Last week I started a new series, introducing it with a personal story
• It was a story of hope, lost and restored
• A story of a horrible, terrible, no good very bad day, and the cavalry riding to the rescue
If you didn’t hear it, have a listen online
I distilled the essence of our future together down to this question: will we be owners of our earth, or will we be renters?
• I said I’d be speaking in this msg on spirituality of owning earth
• The well-being of some part of this earth is up to me
• And there is deep spirituality underlying ownership
• Followers of Jesus give themselves in service to others
I used an illustration last week
• You want to vacation by a lake
• You want to experience peace and beauty
• You want time w/ the people you love
• You’re looking to recover from hustle/bustle of your busy life
And there are two ways you can experience this
• You can rent the cabin for a week or two
• Or you can join several other families, buy it, and enjoy it throughout the year
• The former you are a renter, the latter, an owner
• If the dock is coming loose, renter doesn’t think twice
• Isn’t at all concerned about an annual termite inspection
• Doesn’t care if there’s a leaky hose bib; the cabin is not theirs
The owners on the other hand, are concerned about all these things
• They are looking at the long-term well-being of the property because they plan to enjoy it for years to come
They plan to connect to people they love in this cabin for years
They plan to find peace and restoration here for years
They are creating a life that includes benefits this cabin provides
• Consequently, they are very concerned about keeping it sound, well-maintained, and improved
• It’s what owners do
…invest in the property, so they can draw benefits over long-haul
It’s not hard to see where I’m going here
As I said last week, ownership comes with obligations/responsibilities
• The American felt-need to own stuff has upsides and downsides
• One of the huge downsides is that the more stuff we own, the more stuff we have to maintain, watch over, tend, care for
So renting a cabin may be a very good option
• But in some areas of life, if too many of us rent, earth falls apart
• Churches, families, neighborhoods, offices, businesses, jobs
• Without owners, these fall into disrepair
I’m going to make a case in this message, that many of us should be owners of this spiritual community, of NRCC
• I’m going to make a case that many of us should be owners at our jobs, of the place we go to work each day
• I’m going to make a case that several of us should own our neighborhoods, families, and networks of friends
• In some of these areas, the buck of making KOG stops with you
• That you are the one to be carrying that area before God
I’m going to try and make this case on the basis of what it means to follow Jesus
• On the basis that what Jesus said to 12 applies to us too
• On the basis that what Jesus said about mediating God’s love to earth applies to us too
• That the healing God intends for people comes through us when we are carriers of acceptance, grace, and mercy
I’m going to make the case for ownership on the basis of the mandate we have to give of our lives to make earth as it is in heaven
• And to do this, we need the mindset of an owner, not a renter
In some place in your life, as you listen to HS…
• You can expect to have a growing sense of responsibility…
• If you are watchful, if you listen, you can expect HS to grow a sense of duty in some quadrant of your life
• A sense that this area, this calling, this oversight…
• It is yours to own, yours to affect, yours to influence
• And it is probably a bigger area than you realize
In some area, expect a divine sense that the buck stops w/ you
• Two friends at odds, peace needs to be made: you own it!
• A young woman at work deeply plagued by self-doubt and insecurity, in need of regular encouragement; you own it!
• The spiritual maturing of a small group of teenagers (Alea): you!
• Making sure your own family is learning to slow down and live with enough margin in their lives: it is to you!
• As I said last week…
• We can all own NRCC’s breakfast
Making it a healthy place for people to connect to one another
a place people belong, feel invited, and feel welcomed…
where somebody knows their name, their kid’s names: own it!
Being an owner instead of a renter is a deepened level of engagement
• Again, owners care; owners work; owners pay a price
• Many don’t take on the posture of ownership because they sense the responsibility that goes with it
• They don’t feel qualified, capable, or that they have the necessary resources
So many people; so many problems; so much need
• It’s not just a leaky hose bib…
• If they own the earth, some feel, they’ll be swamped
And this is a simple, but effective trap…
• We sense we don’t have bandwidth to own the earth’s needs…
• And that’s true.
• Further, we feel bad about that, especially knowing we should!
