Third Place

I've always wanted to be a "regular".

I want to walk into a place and say, "Hey Don... gimme the usual."

Do you know what I mean? Am I all alone here? Surely someone else out there is looking for a place to go where there are no looming responsibilities, no performance evaluations. Not just that, but you want to see a usual crowd of friendly faces, and meet some new people, too. You want to be accepted for who you are, and expose yourself to new ideas, artistic expression and a sense of community.

You don't have to peer very far into the tomes of history to realize that this is a fundamental human need--to have a home away from home, and a work away from work. In his book "The Great Good Place", Ray Oldenburg calls these venues "third places" and laments their decline in contemporary American society. (Read a great article about this concept by someone who runs a Third Place in Ontario.)

The Village Square

If you want to reach all the way back into history, you will find that the Village Square is the perennial Third Place. When people have "circled the wagons" so to speak, there has always been a space in the center, perfect for interacting and building community. This space was a recognition that no man is an island to himself, and neither is a family. We needed somewhere to escape the mandates of work and family, to play games, to meet our spouses for the first time. There is something in our souls that compels us to relate to one another, and expand our lives beyond ourselves. Although we have largely lost the sense of community we began with as a species, many towns still recognize the importance of the central square.

The Market

It soon became apparent that that open space in the center of town was a natural place to set up shop. People interacted with one another around the table of commerce, and they have been doing so ever since. Although the village square still exists in many of our lives, the vast majority of Third Places now revolve around buying and selling.

The Pub & Coffeehouse

It was the late Middle Ages when our public spaces moved largely indoors, and began to focus heavily on drinking. Coffeehouses sprouted first in Arabia, then Istanbul, and on into Europe to become a cultural force in Vienna, Rome, London and Boston. Pubs, formally called "Public Houses" had in mind from the very beginning to be a place of common gathering and hospitality, oftentimes even renting rooms for the night. There is not space enough to mention here all the organizations, inventions and revolutions that resulted from gatherings in coffeehouses and pubs. Although this list is meant to be chronological, bars and coffeehouses continue to thrive as Third Places (and have seen a resurgence in places like Starbucks and Barnes & Noble) alongside the next several examples.

The Church

For much of America's history, the church was considered a focal point of the community. Especially as Americans brought religion down from the European high church mentality, it became a place where people could meet to interact, to learn and to socialize, not just to attend a fancy service and confess one's sins. The introduction of youth groups, concerts, bingo, bake sales, picnics and so on helped people to see the church as an extension of their lives, rather than a monument in the center of town.

The Mall

Modern society has seen the outdoor market almost completely replaced by the mall. The latter does indeed serve many of the same commercial and social functions, but in a completely privatized, sanitized setting. Adults are largely uninterested in the mall as a social phenomenon--it is rather young people who, needing a place to bump into each other outside the confines of school, tend to flock there.

The Internet

In the 1990's, Third Places went global. Although Third Places have always been meant to serve as level ground, the internet was hailed as a place where that was actually true. Race, age, gender and location have no bearing, unless one wants it to. First with e-mail and IMs, and later with MySpace, YouTube, and Second Life, people have jumped at the opportunity to be part of a digital community.

The Call to Radical Hospitality

Despite my utopian tone, none of these Third Places really serve as God's ideal for a focal point of human community. The Village Square is too passive. The Market is too hectic and money-driven. The Pub is too alcoholic. The Coffeehouse is too expensive. The Church is too culturally exclusive. The Mall is too frenzied, too homogenized and too big. And the Internet is two-dimensional... too flat and too digital to give us real social fulfillment.

Except for the relatively passive spaces of the Village Square and Internet, every one of these examples is fraught with agenda. Get his money! Get his attention! Get her phone number! (Nightclubs... Third Place or Third Base?) Isn't God calling us to something better? Maybe he wants his children to be creators of Third Places that honor him, that welcome everyone, that shun hidden agendas and just love people like Jesus. The institutional church may have yet to serve as a real God-intended Third Place, but who better than a community of Christ-followers to make it happen?

By no means is this an advertisement for the Front Porch. But it is a call to everyone who believes in radical hospitality to come and help us make it happen.

Even with God's help, we have no utopian aspirations short of heaven. But we know we can do better than this. Isn't it tragically obvious how much our society suffers from a lack of community and public life? Third Places have been the scene of revolution in the past... why not create a space to start a new revolution of unconditional love and relational faith?

Right! So who's with me?