Ps. 118:1).

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In today's episode, we talk with Michael Graham, program director for The Tim Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics and co-author of the book, The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? We talk about the 40 million Americans who've dechurched (attended church at least once/month and now attend less than once/year) and the surprising #1 reason why they stopped. Toward the end, Michael gives us hope and the most simple, practical steps to love our dechurching neighbors.

SHOW NOTES:

The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?

Gospel Coalition Article: What Is The Great Dechurching?

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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Follow this link to share your neighboring stories with us or tell us your thoughts on today's episode.

Today we welcome Dave Runyon, or as we like to call him, "the Godfather of Neighboring." We discuss what it's like to experience tension with our neighbors, forgiveness, and what it means to be our real, authentic selves. Dave also talks about the deeper conversations that have come from sharing his "top ten" list of parenting values with neighbors.

Buy his book Art of Neighboring if you haven't already.

Don’t ever be afraid to stand alone.

We often ask our kids if they have had any opportunities recently to do something, or not do something that most everyone else was doing.

People are more important than things.

I think this has helped our kids have a relatively low desire for material things as they have gotten older.

Delayed gratification is key to thriving in life.

See the big picture vs. what is right in front of you. If kids learn to do this often, they will avoid a lot of consequences that come from bad decisions.

Share with them at different stages about what you would do differently if you could go back in time to their age.

The friends that you choose will have a massive impact on your future.

We have put a heavy emphasis on having a solid group of friends who share similar values and at the same time encouraging them to look for opportunities to be a good influence with others.

Use the same criteria for who you date as you will for who you marry.

Because you will end up marrying one of those people that you decided to date.

Use your “Wizard Brain” instead of your “Lizard Brain.” 

When things heat up…the best thing you can do is to step back and slow things down so you can respond from your thinking, instead of your emotions.

Be present & engaged when with people who are older & younger that you.

           Teaching our kids to do this when they were young has helped them a lot as they

          have gotten older. 

Pursue feedback from the trusted adults in your life.

This looks like asking direct questions of teachers, coaches and others.

The way that Jesus talks about living…is the best and smartest way to live.

If they get this, they will have something concrete to center their lives around and they will develop their own convictions around the value of forgiveness, generosity, putting others needs before your own, etc.

Nothing you do will ever make us love you less.

SUMMARY: In today's episode Kelly Kapic joins us to talk about his book, You Are Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News and how we can live within our limits as human beings and also find the time and space to show and share the love of Jesus with our next-door neighbors.

SHOW NOTES:

You Are Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News

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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Follow this link to share your neighboring stories with us or tell us your thoughts on today's episode.