Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This book is THE text book that everyone involved in urban ministry needs to read. Conn & Ortiz have worked together to create a book that covers almost every aspect of urban ministry, not only informing the reader of the challenges of urban ministry, but equipping the reader to face those challenges.
The book begins by placing the urban environment within the context of world history. The city was originally a place of worship, then it became a political center, a cultural center and a commercial center. The authors then focus on the global urban population explosion. These cities are growing for three reasons. These are first of all due to better medical care there is a stable birth rate and a declining death rate. Secondly, there is the push from the rural areas moving toward the cities for a better life. Finally there is the pull of the cities with the dream of having a better job and a better standard of living.
The authors wait until chapter thirteen to define the city as: "a relatively large, dense and socially heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God's divine purpose." The reader is challenged to rethink a rural centric Christian ideal which has retreated from the cities for many years turning the cities into a large and growing mission field.
The authors explore the role of the city as a center of culture, power and commerce. The city has always been a place of stability. In ancient times the city had walls for protection and today cities have large buildings that give an element of stability, yet the city is also a place of constant change. In this tension the urban minister is urged to be knowledgeable and prepared for ministry. The authors call the reader to make use of the social sciences, anthropology and demographics in their urban ministry. The final chapters are incredibly practical, teaching the reader about selecting and training urban leaders and mobilizing the laity.
The message of the book is not to just evangelism in the city, but mobilizing leaders and the church as a whole to bring about social transformation in the global urban centers.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City & the People of God
No. 3 in the 2002 Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Books of the Year!The city presents serious challenges that cry out for answers: poverty, racism, human exploitation and government corruption. How can the church move ahead in the midst of these demands with the gospel of hope? Here, in one comprehensive volume, Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz, two noted scholars and proven practitioners of urban ministry, address the vital work of the church in the city. Their dual goal: to understand the city and God's work in it.Through four great waves of development, Conn and Ortiz trace the history of the city around the world. Then they tackle the critical issue of a biblical basis for urban mission. How does the Bible view the city? Are we closer to God in the country than the city? Does the Bible have an anti-urban bias? These questions are given a thorough analysis that unveils God's urban mandate as reflected in both Old and New Testaments.From this foundation the authors unpack the multifaceted nature of the city as place, as process, as center, as power, and as a place of change and stability. They move us beyond fragmented stereotypes to a new way of seeing that is holistic enough for a fully biblical ministry to develop. In addition, Conn and Ortiz lay out what the social sciences have to offer urban mission, including ethnographic and demographic studies and they focus on the particular issues and needs of urban leadership, including a plan for developing and mentoring leaders while equipping the laity for ministry in the city.This is the essential text for bringing God's kingdom to the city through the people of God. Now in paperback!
Click here for more information about Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City & the People of God
0 comments:
Post a Comment