Articles
Small Church, Big City
Centreville is a small church in a big metropolitan area as is the Upper West Manhattan congregation among whom Don Bunting works as an evangelist. The UWM church is in a much more urbanized setting than we are, but the locations provide both challenges and opportunities for Christians.
Luke’s chronicle of Paul’s work among the Gentiles shows that Paul concentrated his efforts on large population centers, chief cities of a region and highways and crossroads of the Empire. The Roman world may have lacked modern communication and transportation technology, but it did not lack for mobility as the winds of commerce, politics and information regularly swept along the roads and seas of the Mediterranean basin. Paul took advantage of that to plant the gospel in places from which it could radiate along routes of travel.
Saints in both DC and NYC live amid a stable economy, abundant jobs, government business, educational options, high tourism and other factors that attract many new residents and visitors. We are well-positioned to encourage fellow Christians that come our way for a while and then move on. We are surrounded by hordes of the unsaved, some so intent on making their mark or furthering their career that they never bother to lift their eyes heavenward. But we are here for them, too, if they will but give us a chance.
We have a great stewardship to shine the light of the gospel in our respective areas, to stand for truth in an oft-hostile environment, to help stabilize those disoriented by relocation, to teach those who have perhaps received poor Bible instruction or are weak in conviction. We should be an oasis of spiritual refreshment to those wearied by the rigors of this world.
And that brings us to the downside of metropolitan living: the depersonalizing effects of urban structure; the pace of life that dominates our schedule and wearies our minds; the traffic and travel that wastes our precious time and frays our nerves. The proverbial rat race displaces leisurely conversation, separates neighbors who live just feet apart and strangles the life out of common courtesy. We sometimes call it a grind.
Our conversation often reflects the stress of big city life:
“I didn’t get home until 9:00 p.m. because of delays on the VRE.”
“My apartment rent is more than a mortgage.”
“I’ll be in Denver for a corporate seminar, then in L.A. for a conference.”
“I’ll still be paying off my student loans when I’m sixty.”
But we cannot let the downside dominate our attitude and corrode our spiritual ambition. We must fight the tendency to withdraw from others, to let our schedules control, to measure everything in financial terms, to be constantly irritated by the friction of strangers who can be rude, self-absorbed and just plain unfriendly.
If Paul ever dreamed of retiring to his own Adriatic isle to enjoy peace and solitude, he never mentioned it – at least in an epistle. He kept his eyes on expanding the kingdom’s horizons (Rom 1:10-15; 15:22-26). He centered his affections on heaven which was true gain for him, yet he also knew that “to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (Ph 1:21, 24). He learned contentment with what he had lest greed inflame or complacency deaden (Ph 4:10-12). Paul’s life embodied the Lord’s admonition to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt 6:33).
Saints in both DC and NYC live in vibrant, high energy environments which provide many opportunities to serve the Lord. May we remain focused on the upside and “redeem the time” we have been given.
