Matt Mings on On Belonging
We live on a cul-de-sac. Our previous home was located on a cul-de- sac, but the road was designed more like a short drive. There were four houses on the road; all on the left or at the end, and none of the houses’ front doors faced each other. But the designers of the street we live on now got it right. There areseven houses surrounding a circle with just one opening for the inlet of the road. At anytime, any of us can see each other at the front or back doors (depending on which home). Each house faces all the other houses.
This picture reminds me of other “circle-like” settings I encounter on any given week. Restaurants are more and more going away from straight rows and arranging their tables in semi-circle arrangements, such that all the diners can see each other without too much craning of the neck. The era of the mall seems to be coming to the end and outdoor shopping areas are being constructed in semi-circle fashion. Gone are the strip-mall constructions and in are the wide-open, “every shopper sees each other” arrangements. In Discipleship Groups at my local church we sit in a semi-circle. No rows of chairs, everyone facing the leader. There is full disclosure in such a setting.
Though these examples could be construed to say that life is becoming more intimate with strangers (a direction the Church has unfortunately tried to go) I see a simpler, more basic need being addressed. People desire connection. Even if it is superficial connection. People need to feel like they belong. Even if it is belonging to a transient community of shoppers. The cul-de-sac, the restaurant, the shopping center are all physically speaking to the one need that everyone shares regardless of belief systems.
This to me is a wonderful challenge to the Church. Can we allow people to belong to our community at the level they are comfortable with? How long will we force people to fit into a certain type of mold and “belong” only when they assent to a certain doctrine of beliefs and follow a prescribed behavioral pattern? Can we live open lives that invite a sense of belonging? If we can, we might see the Church actually being relevant. I think that might please the heart of Lord. For Jesus allowed everyone to belong. His life was (and is) an open invitation.
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