• But we can’t live lives in guilt, so our minds do something for us
• Shuts off the inner sense that we are created to be owners
• Shuts down the sense that any of the earth is our responsibility
• Since I cannot carry the weight of owning all the earth, I remove myself from the obligation to own any of it
Our minds justify abandoning our ownership, saying…
You’re just too young; or too old
You’re too busy; you’re too weak
Somebody better qualified is out there owning the earth
The world is full of people, you aren’t really required here
And in this state, many get sucked into the American zombie disease…
• They settle for a life much smaller than we’re created for
• Settle for a life chasing the stuff Madison Ave says to possess
• Working really hard to attain the markers society says to attain
The right kind of marriage, the right kinds of education, the right kind of status, the right kind of accomplishments
And the hard-working among us come to possess all that stuff…
• Only to have to take care of all that stuff
• And to feel overwhelmed at the enormity of that job
• And to have nothing left to give the world
• And so, many simply settle into the life of a renter
• Letting the earth around me fall into disrepair
When we lived in CA, we lived in a neighborhood built after the war
• Built in 1948, it was now 1989, 40 years later
• The families that had bought after the war were young
• In the throes of the baby boom, it was a kid-neighborhood
• Then the kids all graduated, and moved away; as they do…
• It became a senior neighborhood for a while
• Then the parents died and the kids inherited the houses
• L.A. being a booming real estate market, it was shame to sell
• Mom and Dad’s house is paid for, let’s rent it out
• And soon it was a neighborhood of rental houses
And very quickly, it became a blighted neighborhood
• Yards untended, paint faded, abandoned cars, broken fences
• Graffiti not painted over, broken windows not repaired
• Drugs floating in, crime rising
• Soon, many didn’t want to own there, only renters would stay
• And the neighborhood fell into steep decline
By the time we moved in, it was a neighborhood in trouble
• But at $155K for 800q ft, it was all we could afford so we rolled up our sleeves and went to work renewing the neighborhood
• Appointed block captains, neighborhood watch, newsletters
• Painted out graffiti, organized workdays on blighted houses
And we discovered something:
The key to whether a block would recover or not…
• How many houses on that block were owner-occupied.
• It didn’t matter how much the neighborhood rallied around a distressed house…
• It didn’t matter how many joined neighborhood watch
• Didn’t matter how many newsletters, conversations, organization
• If some tipping point wasn’t reached of owner-occupants…
no matter how dedicated block captain was; block didn’t recover
• It wasn’t necessary that every house be owned, but most
That’s what happens to earth when too many people rent
• It’s what happens to families, to offices, to neighborhoods
• It’s what happens to churches, to schools, to companies
If these places are not populated by people who feel a sense of responsibility for them, they become blighted
• If there is not someone there who feels ownership for them, they become diseased, impaired and over time fall into ruin
• It’s as true of homes, churches, and workplaces as it is of neighborhoods
I think this is what Jesus meant when he sent us forth to be salt, spreading God-flavor and God-preservation over the earth
• Its’ what he meant when he sent us forth as light, spreading God-colors, and God-illumination over the earth
Many of you know Andy and Dee Dee Patron’s son is off to college
• Tim’s gone, and Nathaniel is getting older and more independent
• The handwriting is on the wall, the boys are almost gone
• Andy has found his niche in the new company he works for, and now the question is batting about: what is next for Dee Dee?
• The kid-intensive season is drawing to a close and the next one still a bit fuzzy
She’s trying to sense the wind of Spirit, and hoist her sails to catch it
• So we were talking recently about what comes next in her life
• And while we spoke, a couple of themes converged
Theme #1.
as poorly as we’ve advertised it, nevertheless, you may have heard about our Spiritual Friends Team
• a group I’ve asked to help me oversee souls in our community
• I’ve asked them to discharge a singular task: I call it pray-contact
• I ask them to pray for a handful or all of you on a regular basis
• And as they do, if a thought, a nudge, a prompt, comes up, to assume that is a HS nudge, and to send a simple contact to you
• An email, a call, a Sunday conversation
• It’s the simple strategy for spiritual care I’ve practiced for years
• I was amazed at this practice, how many times it opened to an appointment where we sense God’s presence together
Btw: if you think this would be fun, talk to me, I’d love to include you
With all the emerging SF’s there was some reluctance at first
• I’m not a pastor. I’m not qualified.
