Don Everts - The Hopeful Neighborhood: What Happens When Christians Pursue the Common Good

President, Barna Group

I know dozens of people in my family and among close friends who will want to read this bookwho will be getting this book as a gift from me. (Jeff, for one, youre welcome.) The Hopeful Neighborhood grapplesin some of the most clear and accessible writing that Ive yet readwith some of the questions and concerns that Ive been hearing for years.

Helping Christians to live in natural, normal, and God-honoring ways in our communities is a big challenge in the church today. How do we genuinely demonstrate our faith in Jesus in the places where we live and to the people who live near us? After years of research at Barna Group, I am convinced that getting Christians to have a framework for living their faith locallyfor being contributors to a hopeful neighborhoodis not only a challenge but a significant opportunity.

We let a lot of things hinder us in this regard. I believe we are burdened sometimes by the weight of the negative perceptions of Christians. We often live into the stereotypes that sadly weve helped to create: hypocritical, judgmental, more concerned about policies than people, sheltered. Ive written a lot about these kinds of barriers with my friend Gabe Lyons (in books called unChristian and Good Faith). Christians are perceived to be irrelevant (we are unseen and unimportant) or worse, extreme (we are perceived to prioritize the wrong things that bring harm and hate to our communities).

But there is a way to shift those perceptions in a biblical, Christ-honoring wayby being part of a hopeful neighborhood.

Another barrier, which I see in the data all the time, is that churches and pastors are often complicit in keeping Christians churchbound. What I mean is that, for good motives and good reasons, a type of bargain is offered to keep Christians volunteering, serving, and giving in and through the local church. This isnt all bad; the most resilient kinds of disciples are active and involved in and through their local churches.

Yet the most resilient of Christians are, in addition to their church engagement, also active in the world where God has placed them; they deeply concern themselves with poverty; they work to reverse injustices; they bring their soul with them to their workplaces; they contribute to hopeful neighborhoods.

Finally, the most concerning barrier to loving and serving in the places where we live is fear. We dont want to say the wrong thing. We dont want to be known for our frailties and faults. We are afraid of putting something at risk in our own livesour time, our reputations, our hearts, our priorities. We are not so sure we want to follow a Jesus who asks us to wash others feet and get our hands dirty.

Still, the most hopeful neighborhoods are filled with people who believe that perfect love casts out fear. We can be those kinds of Christians, trusting in a God who says he does not traffic in fear but in love, power, and sound minds.

This book does such a beautiful job of preparing us for life on mission with Jesus in the place where we live and with the people who live near us, in our neighborhoods. And my friend Don shares so much of his own journeyhes lived in thirty neighborhoods! He lovingly, carefully, persuasively guides us through the barriers to engaging and loving our neighbors as Christ calls. I hope you gain as much from the journey as I have.