Author Archives: Bob Adams

A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh Expressions

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Jesus is Lord of Neighborhoods and Networks

We need vintage forms of church to engage our neighborhoods and fresh forms of church to engage the networks all around us. Further, one professional clergy person growing his or her flock is a bankrupt concept. The new missional frontier requires the whole people of God, the “priesthood of all believers.” Every Christian may invite others in their relational sphere to live under the Lordship of Jesus.

Michael Adam Beck and Jorge Acevedo

As consultants who work nationwide and as innovative pastors, authors Michael Adam Beck and Jorge Acevedo awaken congregational leaders and ministry teams to a distinctive Wesleyan approach for the Fresh Expressions movement. In A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh Expressions, they show congregations how to cultivate and customize fresh expressions that fit their local context. They motivate ministry teams to take risks, experiment, and when necessary, fail well.

According to authors Beck and Acevedo, in the emerging Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, John Wesley was leveraging the power of first, second, and third places (home, work, and public places). Not only did he understand the importance of embodying the gospel in the places where people lived, he also had the contextual intelligence to adapt to the rhythms of their lives.

Through relationships with real people in the “nodes” (physical places) we spread the Christian faith like a good virus in the entry points that spreads through the “flows” (digital channels of connectivity).

The authors encourage us to prayerfully seek what and where the Spirit is leading us. Ask what the Spirit is up to in the places where people do life. What are the rhythms of people’s lives in our contexts? How are we engaging the neighborhoods of our communities? How are we engaging the complex system of networks? In what ways are we utilizing the flow that connect people across geographies?

Fresh Expressions epitomize a form of church suited to our evolving culture:

1. Missional: Inspired by the Spirit to reach those who aren’t yet part of the Christian community.

2. Contextual: Tailored to fit the needs and characteristics of the local community.

3. Formational: Centered on the formation of disciples.

4. Ecclesial: A complete expression of “church” rather than a transitional phase leading to an established congregation.

There’s no idealized past to return to. The existing system falls short in reaching the majority of people. We’ve transitioned beyond the information age into an era of globalization, where interconnectedness prevails. For individuals under 30, online communities are integral to daily life, blurring the lines between virtual and physical reality. Shared interests, not geographic proximity, unite people. The prevalent wound of our time is isolation.

The Fresh Expressions movement mirrors the early Methodist reliance on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. To adapt to the new reality, we must be missional in engaging people in their spaces—be it home, work, school, or communal settings like cafes, pubs, or parks. Traditional methods like door-to-door evangelism are ineffective. Instead, we should gather with others in places where they naturally congregate, identifying potential “Holy Spirit Hot Spots.”

Disruption isn’t about creating a product but a process aimed at reaching marginalized segments of society. Examples from companies like Netflix and Amazon illustrate this approach. Failure is to be anticipated, and a bold vision is necessary to engage those who wouldn’t typically step foot in a church. The church must transition from passive observers in seats to active participants in the streets.

People bond over shared interests and activities. Establishing new expressions of the church within these communities can transform practices profoundly. It goes beyond merely mimicking church rituals in trendy locations; God’s grace works through these interactions with non-Christians.

The Methodist Revival, spearheaded by John Wesley, arose amidst immense societal challenges, including high child mortality rates and rampant exploitation in cities like London. Wesley deliberately engaged with the marginalized and suffering, claiming to experience God’s presence amid their struggles.

To engage non-Christians, the unaffiliated, or those disenchanted with organized religion, questions about scripture can serve as entry points for meaningful conversations. Objects with symbolic significance within the church can also spark dialogue with those outside the faith.

inspired and adapted from A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh Expressions, by Michael Adam Beck and Jorge Acevedo

Your Hospitality Personality

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How to Confidently Create Connection and Community

You have a hospitality personality, and it impacts how you approach hosting.

Morgan Tyree

Does the thought of hosting a dinner send you into spasms of delight or spirals of dismay? Do you love opening your home to others? Or do you dread even the planning it takes to get a group of friends to arrive at the same restaurant at the same time?

We each have our own unique hospitality personality. And when you tap into yours, you’ll find a lot more blessing with a lot less stressing.