• I’m not sure I can be faithful to the practice…
• What if something comes up and I don’t know what to say?
• But one by one, each has stepped into owning a part of NRCC
• And Dee Dee was telling me about how she had started to do the “contact” part of pray-contact
• And how she too, was amazed how often she would be w/ someone and have a profoundly spiritual moment
• And how gratified she was God was present in our community
Theme #2. the second theme arose from a curriculum she is doing
Some of you may have heard her talk about her battle w/ anxiety
• A few years ago she discovered a curriculum that helped her a lot
• Helped her so much, in fact, that she has become a visionary
• She believes that anxiety and depression can be overcome!
• She believes we don’t have to live with panic attacks, driving worry, or stolen peace
• She believes there are tools out there to retrain us in our experience of life
So she started taking her friends through the 16 week curriculum
• And she discovered that many of them became believers too!
• Now she’s working to buy a whole set of these curricula for the church, and to become a licensed moderator
So as we were talking about where the Inner Voice would send her next
• She told me an underlying assumption about where it would lead: she felt a strong assumption that she’d be getting a job
I pushed back against that assumption a little bit, pointing out the sense of God she had when she met people over coffee
• The divine moments when people overcame anxiety/depression
• And I suggested that the wind of the HS could be blowing along those lines more so than getting a job, finding a career
She began to talk about how difficult it was to dismantle the “go get a job” assumption
• Everyone thinks this is the most natural thing on earth
• In our society, one’s value is tied to one’s earning capacity
• Like many, her family had put a great deal of value on solid financial footing, and working hard to attain security
• And of course, who couldn’t use more money?
• And all those voices were battling in her heart w/ the sense of fulfillment she had when she would do these other things
But the idea of meeting for coffee with people…
The idea of running a little group of people through a 16 week curriculum on overcoming anxiety…
• …these didn’t have the same feel of value, significance, importance, or worth that an income/career would have
So I told her a story
and called her yesterday to ask if I could tell all of this to you as well.
It’s the story of I-540 and Raleigh…
Some time ago, our city, our state, our community all decided that an outer loop around Raleigh would be a good idea
• It would allow for expanded development, expanded tax base, and make place for the growth that was descending on Raleigh
• It would reduce traffic, congestion and density close to city center
• a good thing for all concerned; so off they went to build it
But after wealthy side of town was completed, DOT ran out of money
• So DOT announces: south side won’t be getting their part of loop
• And you recall all the frustration that mounted
• How fair is that that DOT’s limited resources go to the wealthy side of town, but conveniently run out before the less affluent?
So DOT suggested a compromise…
• We’ll go ahead and build the south side, but will charge a toll
• Now nobody on the south side of town likes that idea one bit
Now putting aside issues of fairness…
• Putting aside the equity of who gets access to DOT resources, and who does not; I said this…
If 540 goes to the south side of town, what will happen?
• It will become more desirable to live there
• Drive time to RTP will be reduced
• Therefore, demand for land will go up
• Therefore, developers will build neighborhoods to meet demand
• Therefore, property values will increase
• And that will increase the tax base, so schools will be built
• The area will become more desirable so shops will go in
• Lowes, Wal-Mart, Taco Bell (teenage boys) will go in
• There will be a general lift in the area if 540 goes in
• Lift of property value alone will make the toll on the road worth it
However, I told her, we have developed a cultural norm in most of U.S.
• We don’t pay for roads, especially, we don’t pay tolls on roads
• Maybe up in the northeast, they pay tolls, but we don’t
• Our nation hasn’t made a really big push for roads/infrastructure since Eisenhower created the Interstate System
• Every year, a few politicians, like prophets in the wilderness call out for funding for roads, bridges etc.
