I don’t know who’s reading this or who will watch this video – but if you need to just Breathe – let this song, this music, this art bring a little more air into your lungs today – and know that tomorrow will take care of itself; it has enough worries of its own.

http://www.rstar.net/

The church should be leading the way in asking the question and bringing valuable answers to how we can Design for Community. Many things have occurred to create such a time as this, where the church is being given the opportunity to go back to the center of town both figuratively and literally. And if we choose to use the same methods and approach that we have the past few decades, then we may miss a ‘once in our lifetime’ opportunity. Stewardship is not about simple ‘occupancy of space’ but about seizing the ‘opportunity of place’. Now is the time we have been given to open our eyes and invest our resources to help fill the void of Third Places that has been left in too many of our local communities.

Third Places are essential ingredients if a church is serious about Designing for Community – because, when thought through and designed properly, they create, enhance, and sustain community. It is when authentic community is to the point of sustainability, that the best chance of making an impact to and through generations is realized. Sustainable Third Places leave a legacy when we go beyond settling for copying trendy mainstream and instead being tapping into our most valuable resources – humanity fuel by God’s imagination.

From Ft. Walton Beach to a development in the Philippines – correspondence continues to pick up pace with phrases like “I feel God wants us to go back to the center of town…”; “…feel called to go back into the marketplace as the church…”; “…to be the church 7 days a week in and for our community”. What I am really being asked is, “Michael, how can we Design for Community?” That said, there is still a tremendous need for increased understanding and more intentional design along with proper business and ministry planning for those who want to create community whether within the more traditional walls of a church in the more classic times of meeting or in the times, places, and ways of doing church that are not as common – yet.

Understanding the social needs of people is an integral part of understanding their spiritual needs. I have been having the conversation about Third Places for more than a decade now – I have tried to quit it twice like a bad habit, but two things stopped me – first, there is no rehab program for people passionate about trying to communicate the importance of fully understanding this amazing tool and second (the most important) – God would not let me; which I’m sincerely thankful for, because we’ve not even seen the tipping point yet and it has never been a more exciting time to Design for Community. The terminology around Third Places has existed for about 25 years; the concept and human experience has always been.

In the roles I serve in, I am in daily conversation about the design and intentionality behind creation and sustainability of Third Places. Let me offer this analogy – the local church is a piece that fits in a bigger puzzle that is the community; the community is not necessarily a piece that fits inside the church. Once through the common preliminary questions about Third Places and what’s happening today – this question almost always comes up, “How do we find a balance between being overt and covert?”

1. Add Value First: stop looking past the cliché that the church needs to contribute to the community it is in and stop merely consuming from it – this must change;

2. Stop denying that the church is a Business. We are business persons – going about our Father’s business. Go from “We’re non-profit and good at it” to “We unashamed to make a profit and do good things with it”;

3. Love With No Strings Attached: never forget to love because you were first loved; give knowing it will we given beyond your imagination;

4. Start the conversation & trust God for the conversion: this goes back to the serenity prayer of doing what you can do and not trying to do what you cannot do.

It is not time for the church to try and go underground, attempt some subtle version of bait and switch, or adapt to the saying “If you can’t beat em’, imitate them by setting your imagination on the shelf”. Instead, now is the time for anyone wanting to BE the church in their community to recognize that it is when we have a full awareness of the those around us, an attention to details such as the engaging all five senses, and by making ourselves available in the places where real life takes place that we find a great starting point in the overdue conversation for how the church can lead the way in the mandate to Design for Community.

By creating sustainable Third Places inside our facilities and for our communities, we will be able to bring the church back to the center of town and put the front porch back on America.

How would I live my life differently if my children were always strapped to my chest?  Think about it literally; hearing my every conversation, seeing my every move, feeling my heart for every situation that I find myself in.

When we cry out to God, I believe He straps us to His chest, putting us against His heart.  I don’t believe there could be a more safe and calming place this side of Heaven.  That made me want to pray – “God, strap me to your chest, hold me so close I feel your heart.”

