We should find people of great influence in our peer group and in our discipline and listen to them. Because they differ slightly from us, these people sharpen us. Sometimes they are achieving such greatness that we feel a drip of depression looming in our seeming lack of accomplishment. But that only remains when we focus on our accomplishments or lack thereof.

Many would call this sort of activity “self-centered.” I contend that it is probably not “self-centered” enough. Perhaps we need to go even deeper into searching ourselves - we need to search inside of ourselves to find the still small voice instructing us. This voice trumps all external, peer-reviewed comparison. It says, “Keep running the race” and “fight the good fight” and “I will give you rest.” Man, I love that still small voice.

Stumbled across the Cottage Company today, and was intrigued by some of their architectural projects focused on the social as well as the physical. They have been around since at least 1995, and specialize in something called “pocket neighborhoods.” I believe these will be an important piece for future developments as the world moves away from a car-centric economy.

When I first saw Ross Chapin’s designs of the 5 little houses (750-900 square feet) circling an open garden space, it made me think of the TV show LOST - a little neighborhood village once owned by the workers of the Dharma Initiative, now called “New Otherton”. I have to admit, I was a little confused at who might want to live in such a Walt Disney world. But as I read through this article, I began to see the benefits of having your own space, and yet sharing common space.

Each neighborhood is set up in caldisac/bungalo court fashion (but the pavement is replaced with low fences, vegetable and flower gardens, and a playground for the kids), with 6-8 homes all facing the common area.

There is less inside space, which means people are on front porches more. It also means owning less - like this guy and his 100-Thing challenge. There is no garage door for people to sneak home in their SUVs and shut behind them. A lot of the privatization inherent in owning your own home today is taken away, but there is still plenty of private space - for instance, the bedrooms/bathrooms are facing away from the common area, but the living rooms are positioned towards it.

This kind of life is nothing new - monasteries have been designing communities like this since at least the 5th century, and maybe even further back. It speaks to the rhythms of life - the need for privacy, and the need for community.

I think America could benefit from seeing this new kind of “mini-suburb” pop up all across the landscape. Its much smaller and cheaper housing (which helps in the sub-prime mortgage woes), it offers instant babysitter opportunities, more locally grown food (savings and taste abound), and those who already live in one of these dozen or so communities across the country is that their need for privacy is not violated, and that their sense of security and safety has dramatically increased!

Community is not all bliss and no woe - we learned a lot about communal living when my wife and I moved into an Abbey about two years ago, only to move out 8 months later. Still, we wouldn’t trade that experience for anything, and I think it gives us yet another picture of how to make friends in a tragically lonely America.

What are your honest thoughts about this? I’d love to hear more perspectives on potential pitfalls and unique opportunities. Who out there is attempting anything like this? Give us your insight.

I’ve lived the suburban life in Indianapolis, and the slightly rural life of West Texas. Now Katrina and I are living in one of the biggest global cities in the world. Here are a few things that we love from our first weeks of living the big city life:

Getting to know our neighbors - within the first week of our living here, I had met not only ALL our neighbors in our building, but also the neighbors in homes and apartments all around our building, the clay guild down the street, members of a church nearby, and most of the coffee shops and businesses on the block. It wasn’t some conspiracy of mine to meet every neighbor on the street - I just kept bumping into people walking to and from work, the beach, or the grocery store. Its just the culture here, you get to know your neighbors.

Spending a little more for groceries - I know, something strange to enjoy, for sure. But if you factor in that we don’t drive to the grocery store or out to eat out or basically anywhere else, we end up saving hundreds NOT driving to the grocery store and restaurants with a local farmer’s market, 3 nearby grocery stores, shops/etc - we’ll pay a few cents more for bell peppers.

Block Parties - there are more celebrations and festivals than any one person could possibly attend. In a city that prides itself on working hard and playing hard, we’ve been invited to our neighbor’s backyard block party, and an art fair.
Public Transportation - You can get ANYWHERE with a mature public transportation system. And we do! It does take a little more time, but its clean, fast(er than a traffic jam) and stress free (no gripping the steering wheel)!

Diversity - I’ve never heard so many languages spoken on the street anywhere else in my whole life. The other day I had an hour long conversation with my Babylonian banker! I’m doing my best to learn bits of Spanish, and I’m experiencing more lifestyles and worldviews than ever before. I’ve fully enjoyed learning in the alcoves of academia in the middle of the desert, and I’m thankful for the person it helped shape me to be. I’m also super pumped about entering a diverse culture and sharing what I know/who I’ve become as well as learning/changing as I interact in the world’s gathering place.

There’s more - like reducing our carbon footprint, the Cubs-Sox inter league series, great radio, live bands, free events, beaches, parks, ministry opportunities…

Here are just a few random pictures taken from my cell phone during our first few weeks in Chicago:

Try finding this combination in the South!

Go ahead, just ask this guy about his views on politics…

Last week, I took a bike ride on the Lakefront Trail from our place down by the beach, to the loop and back.  It was long but well worth it!

Always-fun Navy Pier and my half way point on the bike adventure.

Tonight Katrina and I watched Jumper and What Would Jesus Buy?

Jumper is hardly worth mentioning.  Nice effects.  It had Anakin from the newer Star Wars movies.  I say again, it is hardly worth mentioning.

What Would Jesus Buy? Presented by Morgan Sperlock, (of Supersize Me fame), was a provocative and prophetic documentary that was released last Christmas.  It featured Reverend Billy and the Holy Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir.  At first I thought this whole thing was a big hoax for the documentary, but as I watched it, I realized that these people were just protesters who had left their picket signs in Washington and had hit the road to get the message out.  They drove two bio-diesel buses and dressed up in full Pentecostal flare.  They “preached” in churches, diners, even the Mall of America.  I don’t know how they had the guts to do everything they did, going into retail stores with megaphones warning consumers of a “Shopocaplypse,” and singing hymns denouncing capitalism as god,  but they did it.  Police were regulars on the tour, and “church members” regularly found themselves behind bars.

I found myself laughing in disbelief.  I had heard of Not Buying It, a great book about a lady who went a year without shopping, and Buy Nothing Day, a grassroots movement encouraging people to take a day off shopping and find meaning with family and friends rather than in consumption.  When I heard that the retail space in the United States could hold every North American, South American and European inside its doors all at once, and when I heard that every American (regardless of age/race/gender) holds an average of $13,000 in credit card debt, and 4.2 billion credit cards are mailed out to Americans EVERY YEAR - I realized the kind of power we’re up against.  My laughing wasn’t so much in disbelief as much as relief.

It is good to see someone finally take seriously the phrase “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and to do it with a little humor and performance.  Most street preachers with a megaphone rain down condemnation on passers by (I know, I’ve been pelted by some of it myself), but these guys went caroling with parodies of Christmas tunes!  I will listen to anyone who has a good joke and doesn’t take themselves too seriously.

While watching What Would Jesus Buy? I leaned over and said to Katrina, “Our kids are gonna be so weird.”  When I look at the state of the world today, and the direction its heading in - maybe ‘normal’ is what’s weird, and we’re just searching for sanity.  I’m not some crazy anarchist - I just think we’ve gone way overboard.  It’s high time someone called it for what it is.  God likes to use humor sometimes to do just that.

BTW - Amidst drunken credit card tomfoolery across the nation, Katrina and I have been receiving lots of financial peace from this guy.