With personal assessments, encouraging stories, and plenty of practical ideas, in Your Hospitality Personality, author Morgan Tyree shows you how to identify and embrace your hospitality personality so you can stop worrying and start enjoying yourself and your guests. She helps you understand your hospitality habits, hurdles, and hang-ups, then offers real-life solutions that fit you.

According to author Morgan Tyree, you have a unique and God-given way of interacting with others; don’t fight against your tendencies. If you do, you’ll only be limiting your potential reach, and wouldn’t that be a disservice?

Tyree also believes that you were specifically and individually created to effectively impact your circles of influence. Press into this truth. Seek out all the possibilities around you, and make sure to let your hospitality personality shine!

Do not waste any moment wishing for a different wiring. The world eagerly awaits your unique and invaluable gifts of hospitality.

Embrace your distinct, God-given manner of engaging with others; don’t resist your inclinations. Suppressing them would only curtail your potential impact, which would be a disservice, wouldn’t it?

You were meticulously crafted to make a significant difference within your spheres of influence. Embrace this reality. Explore the myriad opportunities around you and allow your hospitable nature to radiate!

Understanding your identity and aligning your actions with your hospitality traits will enable you to thrive as a host. Whether in your home or elsewhere, adhere to healthy hospitality practices. Commit to discerning which hospitality habits to retain and which to refine. Approach each aspect of hosting thoughtfully and tactfully, considering the who, what, where, when, and why. Design hosting experiences that alleviate any reservations you may have by purposefully arranging details in a manner that puts you most at ease. Make it your goal to enhance blessings while reducing stress.

Author Tyree outlines four primary hospitality personalities in her book:

  • Leaders: “The Director”
  • Entertainers: “The Socializer”
  • Includers: “The Supporter”
  • Organizers: “The Planner”

Regardless of your type, embrace the people placed in your life by God. Each of your circles craves your presence and attention – they need YOU. Plan your hospitality endeavors, and remember to sprinkle in spontaneous acts of kindness – it’s rewarding!

In her book Daring to Be Yourself, Alexandra Stoddard wisely states, “When you give your presence, you are giving the most. Ultimately, time is all you have. When you pay attention to someone else, you honor that person and the other person can honor you. You act not out of duty, but because you want to.”

Remember – your hospitality personality is a gift – the present of being present. Make sure to give it away!

inspired & adapted from Your Hospitality Personality: How to Confidently Create Connection and Community by Morgan Tyree

Pursue Clarity in Your Daily Life

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God crafted you with unparalleled potential and positioned you on this planet for a distinct purpose. Amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, you may have yet to unearth your unique calling in a manner that provides profound clarity.

This dilemma is common; akin to a faint echo, the prospect of a vision-driven existence often remains elusive, overshadowed by the demands of daily existence.

However, your divine blueprint – God’s intended plan for your life – is more accessible than you might imagine. You are a masterpiece crafted by God in Christ Jesus to undertake good deeds, which He has already laid out in advance for you to fulfill (Ephesians 2:10).

Equipped with the appropriate tools, you can uncover your life’s vision and synchronize it with your vocational path. It is both feasible and imperative to grasp your God-given identity and the dreams instilled by Him within you. Most significantly, you can discern and map out the practical steps needed to reach these aspirations.

Everybody ends up somewhere in life.

Wouldn’t you like to end up somewhere on purpose?

  • What breaks your heart?
  • What keeps you up at night?
  • What could be that should be?

Andy Stanley believes these questions are breadcrumbs that lead to the discovery of personal vision. With down-to-earth practicality, Stanley extracts principles from the story of Nehemiah to help you discover your purpose in life.

Visioneering includes helpful exercises and time-tested ideas for visionary decision-making, personal growth, and leadership at home and at work. Catch a glimpse of God’s incredible vision for your life, relationships, and business—and discover the passion to follow it.

What is clarity really about? How can pursuing clarity help us discover our purpose in life?

The concept of clarity means being free from anything that obscures, blocks, pollutes, or darkens. If you have clarity, you see things simply in an understandable and precise way.

Clarity will help you make your life direction unquestionable.

Honoring God involves discovering His picture or vision of what our lives could and should be. Glorifying God involves discovering what we could and should accomplish.

We were created and re-created with his purposes in mind. And until we discover his purpose – and follow through – there will always be a hole in our soul.

