My friend Dean Simmer posted a link to an event that I think has lofty aspirations, but is going to fail miserably (if you define success as I do: the long term renewal of Detroit). I need to point out three things:
- I don’t bother disagreeing publicly with people who I don’t care about.
- At least these people care about Detroit.
- Prayer is part of the solution.
The fact that a group of people care enough to try this is wonderful. However, this event betrays a major worldview issue amongst Christians. How did Detroit get in the mess it’s in? Christians have been fleeing Detroit for the suburbs for a very long time. I hesitate to use the term “white flight” because it makes it sound like I think the solution is a bunch of white people moving to Detroit.
I think that Jordon Cooper said it best (speaking about Saskatoon):
My other question is what if we made a commitment to the places abandoned by the empire? I expressed my frustration before about the 1000 Christians descending on the west side to “clean up the place” for a day. I guess it gives warm fuzzy’s to people who don’t actually shop, live, or even visit the lower west side but I am talking about making a long term commitment to a place that are often left behind. These places aren’t just in the inner city either. I was outside of Ottawa a couple of years ago and some of the rural communities look like the last the good thing that happened to them was during the Diefenbaker years.
So, please, do pray for Detroit. But move to Detroit, plant a church in Detroit, and serve the poor in Detroit if you really want to see amazing things happen. There must be a sustained witness of the Kingdom, meaning simply, Christians need to make a comittment to move back into the places from which we have fled and we need to live there as good neighbors for the long term.
June 10, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I agree with you to a point. Praying and leaving won’t solve anything, just like suburban kids doing clean up projects and fleeing back to the suburbs won’t either. But it’s a start.
I think the reality is, people don’t care about their communities anymore, regardless of where they live. My three jobs are in Novi, Bloomfield Hills, and Detroit, and I try to make a constant attempt to build and love each of those communities. But what I see is that, simply put, most people don’t. And it’s not simply the time factor, but it’s the love factor. If you don’t love the people you work with, buy lunch from, get gas next to, etc., what right do you have to try to do anything on a bigger scale? Because you’ll fail. Because you’ll meet people who you’re afraid to love.
I think you’re right that people will succeed at saving Detroit by being Detroit, but I think it’s going to take a full-blown change of heart about community and neighbors before that will work. Which is why I think it starts small, like prayer groups. After all, someone has to support the disciples trying to change the world.
June 10, 2008 at 12:53 pm
And that, Ladies and Gents, is why I love Dean.
June 18, 2008 at 9:06 am
[...] am all for the reversal of urban flight, but I have never lived anywhere that presented so many challenges to [...]