A few months back I mentioned the release of the book ViralHope: Good News from the Urbs to the Burbs (and everything in-between). I am one of 50 different authors who offers a brief reflection on what the “good news” might mean for my city (which was Memphis when I originally wrote).  The book has been doing quite well from what I understand and it now boasts an excellent promotional video.

You can still get single copies of the book through Amazon, or order multiple copies through Ecclesia Press.  I hope you’ll consider spreading this video around, maybe with a link to the book.

The video was made by Aaron Nee of the Brother NEE.  Check out this trailer from their feature film, The Last Romantic.

It was just over 3 years ago that I “met” Todd. I was in Norway studying and writing my masters thesis. In my search for resources, I came across Todd’s blog and was excited to find someone else who was thinking about missional living in suburban contexts. We developed a collaborative friendship in the blog-o-sphere and I finally got to meet him face to face when his church community, The Well, in suburban Philly, was hosting a small seminar with Al Hsu regarding “The Church & Suburbia.”

Through our respective church communities, Todd and I are both affiliated with Ecclesia, a missional church planting network which gives us even more opportunity to interact.

Todd is living the dream as a bivocational (or bioccupational as he prefers) pastor and draw some income from doing web design. I have always admired his work with crafting wordpress themes and when I saw some of his latest work on the blog of one of his friends, I jokingly told him to send me the zip file. He took me seriously and 30 minutes later, I am enjoying the beautiful goodness you see before you (unless you’re reading this through a reader – if you are, do yourself a favor and click through to check it out).

Anyway, Todd didn’t ask for any money, but I am gonna give him some anyway cause he’s my hero!

For the sake of your own soul, you should get to know Todd. For the sake of your blog, you should hire him to rock your world.

Try to jump and hang in the air for 10 seconds.  How’d you do?  You either failed, cheated, or are reading this from the moon.  You are a captive of gravity.  It pulls at you, refusing to let you wander off.

Culture is a lot like that.  The various elements of the culture we inhabit pull us toward some sort of center.  Culture, in all of its various forms: language, architecture, customs, expectations, rhythms, etc., creates a sort of reality for those who live in it.  This is what I am calling cultural gravity.

Cultural gravity cuts two ways – it simultaneously frees and binds.  As regular gravity gives us the ability to walk around and explore our immediate surroundings, it also binds us there, making any desire we have to explore our not so immediate surroundings extraordinarily difficult.  Analogously, cultural gravity is what enables us to authentically enter a particular time and space – to know it personally and deeply.  But it can also trap our imaginations and stymie us intellectually and creatively.  The longer we live with in a particular brand of cultural gravity (geography, tradition, denomination, etc.) the harder it will be to enter new ones with any degree of receptivity or discernment.

Anyone who has ever lived cross-culturally has experienced this tension.  It is why new cultures can be hard to adjust to and why we may have a hard time (or outright fear!) returning to the culture we came from.

As one who has had some varied over-seas experience and has moved from the suburban mid-west, to urban So. Cal, to some blend of suburban/urban culture in the midsouth, and now lives outside of Chicago, these are some thoughts I have been having.

In Part 2 I plan to offer some reflections on what I think cultural gravity has to do with missional churches.

My friend Matthew beat me to it, but a few weeks ago he, his intern Ben Kaplowitz, and I traveled up to Philly together. We were there to take part if a day-long seminar on what a missional engagement of the suburbs is all about and it was a helpful discussion. Contrast of contrasts, we had the good fortune to stay with Chris and Cassie Haw who live as part of an intentional community in one of the shadiest neighborhoods I have ever been in in Camden, NJ. Added bonus – Chris co-authored Jesus for President with Shane Claiborne and as I was just finishing leding a group through the book, we had some good discussion. Be sure to check out Matthew’s post on the trip.

Disclaimer:  This post is not (really) about cars.

On the heels of that last post, I thought I would throw this out there and say how glad I am that most of the folks in my life seem to be those who are really trying to press into the full implications of what following Jesus means and looks like right here and now.  They are not, for the most part, Christian Escapists – those whose value for Christ primarily has to do with their get-out-of-hell-free card.  They want to live out lives of discipleship for the sake of their neighbors and the world.

