Neighborhoods Reimagined (Paperback) by and

Somewhere along the way we drifted apart from our next-door neighbors, and now we’re not sure we can get back together again. We lack a clear vision for showing and sharing Jesus’ love with them and how his countercultural values might transform our neighborhoods, including us. But just imagine.

Imagine a neighborhood where people are connected rather than isolated, where wrongs are righted, where mercy brings fences down, and where we become agents in seeing God’s kingdom come.

Believing the beatitudes are Jesus’ invitation into neighborhood flourishing, Neighborhoods Reimagined envisions how these upside-down values can turn our corners right-side-up.

What others are saying:

“This friendly and engaging book woos us to come out from behind our closed doors to engage with the people on the other side of the fence—and the other side of the street—out of love for Christ and a desire for his kingdom to come to our own neighborhoods. Rather than guilting us into greater openness, Chris and Elizabeth paint a joyful and fruitful picture for us that generates the desire, ideas, and energy we need to boldly open the doors of our homes and our lives to those who live right around us.”

— Nancy Guthrie, Bible teacher and author of Even Better than Eden

“Neighborhoods Reimagined is an important, helpful, practical, and fast- paced book. We have forgotten both what Jesus has said in the Sermon on the Mount in the beatitudes and we have forgotten what it means to be neighborly. What Elizabeth and Chris have done here is show us how the greatest sermon of all time relates to everyday relationships with those right next door to you. If you really believe that God is in control (and you should) then that means he has you exactly where you are for a purpose and this excellent book is going to help you find that purpose and practice. Imagine what would be possible if we all lived with the kind of intentionality and hospitality Jesus argues for in his upside-down kingdom. Through engaging stories, witty illustrations, and down-to-earth analogies, the McKinneys have shown us a better path in how we relate to our neighbors.”

— Michael Graham, program director for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics and author of The Great Dechurching

“Chris and Elizabeth invite us to reimagine how the gospel impacts us and our neighborhoods alongside an insightful journey through the ‘refreshing breeze’ of the beatitudes. Great storytellers, Chris and Elizabeth draw the reader in with relatable experiences that normalize what it looks like to be neighbors who love Jesus. The thoughtful reflection and discussion questions at the end of each chapter provide an excellent way to put their insights into practice in community. I highly recommend Neighborhoods Reimagined!”

— Cas Monaco, FamilyLife VP of Missiology and Gospel Engagement

“Often books about the beatitudes are focused on the individual: how do I live out kingdom values. But the beatitudes are at their very core interested in the life of the kingdom in community. That is, with and around our neighbors. Chris and Elizabeth McKinney give us a practically helpful and uniquely engaging vision of what the life of the kingdom could look like here ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ Imagine what our neighborhoods would be like if we reimagined them from Jesus’ great sermon.”

— Jeremy Writebol, pastor of Woodside Bible Church, MI and author of Pastor, Jesus is Enough.

Title

Neighborhoods Reimagined
Author(s)

Chris McKinney and Elizabeth McKinney
ISBN

9781915705396
Format

Paperback
Publisher

10Publishing
Topic

Evangelism & Mission
Audience

Adults
Pages

192
Published

05/06/2024

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Chris McKinney

Chris & Elizabeth McKinney (MDiv, Covenant Seminary) live with their four daughters in Columbia, Missouri. They work for Cru City and serve as associate staff at The Crossing Church. They are the authors of Placed for a Purpose and Neighborhoods Reimagined: How the Beatitudes Inspire Our Call To Be Good Neighbors. They are passionate about equipping believers to love their next-door neighbors. You can find them on Instagram, at Placedforapurpose.com and as hosts of the Placed For a Purpose Podcast.

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Elizabeth McKinney

Elizabeth McKinney lives in Columbia, Missouri, with her husband Chris and their four daughters. She works for Cru City and serves at associate staff at her church, The Crossing. With Chris, she has co-authored Placed for a Purpose and Neighborhoods Reimagined: How to Beatitudes Inspire Our Call to Be Good Neighbors. She writes, speaks and is passionate about equipping churches to love their next-door neighbors. You can find her on Instagram, at Placedforapurpose.com and as co-host for the Placed For a Purpose Podcast.

See other titles by this author

Overall rating

5.0 based on 16 reviews

Fresh insight into how the words in the beatitudes apply to ordinary neighborhood living

“In self-sufficient neighborhoods, we’re called to be poor in spirit. In numbed-out neighborhoods, we’re called to mourn. In me-first neighborhoods, we’re called to meekness. In soul-starved neighborhoods, we’re called to righteousness. In karma-driven neighborhoods, we’re called to mercy. In hypocritical neighborhoods, we’re called to be pure in heart. In contentious neighborhoods, we’re called to make peace.”

