Year: 2010

Cities that Thrive (according to history)

Posted on February 23, 2010

In his helpful book, The City: a global history, Joel Kotkin traces the rise and fall of the great cities of history. In his analysis he detects common factors that make or break a city. Whether it is the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia or the modern metropolis of Manhattan, New York, all thriving cities are safe, sacred, and busy. He writes:

Three critical factors have determined the overall health of cities—the sacredness of place, the ability to provide security and project power, and last, the animating role of commerce. Where these factors are present, urban culture flourishes. When these elements weaken, cities dissipate and eventually recede out of history”(xxi).

If we are to build and renew thriving cities, we will have to engage these three spheres of urban life—security (safe), economy (busy), and religion (sacred). Kotkin has given us a great template for urban renewal—safe, sacred, and busy. Are you engaging your city on these levels? What role should the church play in taking up this template? How the sacred, safe, and busy interplay can be awfully complex, but gospel of Christ call us to think of the city as a whole, not just in evangelical bits and pieces. Only then, can the church recover the bold reputation of the early Christians who made cities better not worse.

This recent sermon, Renew the City (part 5), takes Kotkin’s template and runs it through a Gospel Grid.

The Subtle Seduction of Miss October

Posted on February 22, 2010

Check out this blog post on How to Destroy Your Marriage from an acquaintance of mine. Excerpt:

Because I have… gone over every inch of Miss October as well as the throng of beauties that Madison Avenue and Hollywood recruit to tantalize the masses, I start to view my own wife in that light….

The rest…

Letter to Austin City Life

Posted on February 22, 2010

This morning I read a letter I wrote to my church, Austin City Life. Here it is in full. If you’re part of ACL, please take the time read and reflect and act on it.

To my fellow saints of Austin City Life,

It has been an immense joy to be the church with you over these past couple of years. Through your love for Christ and one another, I have fallen in love with the church all over again. Thank you.

This is no naïve infatuation. I have been consistently challenged by my own sin and shortcomings, as well as yours, but through our common hope in the gospel I have grown fonder of you, and what we are all becoming in Christ.

Together we are experiencing a low-level hum of gospel renewal. Some Christians are rediscovering the gospel all over again. Other Christians are discovering it for the first time, and still more of you, who held no claim to “Christian” at all, have discovered just how beautiful and essential Christ truly is. This is leading to more and more community and mission. For this I praise God.

In Philippians 2:5, Paul told the church to “have this attitude which was in Christ Jesus.” What attitude?

though he was in ​the form of God, did not count equality with God ​a thing to be grasped, but ​made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, ​being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ​becoming obedient to the point of death, ​even death on a cross. (Phil 2:6-8)

As I labor to see Christ formed in us, I long for us to be “obedient to the point of death”, death to comfort, convenience, and importance, in order be servant-formed communities that give life to others and our city. This is a matter of faith and it is a matter of obedience. Will you join me in having this attitude, which was in Christ Jesus by:

  • Caring for the children of our church family by showing them Jesus, keeping them safe, and loving them well. If you aren’t serving our kids, I’m asking you to start serving them right away unless you have a good reason not to.
  • Look for new ways to be obedient to the point of death and serve others. As we continue to press into gospel renewal, God is calling us keep less and give more. To embrace sacrifice over convenience in an expression of love for one another, our neighbors, and our city.
  • Pray with me for God’s provision for a new Sunday gathering space. Our last day in the Parish will be March 14. The staff have been searching and praying faithfully. Please join us in this.
  • Pray for God to provide like-minded elders to join me in shepherding our church. In order to grow with biblical integrity and health, we need more than one elder. Ask God to raise them up.

These are all ways that we can have the attitude of Christ Jesus. They require a persevering belief in the gospel, an abiding commitment to being family, and a dedication to see all of life as mission. We will do it imperfectly, but let us do it boldly.

With you in Jesus,

Pastor Jonathan