Since the concept of "third place" came up in our discussion related to the previous post, I thought I would read the book Great Good Places by Ray Oldenburg to get a better picture of what a third place is. The book was wonderfully fascinating, and I've posted some summary thoughts over at my blog. If you aren't sure what a third place even is, that's the place to start. For here at the Regen blog, I thought I would put together some of my thoughts about third places as it touches on our ministry.
First, I think it is clear that we need to be in third places. These are great connecting points for a well-balanced society, and being active in a third place is important for our own well-being and the good of society, community, and family. Even apart from any possible avenues for evangelism that might open up, I think being in a third place is a good thing.
Second, I think third places are hard to find. Modern cities and especially in the suburbs, there just aren't many places that meet the criteria for being a true third place. As Americans, not just as Christians, our free time is mostly organized around activities and is typically committed to structured activities rather than unstructured and unplanned hang-out time at a place close to our homes. Unstructured time is usually spent holed up at home in front of the television or the computer or otherwise with our families. This doesn't mean that there are no ways to connect to other people in our society, and it doesn't mean that the third place concept is unhelpful, but it does mean that the third place is not a panacea for how Regen can connect to new people.
Third, I think it would be very difficult for a Regen small group to meet in a third place and engage with it as a third place without giving up the ability to discuss issues that are of our particular interest. We could locate ourselves there yet set ourselves apart in order to talk about Jesus or pray or whatever, but then we aren't really engaged with the native discussion of the place. Alternatively, we could join the conversation is there, but we wouldn't be able to pursue any agenda other than just being there. Most of us in Regen live far enough from each other that in order to go someplace together, we would have to adopt a third place that's not really in our neighborhood. Further, "regular" at a third place would probably mean something more than once a week. This doesn't mean that meeting in a third place (if one were found) is a bad idea that should be thrown out, but there are certainly some issues to think through.
Fourth, if Oldenburg is right that third places are important to human flourishing, and if he is right that our communities largely lack third places, then there may be opportunities for us, corporately or more likely individually, to be involved with promoting or creating third places. I don't have any ideas of what that might look like for Regen or Bear Valley or myself individually, but I think it is worth at least keeping in the back of our minds.
The book really is great, and I would recommend anyone to read it. You can find it at several area libraries or your favorite book retailer.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
Hmmm, I thought that this was very helpful, Paul. Great Good Places can be next on my list after More Ready Than You Realize, the Brian McLaren book I am currently reading on "spiritual friendships". Though I might not dig the whole emergent vibe of him and his ministry, the man can write a darn helpful book, after all.
The idea you brought up of creating a third place was especially intriguing, and sort of what I think we were originally trying to accomplish with the community groups in their earliest form. Back to the drawing board...
Paul, I love your thoughts here, and on your own blog about what the book says regarding 3rd places. It makes the definition a bit more understandable to me - as my own brain thinks of "Cheers" the old-time REAL 3rd place atmosphere but certainly more widely known and recent would be the "Friends: Central Perk" place but as you say in the post, they've still segregated themselves from the whole atmosphere and from engaging others in the shop (save for the occasional pick-up line) to really be effective in impacting people. This is great stuff, and I like Cassie and Chris will probably read the book as well - especially if it impacted you the way you say it did, it's gotta be good!!
Last night our group went and scouted out Belmar in search of a third place. Our conclusion was that the "new downtown" of Lakewood is not very happening on a Thursday night. Some places seemed cool and possibly conducive to hanging out, like Lucky Strike, but there weren't people there.
If a third place is not to be found, here are some thoughts on alternatives:
Focus on other ways of meeting new people. Third places may be good places to do that, but they aren't the only way in our society. There is also networking (meeting people through people you know) as well as the many organized activities that people do. Maybe there are things that we could do differently that would help us be better at this than we have been hitherto.
Alternatively, going back to the idea of third-place creation, we could try to take over in a sense a place that already exists, that doesn't have regulars but that could become a third place if there were more people there. We just make it a habit to stop in whenever we can and want and hang out with whoever is there. The difficulty is that we all live somewhat far from each other, so it would be difficult to adopt any place that would work for many people, enough of us to establish a "regular crowd" and good conversation.
Are there other ideas out there? We have only a couple more days to kick around crazy ideas before we try to come up with something that can actually be implemented. :)
Another idea would to just be more intentional in our already existing (or can be broadened) sphere of influence.
For instance, we like to hike/snowshoe - so maybe becoming a part of a Colorado Mountain Club or similar groups and being intentional in taking some outings with them in order to meet new folks; Cassie likes to knit and cook, so perhaps taking a class from the community center (usually they are free or low-priced) can be a way she can meet new folks around her area... things like that.
Too often, as discussed previously, we just need to get out of our Christianese comfort bubble and that means getting involved with the general public, but in areas/hobbies that we are already passionate about. And sometimes, that's the 'easiest' (meaning most available) and most influential avenue to take to be involved in our different communities.
Holly, that's pretty much the same as my first "idea". I think that is the way our culture does it for the most part. If you were unconnected to the church, just moved to the area, and looking for friends, what would you do? Find people to go hiking, climbing, biking, drinking, etc. with.
Post a Comment