The Missional Quest by Ford Lance;Brisco Brad;Stetzer Ed;

Author:Ford, Lance;Brisco, Brad;Stetzer, Ed; [Ford, Lance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2013-05-22T00:00:00+00:00

Engaging Your First and Second Places

Brad Brisco

• • •

In the cherry blossom’s shade there’s no such thing as a stranger.

Kobayashi Issa

We always treat guests as angels—just in case.

Brother Jeremiah

I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Matthew 25:35 ESV

In the book The Great Good Place, sociologist Ray Oldenburg coins the language of first, second and third places. For Oldenburg, our first place is where we live, our second place is where we work (or the marketplace in general) and our third place is a setting of common ground or “hangout.” When referring to these different places, we can simply speak of them as the places we live, work and play. It is important to recognize that God has positioned us in each of these places for a missional purpose.

Before examining each of these specific places from a missional perspective (first and second places in this chapter and third places in the next), let’s consider the importance of place in general. This is necessary because within many Christian circles we have accepted a distorted view of earthly place.

There is a hymn from several decades ago called “This World Is Not My Home.” The popular refrain emphasizes that our time on this earth is only temporary.

This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door

And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.[1]

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.