• But it’s not sexy, it’s not high priority
• And so we pilfer the highway fund year after year
• Spend it on something else
No tolls; not many tax dollars…
• And one day bridges start to fall down
• And one side of the city doesn’t get the uplift of an Outer Loop
Everybody expects roads to be there; but we stopped paying for them
• Everybody assumes they will always be there, but year after year, nobody prioritizes their funding
• There’s always something a bit more pressing
And I told Dee Dee:
• This is not unlike what community has happened to community
• Everyone knows it’s important
• And everybody assumes it will always be there
• It’s part of the fabric of life all around us
• But for years and years now, we’ve been robbing the resources to build it and make it healthy
Long, long ago, we gave time and energy to community-making
• The marketplace was not as demanding as it is today
• It didn’t hold the same imperative for women it does today
• Men’s workdays were closer to 40 hours than 50-60
• There was space for community dinners, Wednesday church, Saturday afternoon softball
• People had resource and bandwidth for community-making..
So networks sprung up to accommodate that bandwidth
• Church networks, family networks, community-service organizations, neighborhoods, porches, meals, fence-talks…
But along way, as a culture, we stopped funding community-making
• We put other priorities ahead of it
• Schoolteachers were once people of standing in a
• Now, not honored, and barely paid a living wage
• School as a community-center has begun to languish
• Also, the minister who makes community but does not produce commerce, goods, or services lost standing as well
• The Kiwanas, Rotarians, Lions Club, Shriners, all suffer decline
Everybody wants community, just like everybody wants highways
• Also, everybody assumes it will always be there; it always has
• But enough neglect, enough siphoning off of resources…
• And one day it won’t be there
• Already, community, and especially spiritual community, is in a sorry state of disrepair in our society
• We are individuals, isolated, fragmented
• Spiritually, we our images of the journey are often lone images
• We’ve lost many of the skills required to live communally
Enough people renting community and not owning, and soon community will go past decline, and come to ruin
• So I said to Dee Dee
• You could get a job; and you’re smart, you could earn well
• And you could use that money to go to Europe, drive a spiffier car
• Live in a bigger house, a nicer zip code
• Or you could follow your passion, your gift, your abilities
• You could listen for the Inner Voice, set your sail, catch the wind of HS, and follow your passion toward community-making
The latter would feel good for you; former would be good for the earth
In this last few paragraphs, you recognize we’re not talking to, or about Dee Dee any more, don’t you?
• We’re talking about the difference between owning/renting earth
• We’re talking about the cost exacted of owners
• We’re talking about a cadre of people rising to go against the tide and make personal sacrifice for the gain of many
• We’re talking about people who serve, who give
• We’re talking about generous hearts; openhanded benevolence
• We’re talking about being the ones who make sure the earth does not descend into the blight that comes when people rent
This is a bigger subject than NRCC, but I have started here
• And there are a couple of reasons
1. We are at time in our church’s history that calls for owners
2. a healthy spiritual community helps us own the earth
The chain of events goes something like this
• Some people own a spiritual community
• As they own it, tend it, care for it, oversee it, contribute to it…
• The community itself becomes fit, healthy, and opens to others
• As people join it, their souls become fit, healthy, open to others
• These healthy souls go out into the earth as owners
• Owners of families, of corporate offices, of business dealings
• Responsible to care for people in their jobs, their homes
• Owners of churches, schools, job sites, homeless shelters
And it begins when we make our spiritual community healthy/whole
• So I began last week asking you to own NRCC
Own the breakfast first off; make it a time for community
But that’s just one place to be communal together
• More to the point: own the well-being of one another’s lives
• Watch over this place; if something broken, figure out how fix it
• If something is dangerous, circumvent the danger
• If you haven’t seen someone in a while, go find them
• If a newcomer comes, open your heart to them, introduce them
• If someone is weak, walk beside them
• Invite people for coffee, into your home
• Eat with people; Pray for people; Ask after people
Find someone with whom it’s safe to confess your weakness/failure
• Pray for and strengthen anyone who confesses theirs to you
• Seek out divine life/truth, and share it with one another
• And when someone shares w/ you, breathe it in deeply
• Get to know someone well enough to carry them in pray when HS nudges you
Last week I started a new series, introducing it with a personal story
• It was a story of hope, lost and restored
• A story of a horrible, terrible, no good very bad day, and the cavalry riding to the rescue
If you didn’t hear it, have a listen online
I distilled the essence of our future together down to this question: will we be owners of our earth, or will we be renters?
