Front Porch Ecclesiology

"I don't know my neighbor." How many of us have said this in recent years? Sociologists give many reasons for the decline of community in neighborhoods, but perhaps the most interesting culprit of seclusion is air-conditioning! Before the mid-20th century, when the heat of the afternoon came, you would make some lemon aid, go to the porch, and sit with the rest of your neighbors in a sea of porches. Now, most of us live in a world where we can easily find artificial relief from the heat with just the flick of a thermostat. Thus, we never sit outside; we never know our neighbor; and we never enjoy the community our grandparents knew.

Do non-Christians notice the community found among Christians? They should! You see, the Christian was smothering in a house heated by his sin. And, after trying to fan himself with a cheap, paper fan made of good works, he realizes the only hope for relief was to be found outside of himself- outside of his house. So he leaves his house, feels the breeze of God's grace on his face, sucks in his lungs His mercy, and basks in the wide-open space of His glory. Once on the porch, he finds others around him who too have abandoned the doom of their houses, and while they came outside for the redeeming, cool air, they realize this delighting in God happens in a neighborhood, in a community, in a church. So remarks Hughes Oliphant Old, "Here we see that the true worship of God, which is always theocentric, nevertheless edifies the neighbor." One can no more know God and not be in His church than one can step out of their door and not be in their neighborhood.

We, just like a pre-AC neighborhood, all have one thing in common; we have found delight in something we could not provide ourselves. This delight creates a close community, and when others see this community from their windows, they are drawn out of the artificial air of pleasure and self-ambition, and in to the life-giving air God provides. Old develops his point, "True thanksgiving is also a witness. It is precisely in its being theocentric that it is most philanthropic. The praises that celebrate his mighty acts, the witness to his salvation, the celebration of his works, the confession of his truth, and dedication to this service are the end of the experience that begins with adoration." To not know our neighbor is sad, but to not know the fellowship of the redeemed because we never stepped in to the cooling grace of our Redeemer is tragic. So may we live in such harmony and fellowship that others will be drawn to the mercy of God found in Christ.