As Christians, we do not have the right to take our talents, abilities, experiences, opportunities, and education and run off in any direction we please. We lost that right at Calvary. But then, why would we dream of such a thing? God has a vision for your life. What could possibly be more fulfilling than that?

At the same time, we have no right to live visionless lives either. If God – think about it – if God has a vision for what you are to do with your allotment of years, you had better get on with it. What a tragedy to miss it. Missing out on God’s plan for our lives must be the greatest tragedy this side of eternity.

Your uniqueness and individuality will reach its pinnacle in the context of your pursuit of God’s plan for your life. Manmade visions all begin to look alike after a while. Unless you discover God’s unique vision for your future, your life may very well be a rerun.

– Andy Stanley, Visioneering

Andy Stanley, in Visioneering, says that “Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives.” To further develop this thought, he wants you to realize how vision weaves four things into the fabric of our daily lives.

Reflect on each of the areas below:

Passion – vision is always accompanied by strong emotion; the clearer the vision, the stronger the emotion. How is your vision being expressed in powerful and compelling emotions?

Motivation – vision provides motivation. In what areas of your life is vision providing motivation on a regular basis?

Direction – vision sets a direction for our lives. How is your vision prioritizing your values and providing direction to your life?

Purpose – vision gives you a reason to get up and show up. How is your vision providing purpose in your daily life?

Connect with 2-3 colleagues or friends, and ask them these questions around their calling and process together how God might call you into greater collaboration together to reach your potential and impact the world.

Discovering the Joy of Reading: Insights from “Why We Read”

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Most weeks on Wednesday you’ll find posts about books here, part of an ongoing series entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

I often post about books on Instagram, and from time to time I will write on the topic of books about reading and books. For example:

Here’s a view of my “books about books” bookshelf:

You are probably getting the picture that books and reading are not just pastimes for me – they are my passion.

Today’s post is about a book that beautifully captures the passion of reading.

We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human.

Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else.

In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection entitled Why We Read, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn’t (Tess of the d’Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the ways in which literature can transform us for the better.

Listen to Reed’s passion for reading:

I have never lost my affection for and dependency on books. This is where I pull away from the pack of fellow bookworms, I sense. Much as I like videos and reels and whatever new thing has been invented by the time this goes to print, I’m always reaching back to the OG form, the book, looking for what I can read to help me understand.

Reading a book is quiet, clear, and organized. It’s not hard.

It waits until I am ready, pauses when I need a break, and is still happy to repeat. Reading absolutely never says “Just forget it” when I need clarification. It doesn’t care how I pronounce the words in my head (or aloud, for that matter). It never makes me feel worse and rarely makes me feel lonely.

Reading gives me the world.

And that, friends, is why I read.

If you are fortunate to be inspired to buy and read Shannon’s book, you will enjoy the closing chapter as she pays homage to the amazing literary journey she is on. I won’t spoil your reading pleasure by quoting any of it – except the last two sentences:

Without ever really experiencing any of it, I know it all.

Because books taught me.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Sidewalks in the Kingdom

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New Urbanism and the Christian Faith

The virtue of neighborliness is not only something I want for my neighborhood, but is something I want deeply for every residential area. I can practice neighborliness in my context while advocating for a return to neighborliness in every context.

Eric O. Jacobsen

Christians often talk about claiming our cities for Christ and the need to address urban concerns. But according to Eric Jacobsen, this discussion has remained far too abstract. Sidewalks in the Kingdom challenges Christians to gain an informed vision for the physical layout and structure of the city.

Jacobsen emphasizes the need to preserve the nourishing characteristics of traditional city life, including shared public spaces, thriving neighborhoods, and a well-supported local economy. He explains how urban settings create unexpected and natural opportunities to initiate friendship and share faith in Christ.

Helpful features include a glossary, a bibliography, and a description of New Urbanism. Pastors, city-dwellers, and those interested in urban ministry and development will be encouraged by Sidewalks in the Kingdom.

According to author Eric O. Jacobsen, the most meaningful way to define a city he has found is to say that you tend to know when you are in one. While it may sound like a cop-out, this is one area where our intuition might really be our most reliable guide.

To be more specific, there are six general features that would indicate to a visitor that he or she is in a city. These features can be understood as six distinct markers of the city.

