Suburbia: The Final Frontier

I just listened to an interesting podcast by Al Hsu (http://church.thewellpa.com/podcast/the-church-in-suburbia-audio/).  It’s well worth the two hours.

In it, Al points out that American suburbia is the fourth largest mission field in the world.  He also talks about many of the barriers to authentic community in suburban lifestyle.  I happen to agree whole-heartedly with most of his observations and suggestions.  I’ve had been fortunate enough to be involved in mission work in a variety of settings ranging from third-world cultures to post-industrial societies, from American north-east urban to southern rural – and I can say without hesitation that the suburbs are the most difficult ground in which to cultivate Gospel seeds.

In recent years, evangelicals have become enamoured with the city.  My own tribe, which has historically been very effective in rural and suburban areas, has in recent years switched its focus to ‘the city.’  The results have been mixed, but that is not my point.  I am all for bringing the Gospel of Peace and Freedom to the city – especially cities that have been torn by violence and drug addiction – like my own Baltimore.  I do not, however, believe that the city is a more strategic target than the suburbs or exurbs.  Population figures alone ought to be enough to put that argument to rest (more Americans live in the suburbs than the city, suburban population is growing at a greater rate, and suburban communities are rapidly diversifying  – meaning the world is moving to the burbs!).

A more vexing argument for the priority of the city is the fact that the Gospel appears to take root more readily in the city than the suburbs.  Some of our more popular church strategists use Jesus’ parable of the sower to demonstrate how we ought to focus on the ‘good soil’ that will produce a crop 30, 60 or even 100 times greater than the initial investment.  This is a common sense approach to resource allocation, and falls into the same sort of common-sense, good-business, biblical principle bailiwick as the nearly universally held precept that  ’healthy things grow.’  The problem is that while both principles sound good, neither is true to Jesus’ teaching.  The precept that healthy things must grow is counter to Jesus’ principle that the way to life is through death, i.e., John 12:24; Matthew 10:39; 16:25 (by now if you still believe that growth is evidence of health – I can only say you need to catch up on your reading).  The former principle, being more germane to the discussion here will be discussed in greater length.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus was not making a point about seed conservation – if anything, he is making the claim for a prodigals’ approach to Gospel sowing – sow it far and wide as if the supply is inexhaustible (which it is).  This efficiency fallacy is based upon basic economic principles that apply to this world, but not to the Kingdom Jesus proclaimed.  In God’s economy, efficiency is irrelevant.  God has repeatedly demonstrated an extravagance of grace that completely ignores the return on investment.  If we are indeed followers of the Master, then we must adopt this same approach.  By all means sow on good soil, but sow the Gospel of Peace everywhere – on good soil and bad – in the city and in the suburbs. 

Interestingly, this parable is followed immediately by another seed parable in which Jesus points out that the growth of the Kingdom is a mystery to us, and is not within our power to achieve – it is instead, in God’s hands.  God provides the growth – we are only responsible for sewing the seed and gathering the harvest.  We are not responsible for the yield – we are simply to sew everywhere we can (not only on the soil we consider to be good).

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been fortunate enough to engage in Kingdom work in many settings, but I find suburban Kingdom work to be the most fulfilling for a number of reasons.  First, it is unquestionably the hardest mission field I have encountered – and I find fewer and fewer people willing to make the sacrifices necessary to build Kingdom community in the suburbs.  The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few because suburban living has become synonymous with isolation and privacy.  Second, I find the increasing diversification of suburbia to to a social seam in which the Gospel can (and does) effectively knit together new communities in an amazing patchwork that exists in few other places.  Third, having spent my entire life in the suburbs, it is where I am most at home.  This in itself is not sufficient reason to remain, but lacking a Clarion Call elsewhere, I chose to remain where God has planted me.  If He calls elsewhere – I will go.  Until then, I will stay.  I could go on, but the audio link above is better – listen to it and pray about what God would have you do.

In the meantime, let me leave you with a few thoughts to ponder…

1. What would it take for my church to create a community gathering space consistent with the needs/desires of the larger community while also working towards the redemption of that community?
2. What can my church do to break down the walls of isolation and secrecy that prohibit real ‘community’ from breaking out in our neighborhoods? (Just gathering together won’t do it)
3. What are the idols that must be dethroned in my community before genuine redemption can occur?
4. How is God calling my church to participate in the taking down of neighborhood idols (prophetic voice, pastoral counselling, personal accountability, counter-culture creation…)?

~ by Stan Graham on January 12, 2009.