Posted on November 9, 2010
Great article on “Religion and the City” by urbanist Aaron Renn . He notes that religion and Christian churches in particular do much to relieve the tax burden of social services in cities. He cites several examples including the Harrison Center for the Arts, an arts initiative housed by Redeemer Presbyterian Church and led by Joanna Taft. When asked why she devotes time to improving the artistic and social character of the city, she replied:
I have been Presbyterian my whole life and my worldview has been influenced by the protestant reformed concept of the cultural mandate. This is the idea that humankind has been called to continue God’s work of creation–building cities, restoring broken neighborhoods, creating beauty, raising children, planting gardens, etc…..While some of our Christian friends would feel guilty doing this work because it was not “full-time Christian serviceâ€, understanding the cultural mandate gave us the freedom to pursue what some would see as secular work.
Here’s the stand out quote: “some of our Christian friends would feel guilty doing this work because it was not “full-time Christian serviceâ€, understanding the cultural mandate gave us the freedom to pursue what some would see as secular work.” Joanna sees all of life as mission, in particular her vocation. She’s making good culture precisely because of her faith, not in spite of it. Oh for ten thousand Christians in Austin that would approach their work like this, vocation as mission, as an act of love for the city. We are all in “full-time ministry”; the question is are we working like it? Or has our Christianity been reduced to spiritual moments and events or are we carrying out the creation mandate of continuing to build and renew cities?
