Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Seeking
the Peace
of the City
Ministry in the
Urban Context

SUM ME R 2 0 0 5 V O L .3 5 N O. 1 s umme r 2 0 0 5 1
 c o nte nts
THE MINISTRY MAGAZINE
OF GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
SU MMER 2005 VO L.35 N O.1

3 Christian Values and a Seven-Mile Run

Paul Burton

6 A Vision for the City: The Jeremiah Paradigm for the City
Eldin Villafañe

9 The Urban Church: A 1st Century A.D. Model

Ken Shigematsu

11 Pastoring in the City

Anne B. Doll
Building Healthy Neighborhoods, page 22

20 Urban and Suburban Churches: Partnering to Serve

Craig W. McMullen

Board of Trustees Paul E. Toms

Mr. Joel B. Aarsvold
Mrs. Linda Schultz Anderson
Mr. Richard A. Armstrong, Chair
Dr. George F. Bennett
Rev. Richard P. Camp, Jr.
Mr. Thomas J. Colatosti
Mr. Charles W. Colson
Dr. Leighton Ford
Mrs. Joyce A. Godwin
Dr. William F. Graham
Dr. Michael E. Haynes
Mr. Herbert P. Hess, Treasurer
Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr.
Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
Mr. Caleb Loring III
Mrs. Anne Graham Lotz
Dr. Christopher A. Lyons
Mrs. Joanna S. Mockler
Fred L. Potter, Esq.
Shirley A. Redd, M.D.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr.
David M. Rogers, Esq.
Mr. John Schoenherr
Rev. Ken Shigematsu
Mrs. Virginia M. Snoddy
Mr. John G. Talcott, Jr.
Joseph W. Viola, M.D., Secretary
J. Christy Wilson III, Esq.
Dr. John H. Womack
William C. Wood, M.D., Vice Chair
Robert E. Cooley, President
Emeritus
22 Is Christ in Community?
Michael L. Colaneri
Editorial Advisory
Committee
Dr. Sidney L. Bradley
Dr. Barry H. Corey
24 A Theology of the City: Is it Time for Another St. Augustine and
Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. a Roland Allen to Set the Case for the City Once Again?
Dr. Alvin Padilla Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
Rev. C. Ronald Riley
Dr. Haddon W. Robinson
Dr. Kenneth L. Swetland
Mrs. Nina L. Walters 26 Contexualized Urban Theological Education: The Center for
Mr. David Zagunis Urban Ministerial Education’s Guiding Philosophy
President Eldin Villafañe
Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
Chief Development Officer
Howard Freeman 28 Urban Youth Ministry and a Theological Education
Dean Borgman
Director of Communications
and Editor of Contact
Anne B. Doll
30 The Center for Urban Ministerial Education: An Historical
Assistant Director of Overview
Communications
and Assistant Editor of Contact Alvin Padilla
Michael L. Colaneri

Emeriti Members
Graphic Designer
Nicole Rim
32 Shepherds in the City?
Allan C. Emery, Jr. Tim S. Laniak
Roland S. Hinz Photography
Robert J. Lamont Matthew Doll
Richard D. Phippen
Samuel J. Schultz
Nicole Rim 34 There’s Gold in the City!
Gregg Detwiler

Inquiries regarding #/.4!#4 may be addressed to: Editor, #/.4!#4

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 130 Essex Street, S. Hamilton, MA 01982
Tel: 978.468.7111 www.gordonconwell.edu
36 Seminary News

GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON

THE BASIS OF RACE,GENDER,NATIONAL OR ETHNIC ORIGIN, AGE, HANDICAP 47 Opening The Word
OR VETERAN STATUS. William Spencer

2 s u m m e r 20 0 5
 ON THE FRONT LINES

It’s 4 a.m. and the alarm clock rings. More than 100 young boys are about to start their day with a rude

awakening: a seven-mile run. “Let’s go; let’s go; let’s go,” Ron Burton, Jr. sings out at the top of his voice.

“Time to get up! It’s another salubrious day. Get your sweats on; put your feet on the floor; let’s go.”

With eyes half shut and the moon still out, the campers
slowly put on their sweat suits, and lace up their New Bal-
ance sneakers for a jog. They know it won’t kill them; it will
only make them better. “Remember, young men, take it slow.
This is not a race,” Paul Burton exclaims. “Remember to
pace yourself up those hills and keep pumping your arms, and
before you know it the run will be over. You can do it!” After
a quick stretch and some encouraging words, the campers
begin their journey that will help “re-shape” their lives. Every
summer more than 100 young boys ages 11-17 come out to
a small, remote town called Hubbardston, located in central
Massachusetts. Most of the kids come from some of the tough-
est inner-city neighborhoods around. And to understand why
they are here is to know of a man who started with “nothing,”
and still managed to build his dream...
Ron Burton was a skinny, poor kid from Springfield,
Ohio, who figured out early in life that it didn’t take size or
status to outrun every kid in his town. He wasn’t born with
much talent.
In fact, Burton wasn’t born with much, but two parents
who loved him and a grandmother who transformed his life.
When Ron Burton was a young boy, all the neighborhood kids
used to tease him because he was so poor and had no athletic
skills. Burton was given the nickname “Nothing.”
“I used to cry every single day because of the way I was
treated,” Burton would say. In fact, the only place he would
go where he was treated nicely was his grandmother’s church.
Ron’s mother, Mary, died when he was just a teenager, and
his father grew ill. The only person Ron could truly count
on was his grandmother, Shayne, who was a devout Gospel
preacher. Shayne shared with Ron the saving Gospel message
of Jesus Christ all throughout his early years. “I got connected
to Christ at a very early age, which brought me incredible
peace,” he would later say. “The only problem I had now was
I wanted to stop the laughter.”
Growing up in the State of Ohio in the 1940’s, football was
the only sport people paid attention to. Ron loved the game
of football, but he really had no abilities to play it well. For

Christian Values Paul Burton, ‘02

and a Seven-Mile Run

s umme r 2 0 0 5 3
 ON THE FRONT LINES

All of the kids come

to the camp for five
weeks straight,
and they leave with
a sense of hope
and determination to
make something of
their lives. The entire
camp is run on love.