  • Public spaces
  • Mixed-use zoning
  • Local economy
  • Beauty and quality in the built environment
  • Critical Mass
  • Presence of strangers

Jacobsen believes that a familiarity with these makers gives us handles upon which to hang our impressions of the communities in which we live, whether or not they qualify as cities. They also help focus and clarify our discussion about the merits of city life.

inspired by & adapted from Sidewalks in the Kingdom, by Eric O. Jacobsen

How Questions Lead to Understanding

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The way to avoid a misunderstanding is to have an understanding.

I heard those words from my father years ago, and they have come to be an important part of an ongoing learning curve involving that most difficult of social skills – communication.

Communication between individuals or groups of people is never easy. Some people think that all we have to do is to listen. Others think we just need to hear them out. However, there is a great difference between hearing and listening. Hearing refers to the physical dimension of the sound waves striking the ear and the brain processing them into meaningful information. Listening, however, involves far more than the hearing process. It incorporates paying attention and focusing with the intention of understanding and responding appropriately.

One of the most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and to be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. Not only that but when people feel that you have really listened to them, you will gain their respect and they will value and give you the credibility to speak.

Consider how you feel when you sense someone is really listening to what you have to say. You feel good, you feel understood, and more connected to the person who is listening. The fact that they are interested causes you to feel cared for.

True listening is a skill which needs to be learnt and practiced because the mind functions seven times more quickly than it is possible to speak. Therefore the mind needs to be slowed down and focused on what the person is saying, and not pay attention to other irrelevant thoughts or distractions.

One of the best ways to build up your listening skills is to ask a question, and then be quiet and listen to the answer. Questions will give you a greater understanding of the person, give them encouragement, and instill a sense of connectedness. Make sure that ask questions and listen more than you speak.

When you have the opportunity, use a question or questions and experience the power of creating understanding with others through the power of listening.

And in my experience, understanding is easier to find when you ask the right questions.

Of course, asking the right question is often a challenge. It’s easy to ask a question that triggers an argument, demands analysis, expects a defensive reply or begs for an explanation. These kinds of questions may be interesting, but they lack power.

Powerful questions are those that evoke a choice for accountability and commitment. They are questions that take us to requests, offers, declarations, forgiveness, confession, gratitude, and welcome: all of which are memorable and have a transformative power.

Questions create the space for something new to emerge.

What questions will you be asking today?

Words That Work: Unlocking the Science of Persuasion and Effective Communication

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In the final post of a four-part mini-series revolving around books, there was a look at the history of the library, the role of books in both shaping conflict and being shaped by conflict, how book design impacts the reading experience, and now some closing thoughts on words themselves.

Almost everything we do involves words. Words are how we persuade, communicate, and connect. They’re how leaders lead, salespeople sell, and parents parent. They’re how teachers teach, policymakers govern, and doctors explain. Even our private thoughts rely on language.

But certain words are more impactful than others. They’re better at changing minds, engaging audiences, and driving action. What are these magic words, and how can we take advantage of their power?

In Magic Words, internationally bestselling author Jonah Berger gives you an inside look at the new science of language and how you can use it. Technological advances in machine learning, computational linguistics, and natural language processing, combined with the digitization of everything from cover letters to conversations, have yielded unprecedented insights.

Learn how salespeople convince clients, lawyers persuade juries, and storytellers captivate audiences; how teachers get kids to help and service representatives increase customer satisfaction; how startup founders secure funding, musicians make hits, and psychologists identified a Shakespearean manuscript without ever reading a play.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to increase their impact. It provides a powerful toolkit and actionable techniques that can lead to extraordinary results. Whether you’re trying to persuade a client, motivate a team, or get a whole organization to see things differently, this book will show you how to leverage the power of magic words.

Magic Words, authored by Jonah Berger, delves into the concealed mechanisms governing language and, more significantly, delineates strategies for employing it more persuasively, nurturing relationships, and achieving success in both personal and professional realms.

The book explores six categories of influential words, devoting a chapter to each of these areas:

Activating Identity and Agency: Words that delineate authority, responsibility, and engagement in actions. This chapter delves into the profound impact subtle alterations in language can have, such as the efficacy of using nouns over verbs in persuasion, mastering the art of refusing to advance towards goals, and adopting specific interrogative phrases to enhance creativity and problem-solving. Furthermore, it discusses how speaking in the third person can mitigate anxiety and enhance communication, along with the nuanced effects of pronouns like “you” on social interactions and empathy.

