Yesterdaty was Halloween. My wife Nancy and I put on our 11th annual Halloween gathering at our house for our neighborhood from 6:00pm-10:00pm. We went all out on decorations in the front yard. We moved our fire pit onto our driveway and surrounded it with chairs for neighbors to cook hotdogs and s'mores. Our neighbor let us use thier front yard as well to set up folding tables and chairs in their front yard. We had two 8’ tables with 350 hot dogs and buns, bags of marshmallows, chocolate bars, and Grahm crackers, cupcakes, cookies, snack cakes, and bags of chips. We put out 3 coolers of drinks and rented a mechanical Bull and operator to give kids and adults a thrill. And we had LOT’s and Lot’s of candy! And then the only rain we have had in a month came! So the mechanical bull operators could not set it up. Our street was still full of cars, and we gave out lots of candy, chips and snack cakes. And some brave neighbors under umbrella’s cooked a hot dog or a s’more. Around 8:00pm the rain finally broke for a while and people gathered around the fire pit again. Hands were shaken, introductions were exchanged, and “Where do you live?” “What do you do?” questions were asked and life stories were connected.
And it was these interactions with our neighbors and the stories shared either standing under our front porch in the rain or around the fire, and the smiles of delight on the children that made all the days of work setting this up worth while.
I was handing out candy to a 9 or 10 year old girl when the woman accompanying her, whom I later found out was her grandmother said to me, “Wow, This all looks great!” Her granddaughter looked up at her and said, “This house is always like this, it’s awesome! it’s my favorite!” “And we are so sorry it is raining!”
Three young adult ladies pulled up to our house near the end of the night. None of them had ever cooked a hot dog over a fire or made s’more before in their life. So my wife and I showed them how it’s done. They had fun cooking their dogs, assembling s’mores, taking self videos, and dancing with my wife in the drive. As we talked we learned they live a few streets over in our neighborhood and by the time they left friends were made, they experienced Nancy loving on them, hugs were given, and they said this was the best experience of their night.
I was dressed as The Pope and I had parents ask me to take a picture with their kids and babies! LOL! And I don’t know how many people and youth stopped and took time to take family pictures and “selfies” in our front yard as a background for their memories.
No one asked or cared that I am a pastor of house churches, attended seminary for 4 years, or that I am an ordained Elder. I was just the crazy, funny neighbor dressed as The Pope. My neighbors who came they just cared that I cared about them and their neighborhood. No formal sermon or liturgy was given and our gathering did not require people to “come to us” and take place in a church building. But wether huddled under our front porch out of the rain or around the fire in our front yard, we talked and shared of stories. And a gathering of neighbors, parents and children took place “in the community” and God was glorified. And we obeyed Jesus’ command to “love our neighbors as we love ourselves.” And we invited our neighbors to come back to our house to share another meal and join us in the simple church gathering we hold in our home every Wednesday evening.
How are you known in your neighborhood? If you were to move out would your neighbors or those in your apartment complex miss you? Would they grieve the loss of you in their lives? Or would they not even notice that you left? If you are part of a church and attend a church, that is good! However, You were not sent by God to a church. You help serve and participate in a church, but it is the neighborhood and neighbors that you find yourself living amongst to whom you are called and sent by God. You are sent into your neighborhood to be to them a tangible example of the kingdom of God in their lives. You are sent to be to them examples of salt and light, justice and mercy, love and compassion, partying and banqueting, laughter and dancing.
My family, I am asking you to take time to pray over this today and this weekend. But I am asking you not to pray in your house or apartment on your couch with a cup of coffee, or on Sunday morning inside your church building. But I am asking you to go out and experience prayer in your neighborhood. Go outside and spend time prayer walking the streets of your neighborhood. Take your spouse, children or roommate with you. Go sit at a picnic table in your community’s public area, playground or community center and pray blessings over your neighborhood. As you walk, pray over the houses and apartments and the neighbors to whom and which you have been sent. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you opportunities to connect with your neighbors. Pray and come up with ways and events you can be to your neighbors tangible examples of salt and light, justice and mercy, love and compassion, partying and banqueting, laughter and dancing, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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