• I said I’d be speaking in this msg on spirituality of owning earth
• The well-being of some part of this earth is up to me
• And there is deep spirituality underlying ownership
• Followers of Jesus give themselves in service to others
I used an illustration last week
• You want to vacation by a lake
• You want to experience peace and beauty
• You want time w/ the people you love
• You’re looking to recover from hustle/bustle of your busy life
And there are two ways you can experience this
• You can rent the cabin for a week or two
• Or you can join several other families, buy it, and enjoy it throughout the year
• The former you are a renter, the latter, an owner
• If the dock is coming loose, renter doesn’t think twice
• Isn’t at all concerned about an annual termite inspection
• Doesn’t care if there’s a leaky hose bib; the cabin is not theirs
The owners on the other hand, are concerned about all these things
• They are looking at the long-term well-being of the property because they plan to enjoy it for years to come
They plan to connect to people they love in this cabin for years
They plan to find peace and restoration here for years
They are creating a life that includes benefits this cabin provides
• Consequently, they are very concerned about keeping it sound, well-maintained, and improved
• It’s what owners do
…invest in the property, so they can draw benefits over long-haul
It’s not hard to see where I’m going here
As I said last week, ownership comes with obligations/responsibilities
• The American felt-need to own stuff has upsides and downsides
• One of the huge downsides is that the more stuff we own, the more stuff we have to maintain, watch over, tend, care for
So renting a cabin may be a very good option
• But in some areas of life, if too many of us rent, earth falls apart
• Churches, families, neighborhoods, offices, businesses, jobs
• Without owners, these fall into disrepair
I’m going to make a case in this message, that many of us should be owners of this spiritual community, of NRCC
• I’m going to make a case that many of us should be owners at our jobs, of the place we go to work each day
• I’m going to make a case that several of us should own our neighborhoods, families, and networks of friends
• In some of these areas, the buck of making KOG stops with you
• That you are the one to be carrying that area before God
I’m going to try and make this case on the basis of what it means to follow Jesus
• On the basis that what Jesus said to 12 applies to us too
• On the basis that what Jesus said about mediating God’s love to earth applies to us too
• That the healing God intends for people comes through us when we are carriers of acceptance, grace, and mercy
I’m going to make the case for ownership on the basis of the mandate we have to give of our lives to make earth as it is in heaven
• And to do this, we need the mindset of an owner, not a renter
In some place in your life, as you listen to HS…
• You can expect to have a growing sense of responsibility…
• If you are watchful, if you listen, you can expect HS to grow a sense of duty in some quadrant of your life
• A sense that this area, this calling, this oversight…
• It is yours to own, yours to affect, yours to influence
• And it is probably a bigger area than you realize
In some area, expect a divine sense that the buck stops w/ you
• Two friends at odds, peace needs to be made: you own it!
• A young woman at work deeply plagued by self-doubt and insecurity, in need of regular encouragement; you own it!
• The spiritual maturing of a small group of teenagers (Alea): you!
• Making sure your own family is learning to slow down and live with enough margin in their lives: it is to you!
• As I said last week…
• We can all own NRCC’s breakfast
Making it a healthy place for people to connect to one another
a place people belong, feel invited, and feel welcomed…
where somebody knows their name, their kid’s names: own it!
Being an owner instead of a renter is a deepened level of engagement
• Again, owners care; owners work; owners pay a price
• Many don’t take on the posture of ownership because they sense the responsibility that goes with it
• They don’t feel qualified, capable, or that they have the necessary resources
So many people; so many problems; so much need
• It’s not just a leaky hose bib…
• If they own the earth, some feel, they’ll be swamped
And this is a simple, but effective trap…
• We sense we don’t have bandwidth to own the earth’s needs…
• And that’s true.
• Further, we feel bad about that, especially knowing we should!
