As someone who is constantly thinking about what what radical (or perhaps just faithful) missional life in the midst of suburban affluence looks like, I really appreciated this post from David Fitch.
Basically, he’s talking about what it looks like to missional communities to navigate a communal life without defaulting to consumer-oriented affinity.
I have but one point to add. I am not inclined to advocate (not that he is doing this) individual engagement with those it’s hard or unnatural relate to. To be sure, this is what local expressions of the Church ought to be doing, but doing together. There’s nothing wrong with cultivating relationships and growing in love with those to whom it’s easier or more natural to relate. However, if those clusters of disciples aren’t moving out together and seeking to engage people unlike themselves - those it’s more difficult to love, then there’s probably something lacking in terms of their Christcenterdness.
Affinity may indeed be one the hardest obstacles to overcome in suburban contexts, but if we are to embody the Kingdom of God for the sake of the world, it’s something we must grapple with together.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Maria // Jul 15, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Suburban or urban comment - i agree. Preach it, buddy!
2 Ryan C // Jul 15, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Great thoughts jr; i’ve enjoyed looking over the writings…
I was a bit skeptical about the movie “The Second Chance” only because of the hype it was getting from purely “Christian” audiences and its limited budget~ however, I was pleasantly surprised by this non-cheesy portrait of a struggling urban church compared to the “rich white mega church” very near…you’ll have to check out the movie but it relates directly to I assume most of our tender hearts for the poor and reaching those in the city~
3 Ryan C // Jul 15, 2007 at 6:26 pm
sorry if that last comment had nothing to do with what jr said…i just re-read it…but hey, maybe you’ll enjoy the movie!
4 JR Rozko // Jul 17, 2007 at 11:56 am
Thanks Maria - I thought we emergent types gave up on preaching - don’t we just discuss
Thanks Ryan - looking forward to checking out that movie!
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