the 'holier than thou' community.
I was talking with my friend Jake the other day about this issue and got so fired up that I thought it would be beneficial to write it down.
I go to school in the inner city in KC, I live in the southern suburb of Olathe. This is my context. The issue started when we started talking about church hoppers at our Church at KC Central, a large, suburban church (stereotypes apply). First, I do not feel comfortable at my church, I can critique it from every angle but it is still my church...love it, hate it. Some younger people left to go to the "super-trendy" church found in KC, which is great at the inner city community it is located in, which is the sole reason it exists, for its community. So the issue comes down to serving in one's community where the needs are versus going to other communities. This is the context of this blog.
The problem that really fired me up was the idea of coming from the suburbs to serve in the inner city. Good idea, sure. Helpful, of course. However, I never feel good going into the rescue mission because: 1.) it is not my community; 2.) the people there do not care that I'm there because they do not know me; 3.) I come away feeling as if I've done a 'good deed' rather than live the gospel. I'm tired of the guilt trip laid upon ANYONE who doesn't live in an urban context and how that is a failure to "authentically," "genuinely," "organically," live out the gospel of Jesus Christ! I can't simply go into the inner city and act as if I belong. Living out the gospel requires relationship. It isn't about me.
My context is the suburbs, it's where I live. I live here because I found a place with the cheapest rent in all of KC. And yet, I feel judged when I tell my fellow seminarians that I am from the suburbs, I feel looked down upon because I go to a larger church. That's what gets me rolling because somehow in a rebuttle against the large church 'holier than thou' mentality has become the 'urban social justice holier than thou' mentality. It's frustrating because why cannot we understand that regardless of our social status the gospel must be preached and if we are truly preaching the gospel there will be a reaction because the presence of God demands it! The gospel preached in truth, whether to a drunken homeless man or a wealthy business woman, will demand conviction; it will cause transformation.
To be responsible, we must dig deep into our own contextual settings and seek out the poor and helpless. This is very apparent in the urban setting and proves to be more difficult in the suburban setting, but it's there. If someone said that suburbs are only full of rich people than they are sorely mistaken and have bought into the stereotype. I love my friends from the inner city, my friend Jake is one of the them. He has a responsibility to his community in the same way that I have to my suburban context. We both serve at our church in that community, and we bring two very different perspectives and yet find common ground.
I go to school in the inner city in KC, I live in the southern suburb of Olathe. This is my context. The issue started when we started talking about church hoppers at our Church at KC Central, a large, suburban church (stereotypes apply). First, I do not feel comfortable at my church, I can critique it from every angle but it is still my church...love it, hate it. Some younger people left to go to the "super-trendy" church found in KC, which is great at the inner city community it is located in, which is the sole reason it exists, for its community. So the issue comes down to serving in one's community where the needs are versus going to other communities. This is the context of this blog.
The problem that really fired me up was the idea of coming from the suburbs to serve in the inner city. Good idea, sure. Helpful, of course. However, I never feel good going into the rescue mission because: 1.) it is not my community; 2.) the people there do not care that I'm there because they do not know me; 3.) I come away feeling as if I've done a 'good deed' rather than live the gospel. I'm tired of the guilt trip laid upon ANYONE who doesn't live in an urban context and how that is a failure to "authentically," "genuinely," "organically," live out the gospel of Jesus Christ! I can't simply go into the inner city and act as if I belong. Living out the gospel requires relationship. It isn't about me.
My context is the suburbs, it's where I live. I live here because I found a place with the cheapest rent in all of KC. And yet, I feel judged when I tell my fellow seminarians that I am from the suburbs, I feel looked down upon because I go to a larger church. That's what gets me rolling because somehow in a rebuttle against the large church 'holier than thou' mentality has become the 'urban social justice holier than thou' mentality. It's frustrating because why cannot we understand that regardless of our social status the gospel must be preached and if we are truly preaching the gospel there will be a reaction because the presence of God demands it! The gospel preached in truth, whether to a drunken homeless man or a wealthy business woman, will demand conviction; it will cause transformation.
To be responsible, we must dig deep into our own contextual settings and seek out the poor and helpless. This is very apparent in the urban setting and proves to be more difficult in the suburban setting, but it's there. If someone said that suburbs are only full of rich people than they are sorely mistaken and have bought into the stereotype. I love my friends from the inner city, my friend Jake is one of the them. He has a responsibility to his community in the same way that I have to my suburban context. We both serve at our church in that community, and we bring two very different perspectives and yet find common ground.
posted by Levi at
3:41 PM
2 Comments:
hey brotha! deep stuff.
i agree with you. guilt should never be a motivating factor in preaching the good news.
you are where you believe God has you. plain and simple. i don't think it is all about WHERE as much as it is WHO we feel called to minister to and with.
if every single person who knows Christ moved to the inner city, thereby neglecting the necessity of gospel advancement in the suburbs, you would see the same sort of holier than thou attitude in 20 years coming from people who are moving back into the suburbs.
there is no location where the gospel is most needed. it's needed everywhere. there are rich and poor people in both the suburbs and the cities. preach the gospel wherever you find yourself brotha.
Excellent post. It's what I've been thinking about a lot lately. I kind of touched on it in my last post - the sense that God may have different venues that He needs you in, but for now advance where you are. Even if it's to the one person in front of you. Even if it's in suburbia. My prayer each morning has been "Use me today wherever you've placed me - today."
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