A Theology of our New Home

First admissions in my first post in over three months: yup, I'm a dork. And to start blogging in 2011 with "a theology of our new home" increases said dorkiness. I recognize this. And I'm OK with it.

That said, Jess, Charlotte, and I are now a few weeks into watching our new home take shape. There's not much actual "shape" yet, but there's more than just an empty lot, so we're getting excited. As people ask us where our new home is being built, our answer often includes that "it's in a really ghetto part of a nice neighborhood near downtown." Typically, it's amusing to watch people's responses to that statement (which is true, by the way; we're building on a lot whose value went up when they ripped down the previously-existing house! And most of the rest of the homes/lots follow suit).

As we talk with folks about our new home's location, we hear questions like, "Why build in a more-run-down part of the neighborhood?" "Are you worried about safety?" "Why are you so focused on being near downtown?" "Isn't that lot really small?" And so forth. On both a practical level and an "everything has spiritual implications" level, the reasons and bases for our answers to these question, are based on the gospel story. We want our home to be a reflection of Jesus, to ourselves, to our family, and to others. We want it to be a tool to help us seek the welfare of our city. And we want our home to help progress the mission we feel called to in Fort Worth.

So I wanted to jot down a few of the answers - not to lift ourselves up, or specifically to celebrate our new home, but (a) to answer some of these questions, (b) to help others think theologically about your homes, & (c) to maybe serve as a little bit of a model for folks who are interested in seeing urban renewal.

A quick look at where we've been:

We sold our suburban home in April 2010. The idea of living in our mission field isn't new for Jess and me. We were part of a ministry in southwest Fort Worth, so we lived in southwest Fort Worth (technically Benbrook). We loved our home. We got to re-do it just like we wanted; it was in a great, safe, quiet neighborhood; we had longhorns and a donkey among our neighbors; it was altogether a fantastic "starter home." But as we new that ministry and mission was moving us closer and closer into the center of Fort Worth, a 25-minute drive didn't seem wise at all!

So we sold our home, and spent the next seven months looking. And looking. And looking, for something that would fit the various aspects of ministry we want our home to be. We had a fantastic realtor, Jeff Anderson (which is a story that has lots of cool redemption in itself, for another day), who you should use if you need to buy or sell your home. But throughout the "search period," a good friend put us in touch with Clarity Homes, and their owner Will Bannister, a great, Jesus-loving man who believed in our vision for being near downtown, and for using our home as a place of ministry.

After months (and months!) of plans, figuring out historical district and city guidelines, figuring out MORE historical district guidelines, and talking details, we finally signed our contract in late 2010. In December, dirt was brought in (pics below) and forms went up. And just these past couple weeks, plumbing went into the ground and the foundation is nearly prepped to be poured!

First steps of the build:
Pic 1: bringing in tons o' dirt, then pic 2: leveling it off. You like our neighbors' blue casa behind ours?

And to close, a few notes from Charlotte:

As I finished writing this, Charlotte was in my lap, and she apparently had some important things to add, since she kept grabbing for the keyboard. Here are her thoughts (unedited, for grammar or content):
                    ]

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A]][EEEEEAAAAFRRREEZ                          JNM                         D.,LLL.JJJJJU
          b           c

...to be continued...