I’ve just recently read through the book of Nehemiah. It’s an amazing story of a guy who saw injustice and acted on it. What I love about Nehemiah is that he loved his city. Nehemiah loved Jerusalem and had a passion and desire to see the city rebuilt.
We know there’s a ton of leadership and spiritual principles from this story. As I was reading it got me thinking about ministry and mission. Here’s what came to my brain.
Why in ministry (as pastors) do we go to a church instead of a city or community?
This is a serious question I have for people in ministry. I see so many people transition from church to church. People have every right to go where they feel they need to go, but I wonder if people go places for the wrong reasons. I hear more about what the church is like instead of hearing about what the city or community is like. This concerns me a bit.
What if pastors stopped going places because of what the church is like and went because they felt called to a city?
Often denominations are like free agency. People go to churches because of how much they get paid and what type of church setting they are going to.
I look at Nehemiah and I see a guy who was called to a city.
My second question as I read is this…
Can you be a Christian on mission and not love your city?
A few months ago I saw somebody make a comment on facebook (no… I’m not a creeper… I just saw it in passing) that was laughing at the fact that somebody had become a fan of London, Ontario.
It got me thinking.
Should we as followers of Christ be living in cities we’re not passionate about? I know we have the story of Jonah who was called to a place he didn’t want to go… and don’t get me wrong, we need to be where God wants us, but can we be apathetic towards our communities and still live out the mission of Christ?
I mean the church is so important, but can we be so focused on the church that we completely miss the opportunity to join God in the renewal of our cities, the very places we live?
When you’re called to a city, what seems like “better opportunities” aren’t better. And when you’re called to a city the grass is green right where you are.