How would you live differently?  Where do you feel safe?

Maybe you’re like me and you sit, watching television (we can still call it that right?) and you see the upcoming ‘new series’ for a network and you just know it – you can already see pastors around the country calling their design team to start the process on creating a series with the same title of a new show.

This blog post is open for participation – let’s go ahead and save people a lot of time and money.  I’m not saying that churches should not take from mainstream pop culture and use it as a bridge for communication – I do wish however that in our most sincere intentions in imitation that we will not forget to use our God-given Imagination.

Here are a few of my 2010 Church Message Series Predictions (with added subtitles by me just to get your ideas engineering…

From the networks of NBC, ABC, CBS, Discovery Channel, HBO, FX, CW, TNT, and FOX

By Topic

LIFE

Past Life (what to bring with you and what to leave behind)

Life Unexpected (doesn’t anyone know the Greek word for DUH)

Time Warp (yesterdays and tomorrows)

Flash Forward (does you past decide your future more than you future defines your now)

Day One (there’s always a day one)

30 Days (if your plan didn’t make it 30 Days, repeat Day One)

Storm Chasers (do you create chaos because you can’t handle the calm)

Raising the Bar (this one’s too obvious)

LOVE

Human Target (sympathy, empathy, and take someone’s place)

Til’ Death (what part of that did you not understand)

Big Love (in little ways)

My Own Worst Enemy (mirrors don’t always tell the truth)

The Deep End (go where you haven’t gone to love like you haven’t loved)

MONEY

How It’s Made (don’t forget your Source)

Leverage (timing, talents, and truth)

Numbers (have fun with this one, I’m not touching it)

Accidentally on Purpose (the famous lottery question – what if)

WORK

White Collar (dirt comes in all colors)

Undercover Boss (who’s really leading and why)

Shark Tank (know your value and add value first)

The Closer (finish what you start)

Shark Week (tough people can be tremendous assets)

Dirty Jobs (actually go live a day in someone else’s boots)

Chuck (what you see is sometimes what you get)

FAMILY

Royal Pains (you know who you are)

American Dad (man up, speak up, live it up – someone’s always watching)

Brothers (don’t shake, brothers hug)

The Marriage Ref (truth never hurt so good)

Parenthood (don’t make me turn this thing around)

Find My Family (what’s missing and do you want it found)

Modern Family (if you think you’re not dysfunctional; that’s your dysfunction)

The Middle (too much, too little, too early, too late)

COMMUNITY / OUTREACH

The Bridge (a divide, a decision, a Divine)

The Colony (from nothing to something; from something to sustaining)

Community (what part of ‘unity’ did you not understand)

Parks & Recreation (if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong)

Olympics (this one is too easy)

Fringe (who do you not see)

FAITH / SPRITUAL LIFE

In Plain Sight (close your eyes so you can see better)

Justified (roles, responsibilities, and recourse)

Rescue Me (giving up, giving in, and giving it away)

Supernatural (made up explanations for things you can’t explain)

True Blood (yuck; now tell me why this matters again)

Man vs. Wild (the people, places, and plates we have before us)

Mythbusters (yeah – this one’s coming again)

PAIN

Mercy (why God doesn’t ask you to cry ‘Uncle’)

Trauma (it’s real to me; now somebody help)

Damages (collateral, collective, controllable)

Destroyed in Seconds (stop, drop, and think)

RELATIONSHIPS

Burn Notice (when trust is broken)

Lie To Me (tell me what I want to hear)

Sit Down, Shut Up (two ears, one mouth – any questions)

Men of a Certain Age (boys will be boys; but men should be men)

The Forgotten (generations that went before us)

Deadliest Catch (don’t call me I’ll call you – Never)

Any thoughts, recommendations, or additions?

I hope the next few minutes adds value to your life and community.  I look forward to any comments or questions that we can dialogue about.

Special thanks to @MarkClement from Big Picture Media Group for some video maintenance so I could post this.