This series, “Obstacles to Neighborhood Missional Living,” was spurred from a desire to reach into the crevices and shed hope, light, and truth on that reason that for you keeps you from connecting with your neighbors in meaningful and life-giving ways. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a scary and invisible virus would be closing us inside our own homes, nulling proximity even in neighborhoods, by the time I would write this piece. So I struggle with whether it is still relevant, whether it best serves you, the reader or listener, in the current life we are trying to right our hearts and minds within. But in all earnestness, I believe that when we are ripped of the option of in-person community in our neighborhoods as in times like this, it peels back the layers so we can more clearly see how much we hope for, long for, and need community. So please bear with me as we unpack how we can live missionally in our neighborhoods when our neighbors are NOT interested, because while doing life with our neighbors currently has to take on some creative initiatives, we need community near us now more than ever before.

Next up in the “Obstacles to Neighborhood Missional Living” series is “Neighborhood Missional Living When My Neighbors Are NOT Interested”! Listen in, or if you prefer to read, head on over to the blog. From this page you can view the full topic line-up for the series and easily click over to the post on the blog.

More content is available on TheUncommonNormal.com. I would also love to connect with you on social media. You may find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Links Mentioned:

• Caesar Kalinowski
• When to Share Our Faith with Words
• When Age Difference Bring Us Together
• Enneaneighboring: Forming Community in My Neighborhood Out of Different Types of Normal
• Featured On

There are many things my husband and I are both on board with. Our food preferences are very similar as is our taste in furniture, décor, music, and perfume. But when we don’t agree, I am quietly stubborn and he bristles at any attempt to control him. He wants to air the conflict and I would much prefer to wish it away. He sees in black and white and I point out how the same thing could be seen from multiple angles. He is decisive, and the less important a decision is, the harder it is for me to make it. If you haven’t guessed it by now, we are in a lot of ways polar opposites. Perhaps you can relate. But what happens when you and your spouse find that you feel very differently about something that is pretty important to you? This week we are going to dive into the question of how do we live on mission in our neighborhood if our spouse is not on board.

Next up in the “Obstacles to Neighborhood Missional Living” series is “Neighborhood Missional Living When My Spouse Is Not on Board”! Listen in, or if you prefer to read, head on over here to the blog. From this page you can view the full topic line-up for the series and easily click over to the post on the blog.

More content is available on TheUncommonNormal.com. I would also love to connect with you on social media. You may find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Links Mentioned:

• Cultivate your relationship with God. Links: Cultivating a Life Worth Imitating and Better Than a Roller Coaster High
• Objection: Why does it matter—missional living seems irrelevant. Link: What Is My Mission?
• Objection: I’m not comfortable talking about Jesus with other people. Link: When to Share Our Faith with Words
• Objection: Money is tight—can’t share food all the time. Link: When My Offering Feels Small
• Objection: I don’t have anything in common/no relationship with any of our neighbors. Link: When Age Differences Bring Us Together
• Objection: I feel we would be judged because we don’t always live Christ-like. Link: Real Talk: What We May Not Know We Are Missing
• Objection: I just want space and quiet. Links: Neighborhood Missional Living When I Am an Introvert and The Me That Is Needed
• Objection: I need to finish these projects with the house first. Link: Befriending the Awkward
• Objection: We already have friends/church/small group—can’t invest relationally in another arena. Links: When My Neighbor Lives Next-Door and Word of the Year: Open
• Objection: We are just too busy! Links: Margin Meets Mission: The Gift of Availability and The Paradox of Rest

Recommended Resources List:

The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

The Path Between Us by Suzanne Stabile

Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Small is Big, Slow is Fast by Caesar Kalinowski

A Field Guide for Everyday Mission by Ben Connelly and Bob Roberts, Jr.

The Turquoise Table by Kristin Shell

Start with Your People by Brian Dixon, especially chapter 6, “Spouse: From Kryptonite to Superpower”

My house is small, we think—yet for some reason that ache to foster community right in our home is not easily brushed aside. Practicality has its place, we justify—and yet we hope there is another option besides saying no to community or yes to a different house. I invite you to consider the possibility that your desire to connect is a beautiful part of being human. Brené Brown, researcher and New York Times best-selling author, offers us this: “We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong” (26). It’s ingrained deep in our veins—to be part of community. Instead of stuffing our need to connect, let’s unpack some ways we can foster community with our neighbors even if our house is small.

Next up in the “Obstacles to Neighborhood Missional Living” series is “Neighborhood Missional Living When My House Is Too Small”! Listen in, or if you prefer to read, head on over here to the blog. From this page you can view the full topic line-up for the series and easily click over to the post on the blog.

More content is available on TheUncommonNormal.com. I would also love to connect with you on social media. You may find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

What is the unbreachable obstacle you feel stands in the way of missional living in your neighborhood? Perhaps you are an introvert, your spouse is not on board, your house is too small, or you simply don’t know where to begin. Friend, I am so glad you are here because this series is one you won’t want to miss!

First up is “Neighborhood Missional Living When I Am an Introvert”! Listen in, or if you prefer to read, head on over here to the blog. From this page you can view the full topic line-up for the series and easily click over to the post on the blog.

To read my friend Amber Adrian’s full post, “introverts and telling people about jesus,” click here.

More content is available on TheUncommonNormal.com. I would also love to connect with you on social media. You may find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Living as a disciple-making-disciple in your neighborhood doesn’t have to feel intimidating, and that is why I started The Uncommon Normal. My vision for the podcast is that it will be a space to steep in truth that combats the faulty messages we have believed about our worth and our purpose. A space that will inspire both a dream of what it could look like to live missionally right in your neighborhood and the courage to take baby steps in that direction. A space to be life-long learners together.

Friend, I invite you to join me through listening in.

If you are excited about the Uncommon Normal being released in podcast form, I’d love for you to share the trailer with a friend.

More content is available on TheUncommonNormal.com. I would also love to connect with you on social media. You may find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.