I remember a few years ago taking a walking tour of downtown Seattle with Dr. Ray Bakke with a group of fellow doctoral students. We were part of a two week course called Overture I where we studied issues like the city, what Scripture teaches us about it, what’s going on globally, and so on. We walked for several hours and would stop frequently while Ray talked to us about the city. I was mesmerized.
Here was a man who loved God, loved the city, knew what the Bible taught us about cities, and as we walked the streets of Seattle he knew that particular city. Since that day I vowed that wherever I lived I would become a specialist on understanding that city. When I was in Tucson I’d spend hours each week going over websites, driving and walking around, and talking with people to help me better understand that magnificent city. I felt a little bit like Ray when I’d take potential church planters up A-Mountain that overlooked the downtown core and from that vantage point I could talk to them about the city and what God was doing.
How well do you know your city? Do you know it’s past? Are you able to assess and diagnose what’s going on it today and where it has hope or hurts? Do you know where your city is going? Just yesterday I read through the City of Tucson’s 100-page report on the future of their downtown revitalization project. I couldn’t help but feel excitement for the city as it scraps and claws its way onto the national scene competing to retain and attract talent (knowledge workers or the creative class). I was proud that the city recognizes where its hope lies and how its seeking to rebrand itself beginning with a revitalized downtown core. As I blogged recently, cities with a strong downtown core (central business district) often have a strong real estate economy and do a better job of attracting talent and new business.
If you were a doctor diagnosing your city what would you say? If you were to prescribe treatment or medication what would you give it? A city is more than a collection of buildings, freeways, and the people who live there. It was an identity, a hope, a future, a personality, and a collective will. The better you know your city the better you’ll be able to better plant churches.
