I am writing this while sitting on the back porch of our apartment here at SENDAS. It is 7:30pm here, and it has already been dark for over an hour. A thunderstorm has yielded to a rain storm that is falling gently on our aluminum roof. This is my last night in Costa Rica. Today we woke up early for a day of touring the areas around San Jose. It was nice to see the rural areas of Costa Rica after spending most of the week in the urban environment of San Jose. We visited a volcano at 11,000 feet above sea level, stopped by the oldest church in Costa Rica where a wedding was being held, fished for trout that we ate for lunch, and finished the day off with coffee and desserts at a restaurant overlooking a lake in paradise. Life does not get much better than this!
Rest is an important part of urban ministry. I cannot lead well if I am not physically and spiritually healthy. One of my favorite authors is John Eldredge, who writes about finding our hearts in nature. Another one of my favorite authors is Ray Bakke, who writes about finding meaning in cities. I have had a difficult time bridging these two philosophies in my life. For me, life is a mixture of intense work in urban places and intentional rest in natural areas as needed. I believe that God can be found in nature and in cities. God is present in the power of a waterfall, or in the living room of a single mother in the inner city who is desperate to keep her son out of a gang. Today I experienced what it was like to rest in the beauty of nature after experiencing the beauty of complex urban environments throughout the week. God set a great example for us by resting during creation, so we should also seek time to rest.
I am learning that most Christians in America view God through a rural or suburban lens. Cities are understood as messy and complex, while nature is viewed as beautiful and normative. I never really paid any attention to this until about three or four years ago, but when you look closely you'll notice that most Christian images in America depict images of nature. In other words, God is found in nature, not cities. Many suburban Christians in America try to escape the messiness of cities in order to create their own natural comforts in suburbia. People do not like to think of life as messy.
Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that the suburbs and nature are bad, or that people who live this lifestyle are wrong. I lived in these areas for most of my life, and most of my friends and family still live in areas like that. The suburbs and rural areas are important to the life of healthy societies. I am only saying that God is in the city as well. God can be found in complex urban environments. Jesus did not come to the earth to be comfortable, devoid of any type of unpleasantness. He came to the earth to suffer and die for all of us. He spent most of his life as a homeless person, and he spent a great deal of time with sinners in complex, urban settings. He valued urban places, but he also knew how to withdraw and rest in places where there was not much activity. Jesus modeled a life of engaging in intense urban ministry and withdrawing to nature in order to be ready for the next time out.
I would love to learn how to rest more effectively upon return to Pittsburgh. Usually about every six months Julie can tell that I need some time away by myself. Over the past few years I have taken refreshing trips to places like Gettysburg, Laurel Highlands, and Niagara Falls. Lately, these DMin classes have proven to be an effective break for me from urban ministry. Although I spend a great deal of time studying on these trips, at least I am able to step away from the routines of life and focus on one thing for a period of time. In addition to having a huge impact on my leadership skills, I have also been able to reset my life in order to plunge back in to my ministry context in Pittsburgh.
2 comments:
Bryan
Most people who actively engage in ministry do a lousy job of 'personal maintainance'. Not only do they not rest properly, they don't eat properly, exercise properly, etc. You can't do effective ministry for very long if you don't maintain yourself.
As Mr. Myagi would say 'Balance, Daniel-son, balance'.
John V
I like what you're chewing on about nature/suburbs/city... The images we use (literally and mentally) to depict God/spiritual/faith, etc... are incredibly important. At the risk of sounding like a heretic (when has that stopped me before?) - I believe the images we use are even more powerful than the theology we hold. We react and are motivated by the images we carry. Somewhere I read from Brennan Manning that he feels his primary ministry is about healing people's damaged images of God.
Images shape content. The form something is presented in has a shaping effect on the thing itself. If God is always thought of through images of waterfalls and serenity, God's "shape" is effected by that imagery.
Take that idea and go further... what about the shapes of our church buildings? What about the images on our programs? The fonts on our advertisements? I'm on a soapbox now... :)
Seriously though, as your artist friend, I encourage you to never underestimate the immense power of the images we associate with God and faith.
Also - I dig your thoughts on suburbia. As an "up-to-my-eyeballs-suburbanite" myself (Mason was voted "Top Suburb" in Cincinnati this year)... I am in a continuous wrestling match with my surroundings. What I am discovering though, through research and personal experience, is something that you are alluding to here... that the distinctions aren't really helpful. Many urban planning people have begun to disregard terms like urban/suburban in favor of talking about cities as "metropolis" - as cross-pollinated, mutually dependent areas. This is true for my own experience. Flora and I both work in the city and live in the suburbs. Our church is in a middle-zone, suburban area that is becoming urban... This is more than just us being a commuter family. We maintain a community in those city areas, in my case, even more than in my suburban neighborhood.
- Tim
Post a Comment