Few things made our neighborhood buzz collectively as did the annual summer block party. I’m excited just remembering my elementary aged self, gearing up to ride my bike to the fun. The one day of the entire year we gathered to eat great food and play with kids from the whole neighborhood. The icing on the cake? We partied beyond curfews and bedtimes in the forbidden zone--the middle of the street!

Did your neighborhood have a block party? Have you ever attended one? If so, what do you recall? Can you smell the grill cooking? Can you taste the pie? What games did you play? Can you feel the joy of community?

Long gone are the days of the block party….at least in the neighborhood where I grew up. And long gone are the days of knowing every neighbor in the neighborhood. I’ve noticed something over the years. Maybe our work culture has changed. Perhaps it’s due to more screen time. Or busier schedules. I’m not sure why, but we are spending less and less time with our neighbors. Some of us don’t even know our neighbors.

As a follower of Jesus, a follower of the One who says the second greatest commandment is to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” the fact that we are becoming less and less neighborly sticks out like a sore thumb to me. What would it look like to actually live out this commandment with our actual neighbors? 

A few years ago, I read a book called, The Art of Neighboring by Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak. Runyon and Pathak outline a simple way to be the neighbors Jesus calls us to be. They encourage us to start by simply filling out a 3x3 block map. If your house is the center block, and the other eight blocks represent the houses surrounding yours, can you name your neighbors in those houses? Give it a try! How many neighbors do you know?

Just over a month ago we moved into our new home. I have three houses of neighbors I’ve gotten to know but I have many more names to learn. I’m going to commit to learning those names, however, because I do believe it’s the first step in becoming the neighbor Jesus wants me to be. A simple step with the potential to lead to something great.

I dare to dream that if we lived out this commandment literally, our streets, neighborhoods, towns and cities will change for the better. I dare to believe lives will be blessed simply by knowing you are not alone. You have a neighbor right next door if you need one—from a cup of sugar to a ride to the doctor or even a shoulder to cry on. It all starts with just learning some names…. and then maybe throwing a block party.