A young pastor in the north Atlanta suburbs is awakening to the changing face of his neighborhood, “the suburbanization of poverty.” A small urban church on the south side, isolated from metro-wide networks, lives out the Kingdom movement in a neighborhood where one in three homes is sitting vacant or foreclosed. An energetic web developer works alone in a downtown office. An experienced real estate agent on the east side is working out of her home (and in need of a website). A marketing VP has a passion for the city and for small business start-ups, during which a young urban neighbor named Tay dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

Our vocational life often seems confined to homogenous relationships where people end up working alongside others from similar backgrounds. Few people seem to experience diversity in the workplace. Until now. Our local world is global. We’re becoming a multicultural country, where whites will make up less than 50% of the total U.S. population in just a matter of a few years. And a gap of relationship between the privileged and the poor is increasing. Now is our opportunity to imagine and work together across the lines that divide us.

Here’s how such imagining comes to life. Andrej, a Slovak, partners with me, an Anglo-white originally from suburban Detroit. We are preparing to open a communal, affordable workspace in inner-city Atlanta called Metro Merge Office. A little while later, Leroy, a local African-American community leader, and Mike, who runs a local coffee shop, arrive and begin dreaming with us about the idea of shared office space.

In no time, creative ideas naturally spring up between us. Metro Merge seems to be taking off even before the doors are open. Somehow, our impromptu conversation sparked our yet-to-be-discovered imagination, igniting the kind of creativity that only exists in the context of diverse relationships. We’re neighbors. God designed us for each other. Diversity offers the opportunity for mutual learning, healing, perspective and idea. Like a Rubiks Cube, every angle, every side, every twist is essential to the bigger picture that God intends for our world.

Dream with me for a moment

Metro Merge is a launching pad for new possibilities. When people merge into relationships, the unexpected happens. Vision bursts onto the scene. Stories and business cards are exchanged. Names are remembered, and people’s lives and entire neighborhoods can be transformed. At the core, following Jesus Christ is about relationship.

Rather than only working in our isolated offices all over town, we’re creating a communal office where business professionals, leaders and neighbors can work side-by-side on a frequent basis. Similar to the concept of mixed-income affordable housing, imagine people who need access to affordable office space connecting as “vocational neighbors” who otherwise might never meet. Envision trainings on positive entrepreneurship for young men like Tay. What if suburban and urban churches were cross-pollinating and sharing resources? What if professionals and neighbors were connecting across race and class lines, while partnering on common causes within a distressed neighborhood? This is all possible and within reach.

Let’s take “Facebook” offline and bring it face-to-face with reality, on the ground, in real neighborhoods with real people. Ultimately, our callings are meant to intersect and merge our life and work experiences together.

Collaboration and cost cutting are both important in today’s world. Practically speaking, Metro Merge Office is set up through pre-paid buckets of work hours.

No bills or maintenance.

Simply come to work, meet people and, if you choose, dream alongside vocational neighbors during breaks, lunch or other times. Set your own hours to suit your unique schedule when the doors are open.

Let’s move in together.

We could be roommates.

Imagine that.

To learn more, go to MetroMerge.org

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