Re-entering the City

In preparation for this Sunday's sermon, I have done quite a bit of reading that has kept my mind buzzing this last week concerning the Christian's role and responsibility in the public square.

After the defense walls were erected around Jerusalem in 445 BC under the direction of Nehemiah, it was important to repopulate the city with God's people (Neh. 11). The place was empty except for a few.

Similarly, our cities in America must be repopulated by Christians and strong churches who stay in the center to "seek the welfare" of the city (Jer. 29:4-7). When I think of the center of the city, I don't necessarily mean the physical center of the city, but its social, economic, and cultural center. Christians need to be where the ideas, plans, dreams, and values of the city are being created and that isn't necessarily the downtown area; much of that happens in the suburbs, too. As the city goes, so goes the culture.

Here's some articles that have stirred my thinking:

Tim Keller, A New kind of Urban Christian

James Davison Hunter, To Change the World