Belonging, Surprise, and a Guest’s Posture

Belonging, Surprise, and a Guest’s Posture: 

If you’re looking for a podcast about genuine connection, asset-based community development, and the deep spirituality of everyday encounters, “To Be snd Do” from the Belonging Exchange continues to deliver. In the episode Philip Amerson sits down with Jonathan Massimi. Together, they dissect what it means to belong—to see both the abundance within a community and the significance of how we enter and participate in it.

Here are three key insights from this spirited and moving episode.

1. Story as the Currency of the Streets

Early in the episode, Massimi shares a profound observation: “the currency of the streets often is the stories that people bring along with their gifts and talents that are so often overlooked.” This emphasis on storytelling as a form of value challenges us to reconsider our usual metrics of worth. Instead of seeing people—including those in marginalized or overlooked communities—through a lens of deficits or problems to be solved, the hosts and guests advocate for recognizing stories and gifts already present.

Philip Amerson connects this to the spiritual practice of Eucharist, describing it as an “experience that shapes our whole being, body, mind, soul, spirit,” and offering a “grammar” that shapes how we see ourselves and our work in the world. When our language shifts away from scarcity and toward abundance (“tasting God's fullness, love, and abundance in our communities”), we begin to see gifts and assets everywhere.

2. The Power of Surprise in Community Development

A second, and somewhat playful, insight is the importance of surprise in asset-based community development (ABCD). As Amerson puts it, “asset-based community development is surprise. Are you surprised with what you find? Right. Especially when you have the various labels on certain communities and people.”

The episode gives a touching example of building trust with someone who carried a certain difficult reputation—showing that everyone has gifts, and those often emerge when we peel back labels and build relationship. Amerson recounts a relationship with a man who was seen as disruptive by many churches, but through simple hospitality (watching a movie together over “craft singles, wine and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on VHS”), they created genuine connection. That man’s presence became “a gift,” enriching the entire community with his unique insights.

3. Seeing Ourselves as Guests, Not Fixers

A central thread throughout is the humility required to truly foster belonging. Amerson and Massimi discuss the need for entering communities “as the guest,” rather than as a powerful fixer who brings solutions. They trace this posture to the theology of Jesus himself, who “was a guest in a virgin's womb and guest at many, many people's tables.”

This orientation—always arriving as a guest, always relating as someone to be received—“opens us to surprise, prevents us from projecting labels, and helps us receive abundance where we least expect it.” It’s an invitation to move beyond anxiety or a savior mindset, especially in anxious times for mainline denominations, and instead participate in the simple work of mutual hospitality and interdependence.

Final Thoughts

“To Be snd Do” offers a needed corrective for anyone tempted to see community building as merely social engineering. Through stories, laughter, and candid vulnerability, the podcast reminds us that belonging starts with presence, deep listening, and the humility of being a guest. In the words of Philip Amerson, “interdependence may be more important than independence.”

If you haven’t already, check out this episode and others at belongingexchange.org—and let it challenge not only how you see your community, but how you enter it.