A New Cityview

I am preaching at Cityview Presbyterian Church in the west loop nieghborhood in Chicago today. One of the topics that I am touching on is how we see the city as believers. I would like to develop this thought with input from others. Here is a summary of the concept.

Assumptions:

1. Most of the places that God is readying his Bride are urban
2. Most of the places that God is calling his church to start new works are NOT racially homogeneous.
3. Most of the places that God is directing his people to proclaim his cause are NOT isolated, but densly populated.
4. Most of these places have high levels of poverty – the poor will be with you in these places.

Why do I suggest that this is true:

1. God has clearly called his people to start new works, proclaim his name, and live for him among the nations of the world – and the nations of the world, most of the people in the world now live in the cities of the world.
2. Most of the 70 million annual migrants to the cities of the world are poor – squatters in fact.
3. The isolated SUB-urban communities that many of us have experienced or perhaps view as the “real” American dream are rapidly being urbanized in the sense that as gentrification happens in the urban core, the racial diversity and presence of the poor in the SUB-urbs is growing rapidly. In America, the inner-city is moving the burbs.

I won't elaborate here but outline a distinction between what I think too many of us generally think about the city as opposed to what my above assumptions should call us to in A New Cityview:

Average Cityview
Negative, “user” mentality (I hate this place, especially the traffic but I'll drive through, go shopping and get out!)
Overwhelming
Temporary (I’ll put up with this for a while)
Optional involvement
A place for some fun

New City View:
The city and the believer as mutually redemptive
The city as a place calling and instilling a deeper dependance on God
A place of identity for the Bride of Christ
A place of calling for believers
A place of Joy