Are you willing to try moving from adversaries to relationship?

What investment does God expect me to make in my neighborhood?

Are you prepared to break the bank open?

Why am I here?

God has placed us in our neighbourhoods for a reason. Often if we try to love everyone we usually wind up loving no one.

We may not be able to love the entire world, but perhaps we can begin by trying to love our immediate neighbours.

And it may help us in that journey to know the Lord has already gone ahead of us in that adventure!

Beyond our walls?

Many church-based programs for evangelism, social action or the like call themselves, 'Beyond Our Walls.'

If we're thinking that Christians are inside these 'walls' (RE: a church building) and others are 'out there,' we're not doing life the way Jesus did life...

Not only was Jesus 'out there' with his disciples and the multitudes, he was also fond of walking right through walls (John 20:19)!

What walls do you have in your life?

Those of a church building?

The walls of your house that keep you in & 'others' out?

Maybe life is meant to be live 'without walls.'

May the God of the Banquet, the Lord of the Table, bless you with life and hope and may He send you out to invite His beloved creation in for the celebration. He has called us and now He is calling us to action. Go now and do your Master’s bidding.

Neighbourhood L!fe .

Neighbourhood L!fe… : block parties, people talking on the street, house parties, Feasting, Brain storming sessions with white boards, living room groups, all-age activities, raking, trash pick-up etc, associations e.g. biking, hockey, walking, ….

Shalom
Well-being
God’s Dream
Hospitality
Friendship
Justice
Peace
Reconciliation
Party
Generosity
Welcome
Neighbourhood
Village
Place
Local
Street
Co-operation
Walkable

Cultivating Communities of Shalom in Neighbourhoods…through networking and information.

Who are we?

We are you!...

... if you too are taking responsibility with others in your neighbourhood for your neighbourhood!

You were made for this!

By all accounts there is a growing movement of people like you who are taking responsibility for the “well-being” of their neighbourhoods.

Our hope as Neighbourhood L!fe is to simply encourage and stay near the center of this movement. Specifically we are seeking to learn from others and share what we have learned as well. Out of this interest in learning from others and an excitement about this rich local way of living, we want to connect with others across the county, city and regions for support, resourcing and for making connections with others who might join us from our neighbourhoods.

So you are probably wondering what we are seeing take place in neighbourhoods...

1. People or often their households are taking a fresh look at their neighbourhoods as a place that they are “called” to care for. They are simple re-engaging their concern for the people and the places of their neighbourhood with all their “heart, soul, mind and strength.”

2. They are connecting and forming a community of friendship with other like-minded people in their neighbourhoods. Many times these neighbourhood relationships become some of the most important friendships and support networks an individual or family may have.

3. Out of these local relationships the group sets out to participate in those activities that contribute to the God initiated well-being or Shalom of the neighbourhood. Hospitality is often at the heart of these activities whether they are sharing in suffering of another around a kitchen table or a celebration with their whole street at a block party.

I have been so cared for since my brother's suicide by loving neighbours who have shared in my suffering & provided God's tangible grace.

4. Spiritual formation occurs in the context of everyday life lived in community.

Colossians 1
This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory.

It's that simple.

That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Just a thought...

If your presence doesn't make an impact in your neighbourhood, then your absence probably won't make a difference.

are you ready to see God succeed in your neighbourhood?

The only business school course that has it's own alumni association is Professor Srikumar Rao's, Creativity and Personal Mastery.

He lets prospective students know,

"You should not take this program if: you cannot tolerate ambiguity and live in a black and white world with few shades of gray; you become upset if your beliefs are challenged and you are called upon to justify them; you are uncomfortable examining values and cultural systems different from your own; you are unshakably confident that you know exactly what you want to be and how to get there. If you cannot maintain an open mind when confronted with seemingly strange ideas, you are unlikely to benefit much from this program."

I have read much of the material Dr. Rao uses & have often thought that the quote above could be applied to joining God's kingdom vision in your own local neighbourhood.

Perhaps the ideas Rao mentions above are the reason many Christ-followers would rather drive to church & labor solely through church-based programs than walk across the street and love their neighbour.