Following "Desire Paths"
Imagining new ways to notice and know more neighbors
By far one of my favorite topics to discuss with church and ministry leaders is this: How could we notice and encounter more neighbors?
I’ve written on this topic before (49 Ways Your Church or Ministry Can Love More Neighbors), and I’m sure I’ll write about it many more times. I could talk and brainstorm for hours and hours about new, creative, thoughtful ways to show up in the lives of our neighbors (as opposed to hoping they will show up in our church buildings and events).
But a memory came up for me today, and I wanted to share it with you…
Have you ever learned about something called desire paths?
When I was in college, I remember our giant, green, grassy quad. It was perfectly laid out with clean concrete sidewalks along the sides and crossing in a few aesthetically pleasing spots. The university designers and architects had created a beautiful, geometrically balanced, symmetrical layout of walking paths. Rectangles and triangles. Perfect.
But over time, the students, faculty, and staff had worn some other pathways through the expertly manicured and fertilized green, green grass. They’d blazed shortcuts from building to building. They’d cut right through the neatly organized institutional walking system with their very human actual lives.
These worn-down shortcuts have a name. Desire paths.
The humans won out over the institution, eventually. My college paved over some of these desire paths, breaking up the symmetry of the quad with compassionate sidewalks that actually aligned with the lives of the students.
This has been a parable about church growth.
But you probably already knew that.
Your neighbors are walking down the very real dusty paths of their lives. While the pristine sidewalks of our institutional expectations are becoming more and more untrodden.
And so… how do we compassionately meet our neighbors in the midst of the lives they’re actually walking in? How do we stop hoping they’ll walk on our perfectly aligned sidewalks, and instead start showing up to smooth out the paths they’re already on?
Jesus did this well.
The Samaritan woman was just doing her normal life. Just getting water. He met her there.
Then there’s the road to Emmaus. Two disciples are walking down an actual dusty road — away from the temple. Jesus meets them there.
Fishermen casting their nets by the sea? Jesus meets them there.
A short man climbing a tree? Jesus meets him there.
And then when Jesus sends the disciples out to share the good news, he doesn’t say “Go build perfect temples so people can find me there.” He tells them to go out into nearby towns, to living rooms, street corners, and front doors. Meet them there.
Look for the well-worn paths created by the actual lives of the real people in your neighborhoods. Meet them there.