A New Kind of Urban Ministry
Is there a biblical model, then, that describes better the situations of churches and Christians in cities today—that retains the valuable features of Exodus and Exile while accounting for our responsibility for our communities? Yes, and it is rooted in the 50 days that make us Christians—from Resurrection, through Ascension, to Pentecost. This story redefines our relationship not just to God but to our world. It is a story summed up in one word, Expectation, that keeps us rooted in and responsible for the flourishing of the world precisely because we have a hope outside of history in the usual sense.
Resurrection anchors this story. The exiles had Isaiah's words of hope for future restoration. But in Jesus' resurrection, the restoration of all things has already begun—it is not just future, but here in its earliest stages. It is not only possible, but achieved. Resurrection empowers us to live infinitely more boldly than exiles who wait to see whether God will come through.
The Ascension is a crucial element of Expectation. That the risen Jesus no longer is confined to a single place or time means that he is Lord over every place and time. The fact that our humanity is represented in the very presence of God means that none of us has an excuse for taking our humanity lightly. But the fact that Jesus is absent, enthroned in heaven but not yet recognized as Lord of creation, calls for a profound dependence on God. "Is now the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus' disciples asked him after his resurrection. This is the hope of Empire, another possible biblical line of thought—the hope that the work of restoring the world will be finished straightaway, with people like us in control.
For whatever reason—and quite literally only God knows—that is not the way restoration is meant to happen. Rather than an imperial takeover, Jesus commissions his people for what has turned out to be a lengthy and thorough process of bearing witness to his lordship—but also one that has touched vastly more nations than one people group in Palestine. Jesus wants every place, not just Jerusalem, to be restored to flourishing, full of thriving bearers of God's image.
The Ascension, with its hope both fulfilled and delayed, calls us to a discipleship that our dreams of Empire would not. Indeed, it calls us to wait for a power beyond ourselves—the power that comes at Pentecost. Amid Pentecost, the far-flung first apostles find themselves witnessing, and suffering, in marketplaces and palaces, inside synagogues and outside temples—spread like leaven through all the institutions of the ancient world.
When we say "this is our city," then, we are staking a claim to a certain kind of Christian responsibility. Not the plundering flight of those in exodus, but a tenacious commitment to increasing the deepest well-being of the cultures we inhabit, as we testify to the one who secured that well-being with his own self-giving love. Not the dream of displacing one people with another, but the recognition that every nation is the object of God's saving purposes. Not the chastened diligence of exiles captive to an earthly power, but the eager investment of those sent to a place by the Spirit's power, graced with more resources than they deserve and a longer view of the world's story than anyone else could imagine.
The 'Handicap Icon' Gets New Life
Sidelining the Stigma of Mental Illness
Not part of the community? Subscribe now, or register for a free account.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Newsletters
Google
Join the Conversation
TJ
Interesting and helpful! We must not abandon our "places" and practice our "saltiness." Christians-as-salt are effective in small number not necessarily where the 51% controls the 49%. Perhaps, it is also prudent to remember that the Hebrews literature shone brilliantly because of their experience in the foreign lands, exiles. Not all of them become governors, rich, or the ultimate insiders but they filtered into almost every spectrum of their exiled-societies. If Pentecost gives us a better alternative, then it is also not an absolute model. Peter, Paul, James, and John clearly did not see eye-to-eye on how to do their new found way, or life. Perhaps, this is an important lesson for contemporary believers. There are no formulas, policies, or rules that tells us how to be the church. It is organic, dynamic, chaotic, and dangerous. As far as Genesis goes, it was the murderer that introduces the first city.
Jacquelyn Hoppe
The Cathedral of Hope/ East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh is committed to artistic outreach ministry that touches the hearts, lives, and needs of a formerly forgotten part of the Pittsburgh community. The pastor is a concert pianist and a commanding spiritual leader as well. The teaching artists help the young artists explore the many ways of communicating through a myriad of artistic parameters. Participation is never a concern. Kids flock to the Saturday and Wednesday classes. This program is working!
imamccon
"Do we really choose our faith or is it largely chosen for us by our parents and the culture in which we happen to be born?" With The Four Pillars of the Kingdom, author Joe Brooks challenges us to assess whether our relationship with Christ is a chosen faith or an inherited dogma. Is it a growing passion or a stagnant obligation? The Four Pillars of the Kingdom seeks to start the conservation that leads to an understanding of what we believe and why we believe it. I challenge you to read this book and really think about your relationship with Christ. Is it even a relationship, at all? Or is it just an obligation? A responsibility? He has chosen you, but have you actually chosen to follow Him? We live in a self-perpetuating cycle wherein we are handed a faith that is nothing more than a cultural or family institution. We then take this set of beliefs for granted and are content to go through the motions, never aspiring to a real relationship with Christ or with our fellow believers. We are sleepwalking towards eternity, being lulled by a complacent institutional Christianity rather than seeking an active, vibrant one-on-one relationship with Jesus Christ One has to wonder, how many people, self-proclaimed Christians, many of whom we see in church with us every week, never really even made a conscious choice to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. How many people inherited their faith, have maintained it, and adhere to it publicly, but have never actually asked Jesus to be lord of their lives? How many of us are unwittingly destined to hear Christ tell us, 'I never knew you; depart from Me.'"
Ernst Muller
I'm glad to report that the same trend can be traced in some South African cities. In Tshwane/Pretoria (my home town)"Tshwane Leadership Foundation" (TLF) has not only established a culture of transformation for the inner city over the last 18 years, in cooperation with church, government and NGO partners, it has also established a network (IUM) with many national and international connections. In Bloemfontein we have "Towers of Hope Leadership Foundation", in Nelspruit "Nelspruit Community Forum", and in neighbouring Mozambique: urban foundations in Maputo and Nampula. In Cape Town the 108 year old "City Mission" has also embraced the concept of community transformation, in addition to its emphasis on discipleship.
Peter
Not to put too fine a point on this, under the "New York" piece, I read about Riverside Cathedral. Well, the problem is there is no such place. There is a Riverside Church, and a St. Patrick's Cathedral, and a Cathedral of St. John the Divine, but Riverside Church, being Congregational, is not an ecclesiastical seat,it is a church. The person who wrote about this may also think that Grand Central Station is a train station. It's not. It's a post office. Grand Central Terminal is the train station. Now that I'm off my native-Manhattanite soapbox, I can say I am enjoying reading about all this.