Anyway, that being said… I caught this in a parking lot the other day, read it, kept walking, and went back to take a picture once my internal annoyance-o-meter reached its peak.

This bumper sticker perfectly illustrates the degree to which a subtle neo-gnosticism has seeped into how we understand the Christian faith.  The idea of gnosticism is simple: eternity has nothing to do with here and now.  Therefore, for example, I can “have my treasure in heaven,” and live however the heck I want.

I am reminded of my friend Wess’ post, “How Do We Look for the Theology of a Church?“  One of his suggestions was to check out the cars in the parking lot on Sunday morning.  Now, this may not be a perfect gauge (and Wess doesn’t suggest that it is), but in terms of a non-gnosticized version of the Christian faith, it is a valid point.  That point being, if we understand the good news of God’s Kingdom as something we get to participate in and live out for the sake of the world here and now, then guess what, it will envelop every aspect of our lives, including (perhaps especially including) the economic dimension.

The gospel aims to get a grip on not just our hearts, but our whole lives.  Imagine the visible impact of church communities which aimed to live well below their means because of their rejection of consumerism and materialism, or, even better, because they so badly wanted to experience the blessing of sharing and giving – of living lives unencumbered by extravagance and luxury.  That seems like a way of being the church that is more worthy of a crucified and risen Messiah.

After 4 months of getting to know Memphis, living with various people and in various places, and living out of a suit case, I have found a place to hang my hat – at least for the next year.

here for more pictures (not my stuff in the house)

Here’s what metropolitan Memphis looks like

Downtown Memphis is actually to the west of “the loop” between the Mississippi River and 240.  Inside the loop is generally referred to as midtown, though it has more specific designations in certain parts.  To the east of the the loop is Germantown, Cordova, and Collierville.  Piperton, where our church community has purchased land for some future use is a little more east than Collierville.  I considered living in virtually all of these places.

Living subversively in a suburban context is something I care deeply about and feel like a good portion of my life will probably go to, but for a smattering of reasons, it doesn’t seem that now is the season for that. I mentioned a slew of factors in the decision making process in my post about being scared to live in the suburbs and I don’t really think that any decision I would have made would have been THE right decision, but here’s why I am pretty excited about this place.

1) Location.  This house puts me within walking distance (less than 1/2 of a mile) of coffee shops, restaurants, shopping, the largest park in the city, the playhouse, and the only theater I am aware of in Memphis that shows Indy films.  Here’s a little map I started to put together of all the stuff I can walk to easily.  There’s a ton more that is easily within biking distance (1-3 miles) such as the YMCA where I’ll work out and my bank.

2) Set-up.  The house is perfectly set-up to invite others to explore intentional community.  There are 3 huge bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms on the 1st floor as well as a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment with its own kitchen and a separate entrance on top.

3) Neighborhood.  The neighborhood is both racially and socio-economically diverse and by virtue of living here I will be part of the “Tucker-Jefferson Neighborhood Association,” an active group which aims “to maintain and improve the dignity and integrity of the residences and businesses in the area, to preserve the diversity of the area, to insure orderly an compatible land use in the area, to encourage homeowners living in the area to improve their homes, and to work together on problems and issues of certain concern.”

4) Opportunity.  Living Hope is a primarily white, affluent, suburban church that is asking God how we might engage and be a blessing to urban Memphis as well as to where we are.  Having more people move into urban parts of the city will inevitably be a big part of that.

I am truly grateful to have found this place and am really looking forward to having a context to engage on a more constant basis.

Update: Just after I posted this, I happened to come across a few relevant posts on this subject.  Be sure to check out David Fitch’s – “The Middle In: The Unique Missional Opportunity,” and Joe Thorn’s, “I Love the Suburbs” on a brand new blog about the gospel in the suburban context, SubText.

I hear people talk quite frequently about the “dangers of the city” and how unsafe certain parts of town are.  But if I were being honest, I would tell you that I am far more scared to live in the suburbs than I am to live virtually anywhere else.

