So late last night I was at the gym for an hour on the stationary bike reading. I picked up a book on urban church planting and was mesmerized. Written by a whole slew of authors the book is a powerful read. The question that continuously haunts me and is now the focus of my dissertation is simply, “why don’t we plant churches in the city … in the ‘urbs and not just the ‘burbs?” To be honest the deeper I look and the more layers I pull back the uglier and more painful it gets. Ugly may be a light word because scandalous would be more descriptive. Painful in that I’m confronted with my own biases, self-centeredness, materialism, apathy, and even laziness.
Last night on the bike a very large layer was pulled back and it really hurt even to the point where I wanted to throw the book across the room. The chapter was on “Addressing Felt Needs of Urban Dwellers” and one of the questions at the beginning was, “Why don’t we?” Then the author began to dive into American evangelicalism with its assumptions and seamless mergence with middle-class America. Basically the values of middle-class American has been theologized into white evangelicalism to the point where I’d say it is almost idolatrous. So many assumptions, so much theologizing derived out of the socio-economic milieu of the middle class, and a overwhelming amount of proof-texting that keeps us at a safe distance from the city and the needs of urban dwellers.
The issues of why we don’t plant in the city? (1) money, (2) safety, and (3) discomfort are just a few. (I’m sure the early disciples must not have gotten the memo on this list) Listen to this quote, “Our forms and focus of ministry are also shaped by the absolutizing of middle-class norms. We learn easily that bigger is better, so we freeze our church planting efforts into usually suburban settings which promise the largest number, given our middle-class forms of preaching and worship.” The bottom line is that if you have 3-5 years to start a financially self-sustaining church you’re best shot is truly in the suburbs. If you plant in the city or among different ethnic groups you may NEVER be financially sustainable. I look at Dr. Jimmy Dorrell’s “Church Under the Bridge” in Waco, TX that is a church started for the marginalized. They have 300 people and no paid staff. 300 people in a suburban church usually means 3-8 full-time paid staff and property. Who wants to go to seminary, become a trained specialist, earn advanced degrees, and then start a church that may NEVER pay your salary?
So I wrestle and wrestle and wrestle. This is truly painful but I’m grateful for a God who doesn’t care that I’m comfortable. How blind I have been! Over and over and over in Scripture do we see God, like a magnet, drawn to the broken, the marginalized, the distressed, the hurting, the illegal, the alien, the refugee, and the overwhelmed. Who was Jesus? He was an Asian-born child who became a refugee in Africa because of political turmoil. God Himself was marginalized from the beginning …
August 28, 2008 at 1:32 pm |
So, Sean
I understand the angst that comes from realizing that we have forgotten a percentage of our population that far too many are quite okay with forgetting. And of course our first response is to beat ourselves up and move away from what we have been doing. (i.e. planting in the burbs instead of the urb’s). But my thought is
Where is the balance?
As a product of the semi-innercity of Tucson I have a heart for this section of the populous yet as a pastor of a white-middle/upper middle class church I have a desire to see these ministered to as well. Far too often I think we get the short end of the stick for ministering in a place that is “soft”, “cushy”, or “easy”.
I guess my ranting is that we need the balance, the balance of ministering to not just the burb’s but the urb’s as well. That its alright to start a church in the burbs as long as we are willing to do the same in the urbs. And its alright to do so and not feel guilty for ministering to the “elite” if I dare say. As we both know Christ crossed the socio-economic lines and ministered to all demographics. Paul spent time in Rome with the “elite” as well.
How can we push each other to be uncomfortable for the cause of Christ yet not to feel guilty for where God has called us? I hope this makes some sense…Thank you for your openness
August 28, 2008 at 7:53 pm |
Thanks.
You’re right we do need a balance. With our suburbs rapidly expanding we need LOTS of new churches just to simply keep up with growth. I’ve said many times to planters here that it isn’t an either/or but really a both/and. One isn’t better or more important than the other at all.
I think what I’m trying to communicate is that they’re totally different animals. We can’t do urban church planting with the mostly suburban models, methods, strategies, and mentalities. It needs a completely new orientation. Not better but simply different.
God does truly love everyone indeed.