Church vs. City Perspective Part II

Last month, I wrote a post explaining the difference between having a church perspective and a city perspective. In that post, I argued that the proper perspective for churches to have is the city perspective, that is, to think in terms of what is best for the city rather than for your church alone. The Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, shows that God cares about cities and that cities are a key part of God's redemptive plan for humankind.

But there is more to the city perspective than even this. The city perspective not only encourages camaraderie and cooperation among churches, but it also compels churches and individuals to care about the city in dynamic and challenging ways.

Here are two additional reasons that churches ought to have a city perspective.

A Lesson from Nehemiah

The Book of Nehemiah details the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem during the time of the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon to Judah. Nehemiah contains some of the greatest lessons on leadership in the Bible, thanks to the prudent wisdom and fortitude of the book's namesake.

In Nehemiah chapter 3, Nehemiah assigns each family among the returning exiles a section of the wall to rebuild. Whatever section they were assigned to, they were responsible for. And despite great opposition from surrounding enemies, the work on the wall progressed impressively. In chapter 4, verse 6, we come to a key concluding statement:

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

English Standard Version

"The people had a mind to work." This is the reason the work was accomplished despite heavy opposition. Everyone had the same mindset and attitude. They were united by a common goal to meet a common threat: build the wall or perish. They knew that the wall was their only hope for survival, and so every man gave his best effort and worked with the kind of extraordinary efficiency that only comes with complete unity. When people are united, it's amazing what they can achieve together.

Each family working on the wall was well aware that if they dropped the ball and did not do their portion of the work, they would be endangering the whole city and all their brothers and sisters in it. A wall is only as strong as its weakest part, and no one wanted to be the weak link in the chain. Each family was properly motivated to focus on the task and get it done for the sake of the city.

“When people are united, it's amazing what they can achieve together.”

There is a great lesson we can learn from these chapters of Nehemiah. What if churches took the same mindset and attitude toward their cities as the families of Israel did toward Jerusalem? What if every church within a city understood that there is a powerful enemy that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy the people of the city (John 10:10), and that unless every church works together to form a network of protection, the city would be vulnerable to the enemy's attack?

Just as Nehemiah assigned each family of returnees a specific section of the wall to work on, Christ assigns each church a specific portion of the city to minister to, a part of the city that they are principally responsible for. If that church does not minister to that part of the city, then that church is dropping the ball and is allowing a weak link in the chain to persist.

“What if churches took the same mindset and attitude toward their cities as the families of Israel did toward Jerusalem?”

But just imagine if every church in a city takes ownership of their part of the city. Imagine if every square mile of a city is covered in prayer and intercession, and every neighborhood is being ministered to and cared for by a local church body that is known and actively present, ministering to the people's spiritual and physical needs in both word and deed. Such a city would be off-limits to the enemy, and such a city would be ripe for revival.

City-Sized Passion

Another major effect of the city perspective is the effect it has on our burdens and passions. When a church or a pastor has a church-only perspective, then naturally the church or pastor will only care about the issues that the church itself struggles with. If members of the church struggle with divorce and broken families, then the church will care about that. But any issue that the church itself does not struggle with will not be on their radar. If no members of the church struggle with drug addiction or racism, then the church will not care about those issues in any significant or meaningful way.

Switching to a city perspective changes all of that. When a church sees its primary mission as caring not only for its own members but also for the city that the members call home, then the church cannot afford to ignore any issue that affects the city at large. So then, even if the church members do not personally struggle with drug addiction or racism, if people in the city struggle with those issues, then the church will care about those issues as well.

“Having a city perspective forces you to broaden the scope of your burdens.”

In this way, even an all-white church can care about and minister to those in the black, Hispanic, or Asian communities who struggle with racism. Even an older, wealthy church can care about and minister to those whose lives are being destroyed by the opioid epidemic. Even a politically and theologically conservative church can care about and minister to those in the LGBTQ community who struggle with their own pain and brokenness.

In other words, having a city perspective forces you to broaden the scope of your burdens. No longer do we have the luxury of caring only about a select group of issues that pertain only to us, but we are compelled by love and by the truth of the gospel to care about issues that may have nothing to do with us and have everything to do with our neighbors.

This is what is means to be selfless, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31) and to do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Matt. 7:12). This is what it means for the people of God to be not only the re-builders of walls but the watchmen on the walls.

Conclusion

We often pray and sing, "God, break our hearts for the things that break Yours." But do we really mean it? Are we really willing to allow God to rend our hearts with a holy burden that is greater than the burdens we find in our inner circles? One reason we hesitate to lean into this prayer is because we struggle enough with the burdens we already have. The thought of taking on God-sized burdens, or opening ourselves up to city-sized concerns, is daunting, to say the least.

But that is the natural pathway of spiritual growth. Just as children learn over time to show less concern for themselves and more concern for others, Christians and churches need to learn to be less concerned with themselves and more concerned for others, especially the poor, the downtrodden, the vulnerable, alienated, suffering, and lonely souls who don't know Jesus.

This is what breaks the Father's heart. He cares about cities more than we could ever know, and so adopting a city perspective simply means taking on God's own perspective, seeing people and cities the way He sees them. As the Archbishop William Temple once said, "The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members." May every church in every city take these sage words to heart, for the sake of those who are not yet within our walls.