Rating: 8
April 26, 2008
I’ll admit it. I was that guy. I went to inner-city schools from the second grade until I went to college, and I’ve always had an urban bias. Anything good happened in the city — whether rough or beautiful, as if rising from the ashes. And having been in urban ministry for four summers during college, and planting an urban church in the Boston area, I admit that i had my leanings. Suburbia is shallow, for half-hearted Christians who can’t part with their possessions, right?
That’s where I needed Al’s book, to strip away my prejudices about suburbia. And his book is hopeful. It made me think that suburban Christianity might actually have a chance. Sure, it’s a book of small steps, but sometimes the likes of Claiborne (though I completely resonate) can feel too idealistic to attain. He has argued that suburbia is like any other context, whether urban or rural or overseas, and has it’s pros and cons. And since more people live in the ‘burbs that in the city, we’d better figure out how to live faithfully out there as well.
For the first time, I can see my current place of residence (La Jolla, of all places) without guilt, and recapture the mission for this season — thanks to this book. I’m definitely recommending it to my pastor.
It’s a fine line, though, and I agree with Willard: the person in the penthouse needs more of the Kingdom than the person in the poorhouse — not less. It does seem to take a greater spirituality and a deeper sense of discernment to live in the suburbs without getting sucked into its lifestyle of consumption and isolation. But if you can, then continue to send the blessings outward to the rest of the world. And I think this book will help you take some next steps in the journey.
(Disclaimer: the author is my editor. *grin*)
You can view its Amazon detail page by clicking the image above.
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