Constructing Community

When I lived in Daytona during the summer of 1998 I worked at McDonald’s. Without fail, everyday a group of construction workers would walk in for lunch, you know the group, 8 men crammed into a truck that has been stretched like a limo to provide enough doors and space for the whole crew. These men, dusty and bleeding from a morning already filled with enough labor to constitute a “day’s work,” slide off each bench seat and out every door available. It was their lunch break and there’s only one place to go when you have that many hungry mouths to feed and a foreman’s wallet to save. So in they filed, the designed speaker of the group (“the order man”) was the oldest and probably the most experienced builder of the group. He made his way to my register and crossed his tattered arms as he gazed at the glowing menu in front of him. He looked at it intensely with squinted eyes as he uttered the words, “what do you want?” Even though he was facing my direction, weeks of experience told me the question was addressing the crew that was staring down the menu behind him. Each of the workers leaned in with a numerical response. That was all that was needed. Everything else was understood. The week’s prior had me asking, “Want fries with that?” “Yes.” “Want to make that a combo?” “Yes.” “Want to value size that combo?” “Yes.” I was now trained. I also knew that no cups were going to be needed. These men brought their own gargantuan plastic thermoses with retractable straws from the local Quickie Mart and just needed a refill from our endless tap of their favorite carbonated beverage. As the orders came up the younger crewmembers (“the getter guys”) grabbed a fry off the top then the tray and quickly made their way to a corner that the crew had secured for themselves and relished with all the necessary napkins and condiments. After a little sandwich swapping the meal began. The corner was alive with conversation about the day’s work, last night’s activities, and how tonight’s would surely top the previous. This went on for about 20 minutes then everyone topped off their “thermi” and they hit the road. This occurrence happened daily that summer. And as the summer went on boys grew into men and the crew grew closer. “The order man,” was replaced by the next in line. The newest greenhorns on the crew became “The getter guys,” but the conversation and community remained intact. At the time this word picture served nothing more than something I could count on dealing with everyday at the same time, but now it is somewhat valuable as we are wading thru what it means to create community.

So what do I take from this rag-tag sun-burnt group of misfits? First, community takes time. You have to be around each other continually for an extended period of time. These men invested breakfast and lunches and all hours in-between daily. You can’t expect community to grow if the proper amount of time in the right environments is not present.

The second thing I take away is the importance of “the order guy” without him the group lacks maturity, structure, responsibility, and leadership. The order guy provided the connection to the overall vision and mission of the project and kept this ever before everyone else on the team. Without him there would have been some really talented builders talking and playing around all day, and no building. He teaches the craft and the life to the younger guys. He takes responsibility for his teams successes and failures and remains their advocate before those that want the product. Without the order guy there is no future, no product, no training, no advocate, and no direction.

The third thing I take away is the importance of “the getter guys.” The getter guys represent the future of the crew. They are the young backs of the organization. The reality is the older men will go down with back spasms one day and the younger guys will have to carry the brunt of the workload. In the present, the product’s quality and timeliness depends on the getter guys. In the future, the ability to pull off products with the quality, wisdom, and richness of the past with an edge to the present depends on the getter guy’s ability to learn from their elders and form their own styles.

I understand that a word picture can say a thousand words, but not solve the problem. Perhaps it sheds light on some possible avenues of discussion. The one thing we can admit is that community has been happening successfully since the beginning of time, and there are many other areas outside the church that we can look at and learn from.