Three Big Objections

Three Big Objections

This ecological approach to urban mission raises a raft of questions. Here are three:

1. This is all too overwhelming. If ecology necessary involves everything, we drown in the totality of it all. It’s too big to be practical. Don’t we risk losing sharp focus by

2 Howard A. Snyder, The Community of the King, rev. ed. (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 2004).

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looking at everything? How do we keep balance, establish priorities, keep fresh the gospel’s transforming, redemptive edge?

Answer: We must see the big picture, and this is in fact the big picture. Theologically we can interpret it through biblical teachings, models, and metaphors. Particularly crucial are passages such as John 1, Ephesians 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1. We start where those books start: with the big picture viewed in light of the large economy and ecology of God.

From the big picture, constantly reiterated, we move to the actual practice of Christian community. This is what Paul does in his letters. We take our cue from Ephesians 4:4-7:

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. [The big picture.] But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. [The particularization and application.]

This is how the ecology of urban mission works. It is what Paul does all the time. In Romans he begins with “the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand” (Rom 1:1-2) and ends with Priscilla and Aquila and their house church (Rom 16:3-4). We best find the particular and specific within the ecology of the big picture.

This is what Jesus did, showing the big picture (the kingdom of God) and bringing this home to specific people and needs and building community. In the actual practice of Christian community, working with the fruit and gifts of the Spirit in local contexts and neighborhoods, we learn how to strategize and determine priorities. The Spirit leads, joining the big picture to specific times, places, and persons. This is why I stress ecclesiology.

An ecological perspective helps us here. We find ourselves involved in a complex ecology of grace where we neither fully understand nor control everything. So we strive to be faithful and trust the Spirit to weave the particular into the larger ecology of his redemptive purposes within the complex ecology of our world.

Feature Howard A. Snyder

2. This approach requires major professional expertise. Where can we find specialists in urban ecology in all its complexity? The necessary skills and knowledge are way beyond most churches, especially small or poor ones.

There are two answers to this objection, one which involves clarification and the other networking. Clarification: An ecological concept of urban ministry does not mean people have to

be academically trained in ecology. Ordinary people can develop practical ecological sense. We learn, and learn to feel, that everything is tied to everything else both by immersing ourselves in Scripture and by paying attention to what we’re increasingly learning about the world around us.

Networking: We need each other. Every church needs other churches, and may need specialized ministries that provide resources for particular challenges. Most cities, as well, are full of resources of various sorts. The key is networking on the basis of and out of the strength of local, living Christian community.

3. Isn’t this ecological approach pressing an analogy way too far? Is it legitimate actually to take a concept from science and apply it to urban mission? Isn’t this a mismatch of categories?

No. This approach makes sense for three reasons. First, the ecological sensitivity we learn from studying living systems helpfully illuminates urban life and ministry, both by way of analogy and in actual fact, since urban mission exists within and is part of the real ecology of cities.

Second, the Bible itself radiates an ecological sensitivity based in the very nature of creation and gospel. Modern ecological science actually appropriates realities already embedded in the biblical revelation. The Bible is ecological.

Third, bringing this biblical ecological sensitivity into conversation with today’s ecological science births new insights. Ecology as applied to the church and ministry is more than metaphor. It illuminates realities long overlooked.

The smallest microorganisms and micro-ecosystems reveal dynamics that function on much larger scales. Ecological principles run all through God’s magnificent creation.

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To repeat: The city and urban mission are much more than ecological phenomena, but they are not less. We will understand both city and mission better, at more profound levels, as we view them ecologically.