THE FUTURE ISN’T LIKE IT USED TO BE

BEING THE CHURCH IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

(The City of God is the goal of the Kingdom of God)

The City of God is the goal of the Kingdom of God. The City of Man is the historical milieu where God’s promised presence is working out His will toward that end.

The City of God is a central theme of the Bible. The City of Man is the central location of God’s activity in history. An urban theme runs throughout both Old and New Testaments. What are the social, cultural, political, economic, moral and religious implications of the Biblical concern for the city? To answer these queries the Church must work on strategies in the twenty first century. Urbanization continues to be a dominant shaping force in our megatrend world. David Barrett affirms that there are 94,600 new non-Christian Urban dwellers per day (data from Raymond J. Bakke, Lausanne Urban Associates, 175 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1800, Chicago, IL60604).

Lord of the City: The Word on the World – the Word in the World – the Word for the World (Jeremiah 1.13; Lamentations 1.12; Revelation chapters 21 and 22)

The Hebrew and Greek scriptures use the vocabulary which are translated ‘city’ over 1200 times. There are over 100 specific cities named and/or described in boththe Old and New Testaments. For this purpose, the most crucial term translated ‘city’ in the Hebrew text is ‘iyr and polis in the Greek New Testament (cf. C. Schultz, “ ‘iyr in TNOT, ed. R.L. Harris, et.al., 2 vols. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 2:664; H. Bietenhard, “Polis,” in the NIDNT, ed. C. Brown; 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 2:801; H. Strathmann “Polis” TDNT, abr. Volume (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), p. 906; see the full article in the unabridged TDNT; see H. Conn’s excellent critique and stereotypical perspective of the city, A Clarified Vision for Urban Mission.

See the following works—cf. W.A. Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983; D. Barrett, World Class Cities: World and Evangelization (New Hope: Birmingham, AL, 1986, esp. app. B, Megacities, Supercities and Supergiants by Continent, A.D. 1800-2050, pp. 42ff.); E.R. Dayton and D.A. Fraser, Planning Strategies for World Evangelization (Eerdmans, 1980): J.L.Spates and J.J. Macionis, The Sociology of Cities (Belmont, CO: Wadsworth, 1987); R.S. Greenway and T.M. Monsma, Cities: Mission’s New Frontier (Baker, 1989); R.J. Bakke, “Ministry in Large Cities since Pattaya 1980”, Urban Mission November 1984; ‘Urban Evangelism’ tapes from Manila, 1989; R.S. Greenway, Apostle to the City, Biblical Strategies for Urban Missions; also his “A Contemporary Perspective on the Evangelization of World Class Cities” ‘Unreached People’ ’82 Focus on Urban Peoples.

Essential resources for World-Wide awareness are Evangelical Missions Information Service, Box 794, Wheaton, IL60187. Materials provide essential data about world affairs. Pulse is an excellent resource.

MARC (Missions Advanced Research and CommunicationsCenter, 919 W. Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA91016) was the central strategic working group for Manila 1989, Lausanne II.

Theological Contours of the City: The Bible affirms four foundational themes regarding the City of Man:

1. The City Created

2. The City Cursed

3. The City Clarified

4. the City Completed: The New Jerusalem (Ezekiel 48.35 and Revelation 21.22) (Also see Bakke, Urban Christians, Jacque Ellul, City and Harvie Conn, Urban)

Urban Affairs Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 1, Sept. 1989), St. Louis, MO; see bibliographical lists from Sage Publications, 2111 W. Hillcrest Dr., Newbury Park, CA 91320; M. Gottdiener, ed., Cities in Stress, a New Look at the Urban Crisis, 1989; and R.V. Knight and G. Gappert, Cities in a Global Society, 1989.

Urban Mission, “Vehicle for a Vision” R.S. Greenway, pp. 3ff; “The Need for a Vision”, H.M. Conn, pg. 4ff; “Does Animism Die in the City”, T. Hard, pp. 45ff; March 1989, vol. 6, no. 4 “The Giant City: The Church’s Opportunity” Conn, pp. 3ff; May 1989 (Special issue for Lausanne II) vol. 6/ no. 5 “Where Will We Go After Manila and Lausanne II?”, Conn, pp. 5ff; “A Theology as Big as the City” R.. Bakke, pgs. 8ff; “Urban Cities and the Gospel in Asia” Bong-Rin Ro, pp. 20ff.

M.E. Van Houten, God’s Inner City Address: Crossing the Boundaries (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988); J.E. Kyle, ed., Urban Mission: God’s Concern for the City (IVP, 1988).

James D. Strauss

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