📚About the Book…
Chris and Elizabeth imagine what a neighbourhood might look like if people were connected instead of isolated, where peace and fellowship was enjoyed, where mercy brings down barriers and Christians showed others a glimpse of God’s kingdom.

This book gives fresh insight into how the strange and upside-down words in the beatitudes apply to ordinary neighborhood living, and the best part is that it’s not just a fanciful or hopeless dream! Chris and Elizabeth share their journey of creating this kind of community with humour and vulnerability, and hope for those still imagining.

🏠 What I loved…
EVERYTHING. This book is so good. I particularly liked how each chapter brings with a quote of what “Jesus said” followed by a statement of “the world says”. These beautifully sum up the countercultural realities of the beatitudes and the lies we often live by that prevent us from fully living in the blessings of the beatitudes and loving others well.

🌷This book is for you if
- You deeply desire to cultivate community and fellowship but don’t know how to start
- You struggle to share the REAL you with your community for fear of misrepresenting Christ
- You desire to mourn with others well
- You want to live a life less self-focused and more others-focused
- You are apathetic towards people outside of Christ
- You want to hold firm to your Christians convictions while loving people who disagree with you
- You struggle with the Christian life being a call to come and die and persecution because of your faith
- You want to be used by God exactly where you are
- You want to take a deep dive into the Beatitudes

Renee @blossomingthroughbooks

A Thoughtful and Helpful Read

This book is a wonderful read as it challenges our perspective of what it means to be a neighbor. Jesus shatters our categories of who our neighbors are as we tend to limit the scope of who we ought to love, but what about those who live right next door? This book will push you out of your comfort zone to engage your neighborhood with the good news of Jesus. Consider reading through! I am an employee of 10ofThose.

Herbert

Encouraging and practical!

What an encouraging book that practically takes and applies Jesus' commands. I walked away from reading this book not feeling guilty to change, but feeling encourage and prompted to love others better because of what Jesus taught in the beatitudes. This book is so practical and will push you to love others around you as Christ has called us to, beginning with your neighbors!

(As an employee of 10ofThose, I received a copy of this book for free, but was not required to give a positive review.)

Callie

#Blessed

When we moved into our new neighborhood a couple years ago, I had idealistic visions of meeting my neighbors and sharing hot cocoa and cookies at Christmas time, board game nights, chats in the back yard under fairy lights. Things didn't go according to plan. But this book has put the wind back in my sails to try again. I recently heard someone say we shouldn't be looking to the upcoming election to transform our country; change will come when each of us loves our neighbors well. This is just the book to inspire us all with a vision for what is possible if we take Jesus at his word about what the blessed life really looks like. Chris and Elizabeth make loving our neighbors look like an exciting opportunity, without minimizing the cost.

Heidi

Powerful and Practical

The McKinney’s wrote this book rooted in God’s truth and principles. They also made it practical for group discussion and processing with personal reflection questions and group discussion questions at the end of each chapter. It would be easy for anyone to gather a group together for 8-10 weeks and help others Reimagine their neighborhood-for the glory of God!

Kari

Character is the best outreach

We all want to change the world but what if that started with how we treat the neighbors in our backyard? This book was a great reminder and blueprint that demonstrated how the character qualities in the beatitudes make a lasting impact on others. It was accessible and chock full of stories and ideas on how to be a loving, faithful presence with those you are closest to.

Kelley

Practical Beatitudes for the Second Greatest Commandment

Easy to read, practical to apply, this book offers great insight into each Beatitude and how it ought to spur us on to love our neighbor-yes the one next door. In this age of busy isolation, Neighborhoods Reimagined is a breath of fresh air to the soul. Chris and Elizabeth present ideas which they have applied in their own neighborhoods, but each chapter leaves room for the readers reflection and personalized practical application and prayer. Highly recommended!

Stephanie

Perfect for any Neighboring context

I love this book! It's practical, but not formulaic, therefore allowing freedom to think about neighboring no matter your context. The authors are also genuine and approachable, sharing stories from a place of both experience and honesty about the beauty in neighboring but also the hard parts. I live in a place where neighboring is difficult, and I feel inspired and have a renewed vision for neighboring!

Emily

Loving Your Neighbor

Neighborhoods Reimagined using the beatitudes has really challenged me about what God wants to do in my neighborhood. This is a book that I will review because it speaks to living life with the people around us the way God wants us to do it.

Linda

Practical, warmhearted neighboring

After reading and enjoying the McKinney's first book in neighboring, I hoped for a sequel I could use with my book club to take practical next steps... and this is just that! The questions at the end of the chapters will be perfect for my summer group Zooming in from around the world. This book makes me uncomfortable in all the best ways because it moves me toward action with doable ideas to engage diverse neighborhoods!