Urban Theology Overview (FTS_MN520)

Today I began my first of two one-week intensives, Encountering the City: Introduction to Urban Mission with Professor Jude Tiersma Watson. In this class we will learn the basic framework and skills to "exegete" the city and the people that live there, which essentially means that we will observe and interact with the different facets of the city in order to better understand who and what the city is. The end goal is that we would know how to "learn" a city and its people, so that we can more effectively join God in bringing his kingdom to bear on the city.

From an introductory article by our professor:

• In 1900 only 10% of the world's population lived in cities, now 50% of the world's population live in cities, and in 20-30 years it will be 70% with most of the growth in Africa and Asia.
• Latin America is already 80% urbanized.
• Within in the U.S., poverty is now expanding to the suburbs as the affluent "gentry" are returning to the city center.
• Because of the rapid change of cities globally, "much of what we have learned about life in cities, and the theology of cities, may not be relevant for the cities of the future."
• "Urban is both a place and a process. Urbanization is the process of growth within the city. Urbanism is the cultural impact of urbanization."
• The terms "urban ministry" and "inner-city" have been used not so much to designate a location but a certain group of people, the poor and at-risk. With the expansion of poverty to the suburbs, will our language change to match reality?
• Anti-urbanism is deep within the fabric of our nation, especially in our majority culture, and especially in the church. The American Dream is not an urban dream. "The greatest barriers to urban mission are not within the city but wihin the church."
• There is a need for further development of urban theology that focuses on praxis, narrative communication of theology, issues of justice, power, exclusion, racial reconciliation, and how the city is interconnected with suburban and rural areas.
  

Throughout this class I will be especially interested in how to apply city research methods to the university campus and surrounding community as well as looking at how universities are interconnected with the city. This should prove fruitful for campus ministry, especially in urban-based, heavily commuter campuses.