Having a Home That's a Hub

The whole point of this space on the web is rethinking life and living space. Part of leading a Missional Community is that they are mid-sized groups of 20-50 people. An excuse might be, "well, I can't do that in my house...it's too small...there's no room." Well, for my family, though we have a small-medium sized home ("starter house" some might say), the reality is that we want to be a blessing with the resources we have. It's not just about our comfort level, but about priorities. We have made, and continually make, the decision that we want to simplify the way we live so that we can open our lives to others. A benefit of minimalism is having less to worry about and clean, true, but more than that it helps us focus our eyes on what really matters: our relationships. This Walmart/Coke commercial came out a couple of Christmases ago:

The word for household that we see in the Bible is "oikos" - and in the cultural context of when it was written, it meant the blood and non-blood relationships that made up their households, not just the nuclear family (as we tend to think in western/individualistic culture). You'll notice that as this young adult walked through his home, everyone in his extended family was there (friends, cousins with their friends, office-mate and his online date, Judo coach, allergist, Myspace friends, twitter list, etc.) - and they were everywhere! They were in hallways, different rooms, etc. The organic aspect of relationships is what we can see in this video, and it's something that I believe the church needs to learn how to do well. It's something that I need to do well.

To get there though, I think there are some foundational questions that we need to ask ourselves. The first three come from franciscan musician John Michael Talbot in his book The Lessons of Saint Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life (1998):

Walk in and around you house or apartment and take the following inventory: 

1. How much space do I and other family members really need? Will we need more or less space in the future? [and I'd like to add the question: Do I utilize what space I have well? Can I rearrange parts of my house to be 'oikos' minded?] 

2. Do I look at my house as a shelter, or is it a status symbol designed to impress neighbors and friends? 

3. Are there possessions in our house that we don't use and only cramp our living space? Can we get rid of these, and avoid buying more unnecessary stuff? (pg. 33)

And I'm going to add on to this in the context of family on mission:

4. Is my house set up in a way where I would be comfortable with people coming over with their children? (We want people to be able to relax and not be nervous!)

5. While not necessarily fancy, is it warm and inviting?

6. Do the things I showcase (paintings, photos, belongings, etc.) show people that I place the greatest value on relationships and living our unique stories of Kingdom-life? (i.e. where we've been, what we're passionate about, etc.)

The thing is, if we approach our ability to live on mission from an 'entertainment' mentality, then our homes may never be enough. However, if we re-think our homes as a hub for the relationships in our lives, I think we can start making different decisions in the way that we prioritize our belongings, spaces, and even our time.

I am learning! Welcome to the journey of pursuing a lifestyle that is lightweight and low maintenance, unto building oikos.