The Automatic Garage Door Is Evil

I am a firm believer that the invention of the automatic garage door opener was the beginning of the end of social engagement between neighbors. It is my stance that this invention has killed community, ruined potential friendships, and may be the downfall of society as we know it today. Think about it. Before the AGD, you would have to manually open your garage door. This meant stepping out of your vehicle, saying hello to your neighbors and potentially getting to know them, usually grabbing the mail, then pulling your car in, and finally, you would manually close it behind you. Now, people drive up to their mail box, still in their car, grab their mail, then hit a button that opens their garage door, driving into their garage, and hitting a button that closes it behind them. There is no interpersonal connection or communication, and you just go about your day in complete privacy.

It wasn’t long after the AGD that his evil cousin, the privacy fence, became popular. Not only could you now pull into your home without ever speaking to your neighbor, now you don’t ever have to look at them or worry about them seeing you! Quite literally, we’ve turned our homes into our own private bubbles of existence. Even when it comes to yard work, we will put in headphones to listen to music or podcasts. In doing that, we don’t have to acknowledge our neighbors, because we can’t hear them. Somewhere along the line, we quit getting to know our neighbors. We have insulated ourselves to the point of being completely antisocial.

According to a Pew Research poll from 2018, only about 26% of Americans say they know most of their neighbors, and that number changes vastly by age. 34% of Americans 65 and up say they know their neighbors while only 20% of those aged 18 to 29 do, and those numbers are decreasing year over year. Even worse, 23% of those aged 18 to 29 don’t know any of their neighbors, while only 4% of those aged 65 and up don’t. I can only imagine that those numbers are even worse post-COVID. We are seeing a trend where we just don’t want to be around people. More and more, we are becoming people who live in homes, not in communities, and it all started with the automatic garage door.

This is NOT the way God intended things to be. When God created Adam, he said “It is not good for man to be alone.” The first-century church wasn’t built around worship services or buildings, it was built on community. God intended for His Church to be a people who were actively involved in each other’s lives.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42–47

This coming Sunday, we are beginning sign-ups for our community group ministry. When you first hear that, you probably think “small group Bible study.” I can understand why you would think that, but that’s not really what these are. Will there be Bible study? Yes, but that’s not the focus of these groups. Instead, the focus is in the name. These groups are to help build community. Imagine, once a week, you get to go to the home of some of your best friends, and eat a meal with a group of like-minded individuals who are like family to you. You share life together. You break bread together. You get into the Word together. That’s what a community group is. In a world where hiding in our homes seems to be the norm, we want to open the doors to our homes to be the Church.

Our testimony to this world has always been one thing…love. Unfortunately, over the years, in fighting and arguments over carpet color have tainted the view of the Church in the eyes of many. This isn’t what Jesus intended for His Church.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jn 13:34–35

Love isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap. Truly loving one another only comes through time and connection. Having common experiences and going through hard times builds up that love for each other. What would the Church be like if everyone genuinely loved our brothers and sisters in Christ the way Jesus was talking about in this scripture? What would the impact of the Church be in this lost world if they saw our love lived out? Without community, that’s impossible. That’s why it is my passion to see people connected in the Church. I want to see families going on vacation together, going to each other’s homes, doing birthday parties together. In my former church, my community group became our family’s people. We did life together. Even as soon as last week, we went to a birthday party for one of the kids from our old community group, and it was like we never left. This is what the Church was meant to be.

Imagine if the church didn’t have to build committees for everything. What if they just approached the community groups and asked them to serve in different capacities? What if these groups began feeding the hungry or supporting our missionaries? What if our Church became a Church of loving communities within the larger community and not a church with a bunch of groups? Think of the impact we could have on this local community and in the world! Simply put, we’re better together.

I want to challenge you. If you have a home you can open to a community group, do it. If not, sign up this week to be in a group. The benefit of living within a tight-knit community of believers is like Heaven on earth. It was God’s intention for us to live in community with each other. We need to stop hiding behind our garage doors and our fences.