Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Compassion Ministries, Student Workbook, SW16

1 0 6 /

D O I N G J U S T I C E A N D L O V I N G M E R C Y : C O M P A S S I O N M I N I S T R I E S

will of necessity place focus on those resources and processes that do not depend on God: our resources, our activities, our efforts, our ideas. What do you think about this claim; is it or is it not the nature of planning to lead the planner astray from the resources and blessings of the Lord. Can one obey the good word of Proverbs 3.5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” and be committed to a discipline of ongoing planning? What would it mean to both not lean on one’s own understanding, and yet still be involved in setting goals, drafting priorities, making plans, and acting on them? Isn’t this process in and of itself prone to have you dependent on your own strength and ability?

Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Urban Community and Neighborhood

Segment 1: The Urban Church in the Urban World

Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

The Nicene Creed provides two critical insights that underlie our understanding of serving in the world: God as creator and Jesus Christ as Lord of all. The Church of Jesus Christ responds to the his lordship serving both as the locus ( place) of God’s working as well as his agent (ambassador) through whom he works. Throughout Church history, the Church has responded in four classic ways to its relationship to the world: to withdraw from the world and its affairs, to transform the world through direct oversight, to live in tension with the world, being in it but not of it, and finally to live as prophetic witness to the world in our model and proclamations. In responding to the world, the Church fulfills its biblical call to be neighbors, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a royal priesthood of God in the city. Our objective for this segment, The Urban Church in the Urban World , is to enable you to see that: • The Nicene Creed provides critical insights that underlie our understanding of social justice: God is the creator of the heavens and the earth, and Jesus Christ is Lord of the Church. • As representatives of the Kingdom of God, the Church responds to the lordship of Jesus Christ, serving both as the locus (place) of God’s working as well as his agent (ambassador), that entity through whom he works.

Summary of Segment 1

3