• But we can’t live lives in guilt, so our minds do something for us
• Shuts off the inner sense that we are created to be owners
• Shuts down the sense that any of the earth is our responsibility
• Since I cannot carry the weight of owning all the earth, I remove myself from the obligation to own any of it
Our minds justify abandoning our ownership, saying…
You’re just too young; or too old
You’re too busy; you’re too weak
Somebody better qualified is out there owning the earth
The world is full of people, you aren’t really required here
And in this state, many get sucked into the American zombie disease…
• They settle for a life much smaller than we’re created for
• Settle for a life chasing the stuff Madison Ave says to possess
• Working really hard to attain the markers society says to attain
The right kind of marriage, the right kinds of education, the right kind of status, the right kind of accomplishments
And the hard-working among us come to possess all that stuff…
• Only to have to take care of all that stuff
• And to feel overwhelmed at the enormity of that job
• And to have nothing left to give the world
• And so, many simply settle into the life of a renter
• Letting the earth around me fall into disrepair
When we lived in CA, we lived in a neighborhood built after the war
• Built in 1948, it was now 1989, 40 years later
• The families that had bought after the war were young
• In the throes of the baby boom, it was a kid-neighborhood
• Then the kids all graduated, and moved away; as they do…
• It became a senior neighborhood for a while
• Then the parents died and the kids inherited the houses
• L.A. being a booming real estate market, it was shame to sell
• Mom and Dad’s house is paid for, let’s rent it out
• And soon it was a neighborhood of rental houses
And very quickly, it became a blighted neighborhood
• Yards untended, paint faded, abandoned cars, broken fences
• Graffiti not painted over, broken windows not repaired
• Drugs floating in, crime rising
• Soon, many didn’t want to own there, only renters would stay
• And the neighborhood fell into steep decline
By the time we moved in, it was a neighborhood in trouble
• But at $155K for 800q ft, it was all we could afford so we rolled up our sleeves and went to work renewing the neighborhood
• Appointed block captains, neighborhood watch, newsletters
• Painted out graffiti, organized workdays on blighted houses
And we discovered something:
The key to whether a block would recover or not…
• How many houses on that block were owner-occupied.
• It didn’t matter how much the neighborhood rallied around a distressed house…
• It didn’t matter how many joined neighborhood watch
• Didn’t matter how many newsletters, conversations, organization
• If some tipping point wasn’t reached of owner-occupants…
no matter how dedicated block captain was; block didn’t recover
• It wasn’t necessary that every house be owned, but most
That’s what happens to earth when too many people rent
• It’s what happens to families, to offices, to neighborhoods
• It’s what happens to churches, to schools, to companies
If these places are not populated by people who feel a sense of responsibility for them, they become blighted
• If there is not someone there who feels ownership for them, they become diseased, impaired and over time fall into ruin
• It’s as true of homes, churches, and workplaces as it is of neighborhoods
I think this is what Jesus meant when he sent us forth to be salt, spreading God-flavor and God-preservation over the earth
• Its’ what he meant when he sent us forth as light, spreading God-colors, and God-illumination over the earth
Many of you know Andy and Dee Dee Patron’s son is off to college
• Tim’s gone, and Nathaniel is getting older and more independent
• The handwriting is on the wall, the boys are almost gone
• Andy has found his niche in the new company he works for, and now the question is batting about: what is next for Dee Dee?
• The kid-intensive season is drawing to a close and the next one still a bit fuzzy
She’s trying to sense the wind of Spirit, and hoist her sails to catch it
• So we were talking recently about what comes next in her life
• And while we spoke, a couple of themes converged
Theme #1.
as poorly as we’ve advertised it, nevertheless, you may have heard about our Spiritual Friends Team
• a group I’ve asked to help me oversee souls in our community
• I’ve asked them to discharge a singular task: I call it pray-contact
• I ask them to pray for a handful or all of you on a regular basis
• And as they do, if a thought, a nudge, a prompt, comes up, to assume that is a HS nudge, and to send a simple contact to you
• An email, a call, a Sunday conversation
• It’s the simple strategy for spiritual care I’ve practiced for years
• I was amazed at this practice, how many times it opened to an appointment where we sense God’s presence together
Btw: if you think this would be fun, talk to me, I’d love to include you
With all the emerging SF’s there was some reluctance at first
• I’m not a pastor. I’m not qualified.