Conveying Confidence: Language not only communicates information but also conveys the speaker’s confidence, thereby influencing perceptions and sway. This chapter explores how eliminating certain words transformed an underperforming salesperson into a top achiever, the significance of linguistic style in legal discourse, and linguistic cues that enhance credibility and authority. It also delves into the allure of certainty and the strategic use of uncertainty in communication to foster trust and receptivity.

Asking the Right Questions: This chapter delves into the science behind effective questioning, revealing why seeking advice enhances perceived intelligence and increases the likelihood of securing subsequent dates. It elucidates the types and timing of questions for optimal outcomes, strategies for deflecting challenging inquiries, and techniques for fostering deeper social connections through inquiry.

Leveraging Concreteness: Highlighting the potency of concrete language, this chapter reveals how specific words convey attentive listening and why emphasizing “fixing” rather than “solving” problems enhances customer satisfaction. It explores instances where abstract language may be advantageous, signaling authority and leadership, and discusses its role in fundraising for startups.

Employing Emotion: Exploring the emotive dimension of language, this chapter unveils how emotional language enhances engagement across various contexts. It narrates anecdotes, such as the success story of a young intern who built a podcasting empire by mastering storytelling principles. Additionally, it delves into the interplay between negative and positive emotions in enhancing enjoyment and boosting sales, offering insights into captivating audience attention and managing emotional responses.

Harnessing Similarity and Difference: This section explains the significance of linguistic similarity in interpersonal dynamics, explaining its impact on social connections, promotions, and friendships. It also explores scenarios where embracing difference proves advantageous, citing examples from music popularity trends and artificial intelligence research.

The book concludes by emphasizing the universal role of language in everyday communication, whether through written correspondence or oral discourse. It underscores the importance of mastering language for effective communication, persuasion, and relationship-building, positing that linguistic proficiency is a skill that can be learned and honed over time, empowering individuals to achieve their communication goals effectively.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Unlocking Understanding: The Art of Meaningful Conversation

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If a person is a point of view, then to know them well you have to ask them how they see things.

David Brooks, How to Know a Person

It doesn’t work  to imagine what’s going on in people’s heads – you have to ask them.

You have to have a conversation.

A good conversation is an act of joint exploration. Somebody floats a half-formed idea. Somebody else seizes on the nub of the idea, plays with it, offers their personal perspective based on their memories, and floats it back so the other person can respond. A good conversation sparks you to have thoughts you never had before. A good conversation starts in one place and ends up in another.

Author David Brooks spent time talking with conversation experts and reading their books. He put together the following list of some of the nonobvious ways to become a better conversationalist.

  • Treat attention as an on/off switch, not a dimmer. If you’re in a conversation, you’re going to stop doing anything else and just pay attention to this.
  • Be a loud listener. When another person is talking, you want to be listening so actively that you’re practically burning calories. Active listening is an invitation to express.
  • Favor familiarity. People have trouble picturing and getting excited about the unfamiliar, but they love to talk about what they know.
  • Make them authors, not witnesses. Good conversationalists don’t only want to talk about what happened, they want to know how you experienced what happened.
  • Don’t fear the pause. Wait for the end of the other person’s comment, and then pause a few beats to consider how to respond to what’s been said.
  • Do the looping. Repeat what someone just said in order to make sure you accurately received what they were trying to project.
  • The midwife model. In conversation, a midwife is there not to lead with insights but to receive and build on the insights the other person is developing.
  • Keep the gem statement at the center. In the midst of many difficult conversations, there is a truth underneath the disagreement, something both parties can agree upon.
  • Find the disagreement under the disagreement. When you search for the disagreement under the disagreement, you are looking for the moral, philosophical roots of why you each believe what you do.
  • Don’t be a topper. When someone tells you about a situation,  don’t turn around and say, “I know exactly what you mean. Here’s what’s going on with me.”

The experience of being listened to all the way on something – until our meaning is completely clear to another human being – is extremely rare in life.

Mónica Guzmán

In the pursuit of meaningful, engaging conversations, it’s essential to develop a set of social skills and master the art of conversation. The ultimate goal is to make the experience of being actively listened to and truly understood a more common occurrence in our lives.

