This Is Our City

I think it errs on the side of gimmicky to title Kathy's article as such, and then publish a response against it, as if there is a conflict or debate. It's a poor framing of Kathy's article, and her intention behind it, which to me comes through clearly in the article.

Thanks for your response, Rachel. You commented by tweet that the point in your article is that anywhere we live is good for mission, and that being in a city is not necessary for this. While I agree with you, I think this is only half the truth. Mission involves people, and Christians should therefore consider living in cities, where large groups of unreached people are gathered together. Christians have tended to leave the cities to bring up families in recent decades, and this has significantly impacted the spread of the Gospel in western cities and therefore on prevailing culture. The New Testament shows us the inauguration of the church happened in Jerusalem, and spread to Samaria and Antioch. From there Paul went from city to city to city, to the extent that he claimed he had 'fully proclaimed the gospel' across Asia. While my wife and I might naturally prefer to live in the country, our conviction that we need to see churches planted in cities has shaped our life decisions.

I am grateful for this article. And even more so for Kathy Keller's. God has called my family, with three small children, to a city of 5 million in Russia. Kathy's article make my heart glad, with the affirmation that is very lacking for most of us who are called away from the suburban American life into something much denser. When I read Kathy's article, I had no sense of her trying to tell people they were doing something wrong to not live in the city. Rather, it was an encouragement to me who has been called to something different. Thank you, Katelyn Beaty, for your comment (#3) that is so refreshing to hear. Perhaps the title was the reason so many people reacted angrily to Kathy's article. And thank you to the whole This is Our City team for so many articles about what God is doing in and among city-dwellers.

Living here in a poor neighborhood (certainly not among the poorest) of Delhi with my wife and children and grandchildren, it seems that a missing factor in these discussions may be that we are to live for Kingdom calling and purposes wherever we live. If we can pass on that legacy to our children and grandchildren, we will have done well.

As a country-boy gone city-dweller gone smallish town-dweller I have to say that I resonate with both articles. I think city-dwellers could stand to get out in the fresh air and experience God there. I also think country people could learn to appreciate the cultural diversity found in the larger cities. I now live in a city of about 50,000 people in Florida where diversity means that there are a lot of old white people and a lot of young white people. I miss my experiences in Chicago and DC where I could be surrounded by five or six different nationalities in a local coffee shop. I also miss my experiences in rural Virginia where I knew every person in my high school. Here I can be in the middle of the swamp in 10 minutes or making Meals on Wheels deliveries in 10 minutes the other direction...and I suspect someday if I move away I'll miss that too.