By design, suburbs are places of isolation, disconnection, and compartmentalization.  Their very existence is predicated on cultural values of materialism, consumerism , and individualism.  All of this makes it much harder (not impossible mind you) to follow the way of Jesus – a way of simplicity and interconnectedness with those on the margins of society.

I bring this up because I will very soon need to decide on a more permanent place to live.  I have been looking in mid-town which is more urban, racially mixed, threatened by crime and violence, accessible to pedestrians, affordable, and artistic.  All of this most naturally appeals to me.

But, I have also been looking in the Germantown/Collierville area which is suburban, predominantly white, relatively free of crime and violence, necessitates a car to go anywhere, more expensive, and culturally bland.

Complicating these basic dynamics are factors such as these…

– most of the folks at Living Hope are suburban people thus I feel I should live among them

– I am a young adult pastor and mid-town is more attractive to young adults

– we gave bought land and are discussing the potential of building a gathering place on it even further east from urban Memphis in Piperton

– the idea of our church planting or having more of a presence in urban Memphis is something we are discussing

– currently, the people I am aiming to really share life with live predominantly in suburban Memphis

– it maybe the case that more of our folks would head toward mid-town if a few more folks blazed that trail

… and I could probably list more.  I have been basically paralyzed by this decision of where to live and why.  Maybe I can just rest in the fact that no matter what, I am looking to rent and not buy, which ties me down probably for a year at the most. On top of this, where ever I wind up, I am seeking to be there with the express purpose of taking Jesus’ command to love my neighbors literally and seriously.  So, whether in mid-town or the burbs, I am sure there will be folks who are hurting and in need, and I find some solace in the primacy of this calling.

So there ya have it – with all the transparency I can muster, the suburbs scare me.  I would much rather live in a place where I could be shot or robbed than in a place that has the potential to chip away at my soul and spiritual sensibilities every so slowly and subtlety.  I welcome your thoughts.

A full half year ago, I caught this over on my buddy Todd’s blog – 10 Ideas for living Missionally in the Suburbs (by Chris Smith) and have been meaning to blog about it ever since.  I now have 2 great reasons to finally do so.

First, I find myself smack dab in the middle of the affluent suburbs of Memphis, TN as a pastor on staff at a new and aspiring missional church community.  

Second, Todd will be hosting a conference with Al Hsu, author of, “The Suburban Christian,” in August, and I promised him I’d spread the word.  I can’t wait to be there and if you find yourself in a suburban context and you are wanting to really think about what it would mean to engage that context missionally, this is really something you should try to be at.

Anyway, here’s Chris’ list and a few of my thoughts at the end.

Ten Ways to be the People of God in Suburbia – by Chris Smith

1) Live with others from your church community

Whether you share your home with another person or family, or whether you have several families that have homes in close proximity or both, sharing life together is perhaps the most powerful (i.e., going against the grain of suburban culture) way to be the body of Christ in suburbia. If you can’t live together, at least find a way to share resources (power tools, lawn mowers, children’s clothes/toys, etc).

2) Work Less!

One of the major powers that enslaves suburbia is the idolization of the career. There are many ways to pay the bills that do not involve a 9-5 job, and even within a 9-5 job, there are ways to work less (turning down promotions, taking unpaid leave, etc.) Working less will free you to serve your church community, your family, your neighbors, etc. It will also spur creativity: finding a solution for working less, finding a way to “make ends meet” financially, etc.

3) Throw out the television

Another (and perhaps larger power) that enslaves suburbia is consumerism. You’ll be amazed at how your desire for things ebbs as you take the TV out of the picture. If you can’t bring yourself to kill the television, at least take steps to lessen its influence (get rid of cable, only use it for movies, put it on a cart that can be wheeled in and out of a closet, etc.) Throwing out the television will also stimulate your creativity.

4) Drive less

Suburban culture is also enslaved to the automobile. Find ways to loosen those bonds (much more difficult in suburbia than in urban areas). Share a vehicle with others in your church community (much easier if you are doing #1 above). Invest in a good bicycle. Walk. There was a segment on “60 minutes” a few weeks ago about how much we miss when we zip around in automobiles. Walking and/or biking will help you be more attentive to your surroundings

5) Have a garden / grow food

Suburban life is often very shut off from the food cycle (Food comes from the grocery store, of course!). Homegrown food is more healthy, it gives you a good excuse to be outside (see #7 below), and it provides you with a resource to share generously with your church community and your neighbors. Phil Kenneson outlines a number of horticultural lessons for the people of God in his intro to LIFE ON THE VINE that are additional benefits of this practice.

