Artists approach their medium (be that a canvas, instrument, or lump of clay) with some guidelines about good technique and ways to care for their craft, but they are not going to produce exact replicas of someone else’s work. That canvas takes on a life of its own and will never look exactly the same as the others next to it. Your neighborhood is unique. You are unique. Praise the Lord.

Like art, neighboring takes practice. We shouldn’t expect ourselves to knock on someone’s door and be the Beethoven of neighbors. As a church community we will try some stuff out together and we will also be challenged go off and practice on our own. Thankfully, we have the opportunity to inspire and encourage one another along the journey as we share our successes and failures.

So with pens and paintbrushes in hand, let’s ready ourselves for the journey. With a humble posture intent on loving our neighbors, while reserving grace for the inevitable mistakes along the way, may we pursue the promised breakthroughs found in sharing deep, spiritual connections. Maybe those mistakes can even turn into Bob Ross happy accidents.

Check out the following practices that we believe can grow and mature our ability to practice the art of neighboring:

• Practicing the Art of Awareness
• Practicing the Art of Empathy
• Practicing the Art of Presence
• Practicing the Art of Spiritual Conversation