• I’m not sure I can be faithful to the practice…
• What if something comes up and I don’t know what to say?
• But one by one, each has stepped into owning a part of NRCC
• And Dee Dee was telling me about how she had started to do the “contact” part of pray-contact
• And how she too, was amazed how often she would be w/ someone and have a profoundly spiritual moment
• And how gratified she was God was present in our community
Theme #2. the second theme arose from a curriculum she is doing
Some of you may have heard her talk about her battle w/ anxiety
• A few years ago she discovered a curriculum that helped her a lot
• Helped her so much, in fact, that she has become a visionary
• She believes that anxiety and depression can be overcome!
• She believes we don’t have to live with panic attacks, driving worry, or stolen peace
• She believes there are tools out there to retrain us in our experience of life
So she started taking her friends through the 16 week curriculum
• And she discovered that many of them became believers too!
• Now she’s working to buy a whole set of these curricula for the church, and to become a licensed moderator
So as we were talking about where the Inner Voice would send her next
• She told me an underlying assumption about where it would lead: she felt a strong assumption that she’d be getting a job
I pushed back against that assumption a little bit, pointing out the sense of God she had when she met people over coffee
• The divine moments when people overcame anxiety/depression
• And I suggested that the wind of the HS could be blowing along those lines more so than getting a job, finding a career
She began to talk about how difficult it was to dismantle the “go get a job” assumption
• Everyone thinks this is the most natural thing on earth
• In our society, one’s value is tied to one’s earning capacity
• Like many, her family had put a great deal of value on solid financial footing, and working hard to attain security
• And of course, who couldn’t use more money?
• And all those voices were battling in her heart w/ the sense of fulfillment she had when she would do these other things
But the idea of meeting for coffee with people…
The idea of running a little group of people through a 16 week curriculum on overcoming anxiety…
• …these didn’t have the same feel of value, significance, importance, or worth that an income/career would have
So I told her a story
and called her yesterday to ask if I could tell all of this to you as well.
It’s the story of I-540 and Raleigh…
Some time ago, our city, our state, our community all decided that an outer loop around Raleigh would be a good idea
• It would allow for expanded development, expanded tax base, and make place for the growth that was descending on Raleigh
• It would reduce traffic, congestion and density close to city center
• a good thing for all concerned; so off they went to build it
But after wealthy side of town was completed, DOT ran out of money
• So DOT announces: south side won’t be getting their part of loop
• And you recall all the frustration that mounted
• How fair is that that DOT’s limited resources go to the wealthy side of town, but conveniently run out before the less affluent?
So DOT suggested a compromise…
• We’ll go ahead and build the south side, but will charge a toll
• Now nobody on the south side of town likes that idea one bit
Now putting aside issues of fairness…
• Putting aside the equity of who gets access to DOT resources, and who does not; I said this…
If 540 goes to the south side of town, what will happen?
• It will become more desirable to live there
• Drive time to RTP will be reduced
• Therefore, demand for land will go up
• Therefore, developers will build neighborhoods to meet demand
• Therefore, property values will increase
• And that will increase the tax base, so schools will be built
• The area will become more desirable so shops will go in
• Lowes, Wal-Mart, Taco Bell (teenage boys) will go in
• There will be a general lift in the area if 540 goes in
• Lift of property value alone will make the toll on the road worth it
However, I told her, we have developed a cultural norm in most of U.S.
• We don’t pay for roads, especially, we don’t pay tolls on roads
• Maybe up in the northeast, they pay tolls, but we don’t
• Our nation hasn’t made a really big push for roads/infrastructure since Eisenhower created the Interstate System
• Every year, a few politicians, like prophets in the wilderness call out for funding for roads, bridges etc.