6) Get to know your neighbors / listen for their needs

To be human is to be poor. Or in other words, everyone has needs. The challenge of suburbia is that there are many more ways to conceal that poverty, and similarly that it will take more effort to get into a position where a neighbor can reveal their needs. Be intentional about building relationships. Share meals, play poker, have block parties, whatever it takes.

7) Be outside as much as possible.

Another temptation of suburbia – fueled by individualism – is that of the house as an impenetrable fortress. Dissolve this temptation by eating, playing, relaxing outside. This practice is also one avenue to interact with your neighbors.

Do not fence in your yard

All apologies to Robert Frost, but fences do not make good neighbors, and in fact they often keep us from making good human neighbors. This is a corollary to #7, the fence is a major component of the impenetrable fortress syndrome; it protects our privacy and keeps out our “evil” neighbors. It often is a statement of distrust. If you must have a fence (to corral a dog for instance) make it as low and as permeable (i.e., not blocking off the view) as you can get away with.

9) Take a stand against the greed of mega-corporations

Whenever possible, resist buying from domineering mega-corporations (e.g., Wal-mart, McDonalds, Starbucks, and others). These corporations destroy local economies and have little or no concern for the environment. Buy as much as you can from businesses that are as local as possible (family-owned businesses are preferable to local chains, local chains are preferable to regional chains, and regional chains are preferable to global corporations.)

10) Utilize and support non-commercial public spaces (parks, libraries, colleges, etc.)

This point is another corollary of #7 above. We must utilize and show our support for these public spaces, lest they be conquered by the powers of individualism (by becoming private property) or by consumerism (by becoming commercial or industrial property). This is also a wonderful way to foster relationships with our neighbors.

These are some helpful ideas and hopefully a good starting place for thinking even more creatively and specifically about whatever context you are in.  The idea is subversive, incarnational living.  It’s saying, we are going to live out an alternative reality, but we’re going to do it in this place, among these people, in a way that makes sense to them, but at the same time calls into question some of the broken systems which oppress (often without them even knowing it) the people there.  

My friend Gib, the teaching pastor at Living Hope, spoke yesterday about the need for the church, like our exiled ancestors in Babylon, to pray for, and seek the prosperity of the city in which we find ourselves.  We tend to think of “the city” as “inner-city,” “downtown,” or where the urban poor live in general.  This is a deficient notion of modern cities however. Suburbs are part and parcel of the infrastructure of cities, it’s just that they primarily consume rather than invest or replenish goods and services.  They tend to be the gluttons of the cities resources and the sins which follow gluttony flourish in the suburbs.  As such, the suburban church faces no small task when it seeks to live out its missional nature in suburban contexts.

Dear Friends,

As most of you probably know, I returned to Ohio toward the beginning of September to offer some family support and to explore what a missional engagement of the suburban Midwest might look like.

It has been extremely rewarding to be around for my family and I have been having tons of great conversations with friends new and old as I try to patiently relearn what makes the Midwest the Midwest and what a missional (and therefore incarnational) life and community might entail.

God has provided an opportunity to partner with a long-time friend and partner in ministry who, along with others, is breaking some ground in the area I feel called to invest in – the formation of more organic (and hopefully missional) communities, through a ministry called Repeat. The central aim of Repeat is the formation of communities who endeavor to allow Christ to “repeat” his life through ours (more here). We have been praying about my being able to serve in a part-time, volunteer capacity for a period of about three months. Neither of us is quite sure where God might lead from there, but it does seem like God has provided this as a beginning place and we are both pleased to explore it.

As a part-time missionary, I will help with the creation and cultivation of communities, the planning of monthly events, and the resourcing and equipping of leaders. I will also continue do cultural and contextual analysis, especially as we do our best to engage college-age students on secular campuses. Because Repeat is a relationally structured ministry, there is tremendous freedom and opportunity to engage people in a variety of exciting ways.

