Being an Urban Christian


Much is made of the importance of urban Christians infiltrating urban systems. Jeremiah 29:4-7 is quoted to remind us transplants that our "shalom" is found in the "shalom" of our new city. Or we are exhorted to consider the notion that a primary element of our faith is that it is incarnational, and just as "God became flesh," so might we enflesh ourselves among urban people and urban places.

All well and good. Easier said than done. It is easy for a blogger like me to opine on all that is up, down, right, and wrong in my city, but vastly messier for me to embed myself in its politics and commerce. And it is easy to spout off truisms about the importance of authentic relationships, but vastly scarier to myself be unpolishedly authentic or to let into my world the unpolished authenticity of my neighbors.

Don't get me wrong: I believe there is great advantage to our souls and to our ministries in living in urban settings. It's where much of the action in a region is, and thus where one can truly make a difference in seeking "shalom." And while cities by no stretch have a monopoly on personal and familial dysfunction, the diversity of peoples' backgrounds and the ease of interacting with them that one finds in cities facilitates the fostering of meaningful and cross-cultural relational connections.

Still, being here is but half the battle. The other half is to actually engage, to not consider oneself above having contact with dirty politics or contentious civic gatherings or hurting people or breaking families, but to truly "incarnate," and to truly co-mingle one's own "shalom" with that of a complicated and flawed city. Easier said than done; so having said it, let's do it.

Comments

Eric Orozco said…
That's right...to engage fully! Esp. in "dirty politics"! Kudos for having that in your equation.

Anthony Smith, aka postmodernegro, told Shane Claiborne (your, uh, fellow Urban Christian up there) that abstaining from "dirty politics" was an exercise of his white privilege. :D
Nicholas said…
I'm quitting my job next school year in large part for the purpose of the kind of mission you mention here. Commuting in and out every day just doesn't let you be "incarnate."

Looking forward to taking on much of what you mention here. And hey - we'll both be in West Philly, so I'd be very interested to talk specifically about how those of us whom God has seeded here can work communally for his purposes.
LH said…
Nicholas, thanks for sharing. Do you have a teaching job near where you live? I can hardly think of a better way to embed yourself in a neighborhood and among its youth. Let's definitely talk.
LH said…
Eric, thanks for your comment. I am aware of the notoriety Mr. Claiborne's gotten around these parts, but don't know him and don't know much about him. So I'm not sure how much my post relates to where he's coming from. But I was certainly referencing one of four common attitudes I see (and, at times, myself harbor) about urban Christians and urban politics:

1) The system's working for me, so I have no need to want to change it.

2) The system's broken, but I'm not so affected that it would take my focus away from what I think really matters for the Kingdom.

3) The system's broken, but so are the politics, so trying for a fix through that is either too hopeless or too defiling.

4) The system's broken, and I know I should get involved, but I'll do so at a distance, so I can look good without getting too soiled.

Whether you want to call that privilege, apathy, and/or Pharisaical behavior, it's not quite what God would seem to want from his 21st century urban followers. Hence the post, calling me and others to a deeper and more meaningful engagement with our cities and their structures, institutions, places, and citizens.

PS I believe I have chanced on postmodernegro's blog more than once, but don't know him directly. Do you? I'd love to be introduced.
Daniel Nairn said…
"Still, being here is but half the battle. The other half is to actually engage"

So true. We assumed it would be more automatic than it really is.

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