Porches and Forecourts: How to Reach the West Again (live in NYC)
Oct 24, 2023
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The hosts discuss the shift in Western culture and strategies to engage with people. They explore the concept of porch building in churches and creating spiritual spaces. The chapter highlights the power of porches for genuine encounters and hospitality. They discuss breaking down barriers to evangelism and the positive social impact of porches. The speakers address the emphasis on action in New Calvinism and the importance of sacred waiting. They also explore the concept of being a guest in someone else's porch and the need for churches to broaden perspectives.
Porches and forecourts can serve as spaces for pre-evangelism and connecting with non-Christians in a post-Christian culture.
In-home hospitality is a foundational porch where relationships can be cultivated, leading to deeper conversations and creating a sense of belonging and community.
Porches break down barriers, allowing Christians to engage with others, challenge preconceived notions, and create relationships in various cultural spheres.
Deep dives
The Importance of Building Porches and Pre-Porches
The podcast explores the idea of building porches as a way to create spaces for pre-evangelism and connect with non-Christians in a post-Christian culture. Porches are seen as inviting places where people can encounter Christian intuitions and have conversations before fully engaging with the church. The discussion also highlights the need for pre-porches, spaces even further removed from Christian community, to engage with people where they are and build relationships that may eventually lead to deeper spiritual conversations. The goal is to meet people where they are and invite them to take small steps towards Jesus, recognizing that community connections, hospitality, social concern, and even secular spaces can serve as porches in different contexts.
Creating Porches Through In-Home Hospitality
The podcast emphasizes the importance of in-home hospitality as a foundational porch where relationships can be cultivated and pre-evangelism can occur. Building relationships through hospitality and being a constant presence in people's lives can lead to deeper conversations and create a space for individuals to engage with Christianity on their own terms. The idea is to create a sense of belonging and community that allows people to feel comfortable and curious about the Christian faith, even before committing to church membership or fully embracing Christianity.
The Power of Porches in Breaking Down Barriers
The discussion highlights how porches can break down barriers and create spaces for people to encounter Christian ideas in a non-threatening way. Porches are seen as places where Christians can engage with others and have conversations that challenge preconceived notions and allow for respectful disagreement. Porches are not only physical spaces like homes or church buildings, but can also exist in work environments, social initiatives, or by engaging with different cultural spheres. The emphasis is on creating relationships, fostering inclusion, and allowing people to experience the Christian faith through the actions and interactions of Christians in pre and post-Christian cultures.
The Importance of Prayer and Expectation
The podcast highlights the significance of prayerfulness and expectation in porch building. It emphasizes the need for pastors and church members to be prayerful and expectant, keeping an eye out for opportunities and being fully present in their communities. The conversation discusses how prayer softens hearts and serves as a gateway to engagement, while expectation helps in recognizing God's work and presence in the world. The podcast encourages pastors to teach their congregations to pray for the people around them and to be actively listening to their hurts, heart, history, and hopes, allowing those insights to inform their approach in building porches.
Embracing Limitations and Understanding Cultural Narratives
The podcast explores the importance of embracing limitations and understanding cultural narratives in porch building. It suggests that pastors and church leaders should encourage their congregations to say 'no' to many good things in order to say 'yes' to God's calling and to be present in specific places. The conversation encourages pastors to help their congregations recognize the importance of being limited and understanding that the desire for omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience is idolatry. Furthermore, effective porch building requires an understanding of the cultural narratives that shape people's hopes, dreams, and idols. By being contextually aware and sensitive, pastors can create porches that address those narratives and provide a satisfying connection to the message of Jesus.
