Air Conditioning, Television, and Front Porches

The other night I was discussing with Story Tellers (church study group) about how life had changed since the "Old Days".  Old Days here means the times where most people generally lived like we do now, but without all of the modern conveniences.  One of my dear friends, Lloyd, described how he started up an insurance agency in Ada for State Farm.

Just like how we think of “old school” evangelism, old school marketing is the same.  You would go door to door, just talk to people and make your case, and then leave the appropriate information and do follow up calls as needed.  This works fine in theory, but the problem is that you have to meet the people in order to talk to them… So how do you meet people again…?

Back in the “Old Days” people sat on their porches of a night.  The difference was likely for two reasons.  First was that television was not as prevalent as it is now.  Second is that there was not a quality of air conditioning (if any at all) then like there is now.  Those two forces combined drove people outside for entertainment and a breeze. 

It’s not nearly as intimidating to go up in a lawn or to a front porch, it was a place generally welcomed by all.  You could come calling about all things, and for those that lived near one another, it could create… (the big word!) community.  Inside houses, on the other hand, are a different animal.  I was always taught it was rude to call on a house uninvited, and indeed, it normally is.   

So what does this mean for us besides visiting homes is a harder task?  Among many things, the most important is that community is not made by who you live by.  It is made based on where you are in life rather than physical address.  Work… play… church… civic organizations…

Thanks to the social revolution, it is not hard to keep friends afar, but it seems it is harder to keep friends close.  You have to have friends near and dear and most of accessible.  Sadly, it was reported that Americans have only two close friends on average.  TWO!  Only two people that you can trust your life with.  Only two people that secrets and hopes, fears and frustrations, dreams and events can be shared with on a more intimate level. 

It is time we worked at building communities based on where we live once more.  Jesus drove home the point that whoever needed us was our neighbor.  What we have failed to notice is the people who may need us most live in the house next door.