From Front Stoop to Glassed-in Porch: # 2 on Reflections from Under the Fig Tree
Screen it in…the front porch that is
Who knows when the mesh aluminum material was invented that effectively blocked mosquitoes from entering porches? You know – screens. And who knows when screening material transitioned from rigid transparent screens to dark, pliable, screens that could create a barrier to mosquitoes as well as to the watchful eye of the nosy neighbor.
All I know is that it was great to be able to turn the outdoors (the porch) into quasi-indoor-space that could be used during rainy days and hot mosquito-filled nights.
One thing happened with the screened in porch – the swinging screened door was created as well. Initially the swinging screened door wasn’t locked. It was a frail sort of contraption that wouldn’t really support a proper lock – so, we used one of those hook-n-eye latches that just kept the door closed.
So what? This mean that neighbors might be able to see in the porch but they couldn’t get past the latched screened-door without permission. Huh? What was once outdoors (the front stoop) but under my roof, became almost indoors but under my roof and open only to the invited. That’s a significant change, socially and personally.
Glass it in…and throw curtains on it
If screened-in porches were innovative, how about replacing the screen with glass?
As we got accustomed to the added living space and we grew fond of the privacy and isolation from neighbors, how much better if we just enclosed the entire porch with glass. Better still, American architecture transitioned us to a back porch rather than a front porch, and we have all the benefits of mosquito-less, indoor enclosure with – get this – a proper door that could be securely locked. To top it off, throw some curtains on the windows and the porch just became my den.
What was once an open front stoop - the place where neighbors sat for hours and “just visited” - became a screened-in, and eventually a glassed-in, private extension of my personal space.
What does all this mean? Isolation and Insulation – the death of community.
The glassed-in back porch with curtains symbolically formalized and solidified the personal-space values that has become American cellular, isolationism. There is no more common space, with the exception of space that is bought-into outside my home for the purpose of limited interaction with a purpose, but only on my terms.
For example, we buy-into the use of exercise clubs and recreational facilities for the purpose of sweating together on exercise machines. We keep our ipods plugged into our ears so we don’t have to interact. We do parallel-play with people in the same exercise room, but we don’t really sit and visit.
It’s no wonder we are all struggling to create faith-communities. It’s no wonder that we go to church not for fellowship but for preaching. It’s no wonder that church is something we receive, not a phenomenon which we experience together. We treat it like the exercise club – we sit beside people but we don’t really interact more than is required.
So what do we do about this?
I’m interested in your thoughts. More about age-group related expressions of glassed-in porches in the next submission…
Glassed-in Front Porches: reflections from under my neighbor’s fig tree
See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. “‘In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” Zech. 3:9-10
The Big Fish Fry
As a child, my dad always saw to it that we lived around a lake. He loved to fish and we all love the water. I still live on a lake today. But life on the lake is different today than it was 40 some years ago.
During the summer, I remember the community-wide fish fry. There was always a big kettle of crackling grease over which some eager soul would stand endlessly dropping in the hushpuppies and catfish. The neighborhood would always show up for a great evening of food and fun, in spite of the mosquitoes and the humid summer evening.
Way back then, it took a village to do stuff. In fact, doing stuff as community was as much part of the joy as getting the stuff done. The fish fry wasn’t about the fish. It was about being neighbors and just having fun connecting. It was about taking time to brag about the fish caught and to share them with buddies. It was about showing off that favorite pie recipe. It was about just talking or throwing a football or falling in the lake while playing tag.
Open Front Stoop
Along with the neighborhood cookout was the open front stoop. The front stoop was a step up from the ground to the house that was open and might have a railing. It was like an open entry to the home. There were no restraints to keep people out. It was an open area with a porch swing or a rocking chair where folks could stop by and sit and visit. Kids could come by on a hot summer day and ask for lemonade or see if “Johnny” could come out to play.
The neighborhood fish fry and the open front porch reflected community values – rather, the value of the village. It was a non-cellular world. Extended family and neighborhood were not locked out by the front door. Community wasn’t determined as much by closed environments.
The open front porch reflects an amorphous community that is open to whomever steps onto the front stoop. It may be an aunt or a cousin who steps onto the porch. It might also be any-old-passerby. Community, neighborliness, openness to folks – it all was reflected by the unconstrained, unlimited front porch that welcomed the world under the shelter, which was an extension of my home.
Zecharias talks about inviting your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree. A few years ago, that vine would be the old front porch. “Come sit under the porch neighbor!” He also reminds us that the motivation and the magnificence of our message to neighbors is that God removed the sin of this land in a single day.
Our problem is two-fold – we are just not very good at being neighbors, so we struggle to have natural conversations about our magnificent savior.
So what’s up with the Front Stoop and Fish Fries?
The fad in church books and church widgets is – “community.” Genuine community. Transparent community. Transformational community. Community community pashmunity!!!! Check out podcasts of the preachers whom cool preachers are listening to and you’ll find a series on community. Every pastor is looking for the widget that will make your small groups become “community.”
Look around – how many open front stoops do you see these days. How many neighborhoods hold a community gathering? How many parents want the world knocking on the door for a glass of lemonade?
We’re struggling to force community in a cellular-world that doesn’t like amorphous community. We’re losing the battle for community.
The most refreshing conversation I had on this subject recently was with a pastor who has extensive experience on the topic. His church is in an artsy area that has lots of theatrical and music industry personnel. The church, by the way, has a great representation of that “arts” makeup in her congregation and ethos.
Here’s what he said that struck me – “nobody is succeeding at community – including me!” He’s been writing about and teaching on “community groups” at some of the most effective “small-group-based” churches, but even he says that he’s failing at it.
So what? What do we do with such honesty from an “expert?” What does he do?
Here’s what he told me. He personally models what he’s learned of community as he starts and multiplies himself in new group each semester. That group and those leaders, in turn, multiply the values he has modeled.
What does he model? Not accountability (that’s too threatening.) Not great Bible teaching (not ever group can have a great Bible teacher.) Not studying the coolest book by the trendiest church or church network.
What he does is begin each group by setting the tone of sharing “his junk.” He puts his stuff out on the table and lets people see him for who he really is. WOW! So…which pastor wants to be the one to dump his stuff out on the table for all to see? Evidently, that’s what a younger generation is asking for and some pastors are willing to provide.
He also establishes an environment of acceptance and forgiveness, which incorporates Bible Study, fun, ministry, etc. In fact, they call their small groups “Villages.” He says the most important thing he does is get radically vulnerable before the small group. Eventually it trickles up to the rest of the group.
But, even with his experience and his creativity and his transparency, he admits – we’re struggling to create community – no, he says, we’re failing.
Problem is – we’ve closed in the front porches. Check back later for a look at the American transition from…
The Open Front Porch to The Screened-in Porch