Urban Churches (w/ Tim Keller) ~ BitterSweetLife

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Urban Churches (w/ Tim Keller)

Urban Christians?
We Need More Christians in Cities

A popular theme in my thoughts recently has been the argument that Christians should view cities as desirable settings for the gospel and think seriously about living there. Lindsay, Aidan and I currently live in downtown Kansas City. We like it here, and while I miss trees and grass, I'm drawn to the prospect of staying near the urban core and living out the gospel.

Of course, downtown Kansas City is not what I would call a sprawling metropolis - at least not in a positive sense. I guess it's sprawling in that it is not consolidated and buzzing with 24/7 life. (The city planners here are always a decade behind.) However, there's enough culture and community in various sectors of KC (like Westport, the local music/arts district) for me to see counter-cultural urban church potential.

I'll probably "blog out loud" some more as I continue to think about the dynamics of Christianity in the city. Meanwhile, read this excellent overview of "urban church" by Tim Keller. Teaser:

Most fields of work today are dominated by a very different set of answers from those of Christianity. But when many Christians enter a vocational field, they either seal off their faith and work like everyone else around them, or they spout Bible verses to their coworkers. We do not know very well how to persuade people of Christianity's answers by showing them the faith-based, worldview roots of everyone's work. We do not know how to equip our people to think out the implications of the gospel for art, business, government, journalism, entertainment, and scholarship. Developing humane, creative, and excellent business environments out of our understanding of the gospel can be part of this work.
Read the whole thing, it'll take you five minutes: A New Kind of Urban Christian.



Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your blog! You have some really good content and you publish really intelligent posts. Thanks a lot!

Scott

AJ said...

"Intelligent" - I like that. Thanks, Scott! I don't suppose you're a book publisher or anything..? ;)

Anonymous said...

Never really gave that much thought. So far, God has told us where to live. However, I really like the concept of being mission minded in your moving endeavors.

On a slightly unrelated note, I was in Kansas City a few years ago as I met with the SBC there. I was a missionary to the Native American reservations in Nebraska and South Dakota. Small world.

 

Culture. Photos. Life's nagging questions. - BitterSweetLife