Foundations for Christian Mission, Mentor's Guide, MG04

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F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

more accountable, and rewarding the behavior of those who seek through education, hard work, and discipline to “join” the ranks of the others in society. In light of the call of Christians to do justice and discipleship in the city, what kind of strategies do you believe are most important for viable and successful urban ministry?

Families Must Flee the City, If They Intend to Thrive

Many Christians today who believe deeply in the protection and health of the nuclear family are convinced that the environment of the inner city is both anti-family and anti-spiritual. In communities so spiritually dark and made vulnerable by gang violence, drugs, poor schools, substandard social systems, and economic deprivation, some Christians have advocated leaving the city as the only alternative for the Christian family. They have concluded that for these and other reasons, the city is toxic to the Christian family; those who can flee them must do so in order to protect their own from ongoing exposure to its immoral influences. Despite the appeal of some serious minded disciples to stay in the city to be salt and light within it, many sincere Christians and their churches have abandoned the city, leaving a moral and spiritual vacuum that is difficult to fill. Some have simply given up altogether, suggesting that the modern American inner city is too large and dangerous to be redeemed. They would argue that it is simply not a place to raise a family; if you are not there, do not go there. The best way to help the ghetto or the barrio it is not to add to the problem by being a part of it. These would advocate that Christian families find alternatives and relocate out of the city as a viable strategy of urban change. What is your answer to this kind of realistic (even pessimistic ) vision of the city and its impact on the family today?

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Crying against the Great City

There is a rich biblical and contemporary tradition that suggests that the primary relationship of informed, dedicated Christians to the modern city is prophetic and dialectic, that is, to cry against the injustices, abuses, and idolatry of the modern city. Rightly these traditions would suggest and note the many biblical examples of prophets who were given burdens to cry against the sins of the cities of their time, Isaiah with Jerusalem, Hosea with Samaria, and Jonah with Nineveh (among others). The arrogance, power, and self-sufficiency of the modern city suggests (they would argue) that the only way to enable the city to see itself as it is is through