THE ECOLOGY OF URBAN MISSION: A PRACTICAL APPLICATION 1

THE ECOLOGY OF URBAN MISSION: A PRACTICAL APPLICATION 1

James R. Maddux

Undoubtedly there are those who will brush aside Snyder’s provocative analysis as too nuanced. “Just preach the Gospel,” they will say, “and God will give the increase.” Such

a simplistic dismissal, however nobly intentioned, ignores both the biblical precedent for urban mission and the realities of life in most modern cities.

If just preaching the gospel was enough, why, then, did the Apostle Paul not write a single form letter for distribution to Christians in all the cities where he had preached? Clearly, it was because the issues of Corinth differed from those of the Galatians, and the Colossians faced issues less relevant to those in Thessalonica, Rome, or Ephesus. Instead, Paul treated each on a case-by-case basis, paying special heed to the interaction of Christians in these diverse locales and the social, religious, and political systems of which they were a living part. He acknowledged the differences and unique needs of Christians in each of these cities, guiding them so that they could become a transformational community within their communities.

Mission is about change. Ignorance to enlightenment, doubt to faith, sin to righteousness, damnation to salvation, and hate to love are the great transformational themes of the Bible, and they are endemic to the purpose of Christian mission, wherever that mission may lead. In the great cities of our world, the transformational task is often complicated by the hive of systems that exist in the human cultures there. Thus, Snyder is directly on point when he draws the parallel between the fragile and interwoven systems of the natural world (ecosystems) and the complex and sometimes equally fragile systems that comprise any localized human community. It is presumptuous,

1 Editors’ note: In keeping with the theme of Integral Mission, the editors thought it fitting to include a unique, additional, and practical review of Snyder’s “Ecology of Urban Mission” article in this edition.

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ill-advised, and ultimately futile to attempt the transformation of communities whose systems we do not thoroughly understand. Attaining such grasp will not only aid in God’s transformation of such communities, but have the added bonus of enriching those who would minister to them through the gleaning of new and valuable skills and the rich joy of touching other spirits.

In modern law enforcement, we learned (or perhaps re-learned) in the 1980s what the old-time officers who walked the beat instead of driving around in air-conditioned cruisers knew. If you don’t know the people, how they think, why they think that way, what influences them for good or ill, how they talk and who they talk to, how they group together and around what issues, you will always be an alien presence in their midst. The citizens and the officers will misunderstand, fear, and mistrust one another, and as a result they will fail to assist one another and the community will suffer.

My introduction to this mystery was as a community services officer in a large suburban Texas community comprised of 16 separate neighborhoods. Task one was to learn the city, and so I cruised from neighborhood to neighborhood in my unmarked patrol car, and walked the streets at night, talking with people from all walks of life. In less than a week, I understood clearly that, in practice, there was more about these neighborhoods that was different than was the same. While one neighborhood was a virtual slum, populated heavily by non-white minorities, a gated enclave not two miles distant sported million-dollar mansions owned by professional football, basketball, and baseball players. While palatial homes clustered around two of the municipality’s five lakes belonged to the nouveau riche who made killings in microchips and the stock market, those along the creek that meandered through the town were monuments to old money made in the oilfields. The places along the freeway were middleclass dwellings with overblown mortgages and two-career couples trying to raise families. All of these people rarely spoke to each other and shunned the police until they had an emergency. They had no concept that each had something to offer the others, and that by joining hands and working together toward a common good and against the

Column James R. Maddux

65 common enemy of urban decay they could build a collective life that would be better,

safer, and richer than the pointless fortress mentality that built walls between the various sub-communities and between the residents and those sworn to protect their lives and property.

To be an effective change agent involved becoming a universal advocate, listening to all sides, suggesting blended solutions wherein everyone could get what they needed. It entailed hours of listening, hard bargaining, representing truth to power, taking risks, and an endless exercise of patience. Most of all, it took investment in growing an ever-deepening understanding of all of these groups. All of this was prerequisite to convincing them that the only agenda that mattered was their wellbeing. Christian mission is like that. Urban communities increasingly respond poorly to hit-and-run evangelism where, like traveling salespeople, we hawk our wares and move on. Our biggest breakthrough in community policing came when two of our officers bought homes in our most rundown neighborhood, cleaned them up, and moved in. Urban mission is like that. If you don’t take the trouble to understand and work through the ecosystems, expect that much of the seed will fall on shallow soil. Howard Snyder is right on point.

Dr. James R. Maddux served as professor and then dean of a Christian college for ten years, before enjoying a successful 11-year pastoral ministry

in Houston, Texas. Later, he spent seven years in the law enforcement community, with specialization in community affairs, crime prevention, and street gang intervention. He joined Healthy Family Initiatives, a hospital- based organization, working to provide high-risk new parents with the parenting skills, socioeconomic support systems, and knowledge of child protection laws, with an end goal of keeping their newborns safe, secure, and out of the protective system.

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