Inspired by, and adapted from, How to Know a Person by David Brooks

From Concept to Cover: Navigating the Design Journey of Books

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This mini-series about books started off with the history of the library, then went to books at war, and now comes down to the book itself – or rather, how important the design of a book is to the reader.

Design is central to the appeal, messaging, and usefulness of books, but to most readers, it’s mysterious or even invisible. Through interiors as well as covers, designers provide structure and information that shape the meaning and experience of books. In The Design of Books, Debbie Berne shines a light on the conventions and processes of her profession, revealing both the aesthetic and market-driven decisions designers consider to make books readable and beautiful. In clear, unstuffy language, Berne reveals how books are put together, with discussions of production considerations, typography and fonts, page layouts, use of images and color, special issues for ebooks, and the very face of each book: the cover.  

The Design of Books speaks to readers and directly to books’ creators—authors, editors, and other publishing professionals—helping them to become more informed partners in the design of their projects. Berne lays out the practical steps at each stage of the design process, providing insight into who does what when and offering advice for authors on how to be effective advocates for their ideas while also letting go and trusting their manuscripts with teams of professionals. She includes guidance as well for self-publishing authors, including where to find a designer, what to expect from that relationship, and how to art direct your own book.

Throughout, Berne teaches how understanding the whats, hows, and whys of book design heightens our appreciation of these cherished objects and helps everyone involved in the process to create more functional, desirable, and wonderful books.

Berne embarked on the journey of writing this book because she sensed a gap in understanding among the authors and editors she collaborated with regarding book design. It seemed there was a lack of accessible resources for them to grasp the intricacies of design. Traditional books on design target designers themselves, while online explanations often offer fragmented and bewildering information, focusing on the “what” rather than the “why.” Berne’s aim was to equip those on the editorial side with not only the vocabulary and techniques of design but also the underlying rationale behind design decisions. This endeavor wasn’t solely for enjoyment, although design can indeed be enjoyable, but rather to facilitate more meaningful discussions, enriched experiences, and ultimately, better books.

The Design of Books provides the reader with insights into the mechanics of typography and the significance of factors like line length. It will heighten your awareness of the nuances of headings and how the choice of words influences cover design. Above all, it will enhance your perception of design and its contributions.

As a book designer turned author, Berne advocates for the importance of design in publishing and emphasizes the significance of incorporating the voice and ideas of the designer early in the process. Often, design is an afterthought, introduced late in the game, leading to a discord between the materials provided and the expectations for their presentation. Authors should consider how the design will complement the content from the outset, including collaboration with designers during the developmental stages. Effective design should intertwine seamlessly with the content; attempting to apply it as an afterthought overlooks its essence.

Design inside a book creates order and bestows authority. Reading a badly designed book is like driving over a crumbling road, potholes everywhere.

Debbie Berne

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Palaces for the People

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How Social Infrastructure Can Help People Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life

The social and physical environment shapes our behavior in ways we’ve failed to recognize; it helps make us who we are and determines how we live.

Eric Klinenberg

We are living in a time of deep divisions. Americans are sorting themselves along racial, religious, and cultural lines, leading to a level of polarization that the country hasn’t seen since the Civil War. Pundits and politicians are calling for us to come together and find common purpose. But how, exactly, can this be done?

In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests a way forward. He believes that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, churches, and parks where crucial connections are formed. Interweaving his own research with examples from around the globe, Klinenberg shows how “social infrastructure” is helping to solve some of our most pressing societal challenges. Richly reported and ultimately uplifting, Palaces for the People offers a blueprint for bridging our seemingly unbridgeable divides.

According to author Eric Klinenberg, social infrastructure is not “social capital” – a concept commonly used to measure people’s relationships and interpersonal networks – but the physical conditions that determine whether social capital develops.

When social infrastructure is robust, it fosters contact, mutual support, and collaboration among friends and neighbors; when degraded, it inhibits social activity, leaving families and individuals to fend for themselves.

Social infrastructure is crucially important, because local, face-to-face interactions – at the school, the playground, and the corner diner – are the building blocks of all public life.

People forge bonds in places that have healthy social infrastructures – not because they set out to build community, but because when people engage in sustained, recurrent interaction, particularly while doing things they enjoy, relationships inevitably grow.

inspired by Palaces for the People, by Eric Klinenberg