• But it’s not sexy, it’s not high priority
• And so we pilfer the highway fund year after year
• Spend it on something else
No tolls; not many tax dollars…
• And one day bridges start to fall down
• And one side of the city doesn’t get the uplift of an Outer Loop
Everybody expects roads to be there; but we stopped paying for them
• Everybody assumes they will always be there, but year after year, nobody prioritizes their funding
• There’s always something a bit more pressing
And I told Dee Dee:
• This is not unlike what community has happened to community
• Everyone knows it’s important
• And everybody assumes it will always be there
• It’s part of the fabric of life all around us
• But for years and years now, we’ve been robbing the resources to build it and make it healthy
Long, long ago, we gave time and energy to community-making
• The marketplace was not as demanding as it is today
• It didn’t hold the same imperative for women it does today
• Men’s workdays were closer to 40 hours than 50-60
• There was space for community dinners, Wednesday church, Saturday afternoon softball
• People had resource and bandwidth for community-making..
So networks sprung up to accommodate that bandwidth
• Church networks, family networks, community-service organizations, neighborhoods, porches, meals, fence-talks…
But along way, as a culture, we stopped funding community-making
• We put other priorities ahead of it
• Schoolteachers were once people of standing in a
• Now, not honored, and barely paid a living wage
• School as a community-center has begun to languish
• Also, the minister who makes community but does not produce commerce, goods, or services lost standing as well
• The Kiwanas, Rotarians, Lions Club, Shriners, all suffer decline
Everybody wants community, just like everybody wants highways
• Also, everybody assumes it will always be there; it always has
• But enough neglect, enough siphoning off of resources…
• And one day it won’t be there
• Already, community, and especially spiritual community, is in a sorry state of disrepair in our society
• We are individuals, isolated, fragmented
• Spiritually, we our images of the journey are often lone images
• We’ve lost many of the skills required to live communally
Enough people renting community and not owning, and soon community will go past decline, and come to ruin
• So I said to Dee Dee
• You could get a job; and you’re smart, you could earn well
• And you could use that money to go to Europe, drive a spiffier car
• Live in a bigger house, a nicer zip code
• Or you could follow your passion, your gift, your abilities
• You could listen for the Inner Voice, set your sail, catch the wind of HS, and follow your passion toward community-making
The latter would feel good for you; former would be good for the earth
In this last few paragraphs, you recognize we’re not talking to, or about Dee Dee any more, don’t you?
• We’re talking about the difference between owning/renting earth
• We’re talking about the cost exacted of owners
• We’re talking about a cadre of people rising to go against the tide and make personal sacrifice for the gain of many
• We’re talking about people who serve, who give
• We’re talking about generous hearts; openhanded benevolence
• We’re talking about being the ones who make sure the earth does not descend into the blight that comes when people rent
This is a bigger subject than NRCC, but I have started here
• And there are a couple of reasons
1. We are at time in our church’s history that calls for owners
2. a healthy spiritual community helps us own the earth
The chain of events goes something like this
• Some people own a spiritual community
• As they own it, tend it, care for it, oversee it, contribute to it…
• The community itself becomes fit, healthy, and opens to others
• As people join it, their souls become fit, healthy, open to others
• These healthy souls go out into the earth as owners
• Owners of families, of corporate offices, of business dealings
• Responsible to care for people in their jobs, their homes
• Owners of churches, schools, job sites, homeless shelters
And it begins when we make our spiritual community healthy/whole
• So I began last week asking you to own NRCC
Own the breakfast first off; make it a time for community
But that’s just one place to be communal together
• More to the point: own the well-being of one another’s lives
• Watch over this place; if something broken, figure out how fix it
• If something is dangerous, circumvent the danger
• If you haven’t seen someone in a while, go find them
• If a newcomer comes, open your heart to them, introduce them
• If someone is weak, walk beside them
• Invite people for coffee, into your home
• Eat with people; Pray for people; Ask after people
Find someone with whom it’s safe to confess your weakness/failure
• Pray for and strengthen anyone who confesses theirs to you
• Seek out divine life/truth, and share it with one another
• And when someone shares w/ you, breathe it in deeply
• Get to know someone well enough to carry them in pray when HS nudges you