So, to cut to the chase, I am trying to raise $3,500 to support myself for the next three months (Nov. – Jan.). If this happens, then I will have the freedom to devote my time and attention to serving alongside others in this ministry. If not, I will simply need to take whatever job I can find, but won’t have the freedom to explore this opportunity as intentionally and passionately as I would like.

If you would like to support me, please visit my blog (lifeasmission.com) where you can make a donation in any amount through paypal. I will take this down as soon as the goal has been reached. This is the first and only time that I have asked for support like this outside of some short-term missions opportunities and it is quite humbling. Thanks in advance for any and all prayer and financial support. I am happy to answer any questions you might have. I will of course be sharing stories of what God over these months on my blog!!

To God be the glory,
JR Rozko

PS – In the event that I reach my goal, but unforeseen circumstances prevent my serving out the whole three months, all donations will go to supporting the ministry of Repeat.

Saw this quote on my iGoogle page today and laughed out loud (then wondered why I wasn’t crying instead).

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.

For anyone interested in the intersection of Christian living and the suburban environment, here’s a good, brief article by Valerie Weaver-Zercher that was published in Sojourners.

A friend and fellow blogger, Todd Hiestand, has written an excellent paper reflecting on the idea missional engagement with suburban culture, Missional in Suburbia.

Here’s an excerpt…

“Can you hear me, Morpheus? I’m going to be honest with you. I hate this place. This zoo. This prison. This reality. Whatever you want to call it. I can’t stand it any longer. It’s the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink. And every time I do, I feel I have somehow been infected by it, it’s repulsive. I must get out of here. I must get free…
- Agent Smith, The Matrix

Two years ago this was how I viewed our suburban world. It was a zoo. It was a prison. I hated this place: the strip malls, the individualism, the consumerism. Certainly, I thought, Christianity is best lived in the city. I figured if I wanted to really serve God and follow the radical call of Christ I would have to move to the city. There I could better live in proximity and community. There, I could do a better job of taking care of the poor and needy at my doorstep. The city was the place where following Jesus would easily be lived out on a daily basis. This is how I thought. But God has a way of shaking things up.”

I’d love to hear any thoughts you might have, but I am sure Todd would as well. Besied his own personal blog, Todd has also posted the paper at Meremission.

Good job Todd, and thanks.

Here’s something I posted over at meremission. 

For a variety of reasons, there are many Christian families in which one spouse or parent spends the bulk of their time at home.  I am not talking about a spouse or parent who works out of the house, but rather single-income families where one adult plays the role of “home maker.”  Stereotypically, this person is in charge of keeping a clean home, preparing meals, organizing and managing life’s little details, and if there are kids in the picture, checking on homework, coodinating schedules, and fulfilling other parental responsibilities.  I am among the first to recognize these as vital areas of family life to steward well and respect families who operate out of this paradigm.  I want to suggest, however, that for those who aspire to missional living, the role of the stereotypical home maker ought to be transfigured.

It is so easy to let the “good of our families” consume our time and attention.  In a society saturated by the powerful influences of consumerism, materialism, and individualism, what is actually the “good of our families,” can become quickly distorted.  A well kept home, time-consuming meal preparation, and breaking ones neck to get the kids to any and every thing they can possibly fit in, can easily become distractions from truly missional living.

I am in no way saying these are bad things, I am am simply saying we need to think through these things theologicaly and missiologically (yes, I said it, we need to think theologically about cleaning our homes!).

Having a spouse or parent who stays at home is a tremendous opportunity to cultivate relationships with and be a blessing to neighbors.  To be a missional home maker, in my opinion, would mean looking to share time, resources, and stories with those we live near.  It would mean concerning yourself as much with others in your community as your own family.  It would mean opening your home (clean or not!) to others for the sake of building relationships and cultivating an environment of familirity and comfortability.  If kids are in the picture, think of the message this would send about your priorities – loving people and making them feel welcome by offering to share our time and resources is more important that having everything just the way we want it.

Missional churches are such on account of the missional lives and practices of those who comprise the communtiy.  All I am trying to do here is offer some suggestions for a particular kind of family to live out that mission on a paractical level.