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.

The need for people to connect across race and class lines, among neighbors and churches, and between urban and suburban neighborhoods is urgent. We’re designed for one another, and there is joy in diversity. We believe there is yet-to-be-discovered imagination between us, meaning that our full God-given creativity is found when diverse people learn from one another, building mutual, give-and-take relationships.

One way to come together is through our vocational lives. Similar to the concept of mixed-income, affordable housing, our city needs communal, affordable office space. Rather than working in our isolated offices all over town, we’re creating Metro Merge, an office where business professionals, leaders and neighbors can work side-by-side on a weekly basis.

Communal, affordable workspace combined with collaboration is a beautiful thing. We must learn to imagine and work together. We could be roommates.