4 s u m m e r 20 0 5

many years he was the only kid to whom teams would not
give a football uniform. It wasn’t until his eighth-grade year
that he was given a uniform, but he never played a down. It
wasn’t until the last play of the last game of his eighth-grade
year that his coach called Ron’s name. “And I want everybody
to know that my coach did not call my name because all of
a sudden he developed a fondness toward me,” Ron would
recount. “It was only because all the other players ahead of me
got hurt. I was the only player left on the bench.” Ron got in
the game and ran for 12 yards. A first down. “It was prob-
ably the most important 12 yards of my life.” That’s because
after the game, another coach came up to Ron and told him
that in order to get better at football, he had to learn how to
train. What that coach didn’t realize is that he was talking to a
young kid who was willing to pay any price to get better and
stop the laughter. The very next day, Ron Burton got up at
4:00 a.m. and began his seven-mile run.
By the time he was a senior in high school, Burton was
an All-American. He received 47 scholarship offers to all the
major football schools. He chose to attend Northwestern
University. In 1959, while at NU, Ron became All-American
and was a Hiesman Trophy finalist. In 1960, he was the first
round draft pick for the NFL and played six successful seasons
with the Boston Patriots. Burton later went to work for John
Hancock Insurance and became a wealthy executive. Ron
succeeded off the field in every way. He became a national mo-
tivational speaker and did public outreach. In 1990, Ron was
inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
In 1985, he opened the Ron Burton Training Village, a
non-profit Christian sports camp for young boys. Burton had a
dream to start a camp where kids would come free of charge
to train and obtain personal growth for success in every facet
of life. The athletic, spiritual and academic focus of the RBTV
is designed to help each youngster achieve his personal best.
Achievement is important at RBTV. The real aims are mental,
physical and spiritual development: values Ron’s grandmother
taught him. The camp’s motto, “Love, Peace, Patience, Humil-
ity,” is found on all the clothes kids receive. RBTV employs
Christian values as the foundation upon which character is
built. There are SAT prep courses, Bible study classes, all
aimed at helping young kids reach their dreams. The theme
of the camp is “Me Third”: God first, others second, and me
third. The RBTV teaches the youngsters never to drink, swear
or partake in any form of substance abuse. All of the kids
come to the camp for five weeks straight, and they leave with
a sense of hope and determination to make something of their
lives. The entire camp is run on love. Above the cafeteria door,
a wooden sign that says “Love One Another” is posted for all
the campers to see every day.
Ron Burton passed away in 2003 of bone cancer. His four
sons and daughter are now in charge of keeping their father’s
legacy alive. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Ron
Burton Training Village. Since its inception, more than 2000
young men have been impacted by its message.
ON THE FRONT LINES
Building Bright Futures
Most of the kids who attend the RBTV come from broken
homes and very difficult situations, like the three young men
you’re about to meet. Nineteen-year-old Ben Riggan says he
never knew his father growing up. And when he came to the
camp at age 11, Ben admits, he was a quiet, angry kid. “I
pretty much came to RBTV with nothing and left with a fam-
ily. I don’t know how to explain much better than that.”
Ben attended the RBTV for eight consecutive years and be-
came one the camp’s top leaders. Many colleges and universi-
ties have taken a great interest in the RBTV. Bentley College,
Stonehill College and Northern Michigan have all created their
own full scholarship programs for the top campers who gradu-
ate from the village. West Point and the Air Force Academy
also recruit kids straight out of the village. Ben Riggan is cur-
rently a sophomore at Stonehill College on a full Ron Burton
Training Village scholarship.
George and Charles Toulson of Delaware entered the camp
together in 1987. Their mother heard Ron Burton speak at
a banquet one day and decided to send her two young boys
to the camp. Charles and George attended the camp for six
straight years, and both graduated with high honors. George
went on to attend Yale University and Charles attended Duke
University. “I would have to say the greatest feeling was the
sense of accomplishment after every summer,” George says.
“At such an early age, I was instilled with such a hard work
ethic. And not only as it pertained to sports, but also in life,
education and even in my relationships with people. By the
end of the summer, just being able to get through that, you
come out with the attitude, that, like wow, I can do anything.”
George is now a financial advisor for Vanguard Insurance.
After graduating from Duke University, Charles’ life-long
dream was to become a doctor. Today, Dr. Charles Toulson is
an orthopaedic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Mary-
land. “When I first came to the camp I was this skinny little
kid with very little talent,” Dr. Toulson says humbly. “But
now I know there is nothing I cannot accomplish by the grace
of God. I know that since 11 years old, I’d gotten up at four in
the morning. I ran seven miles a day. I did competitive sports.
And those are the things that helped get me through medical
school and tests and even helped me become a good resident
physician in the hospital.”
Those are just a few of many stories about kids who have
come out of the Ron Burton Training Village, their lives
changed, and headed for success.
Paul Burton, ’02, is a reporter on the news team of ABC6
in Providence, RI. A former athlete, he was an All Big Ten
punter at Northwestern University, a part of two Big 10
championships and played in the 1996 Rose Bowl and 1997
Citrus Bowl. After a brief stint with the Seattle Seahawks, he
hung up his cleats and picked up a microphone to begin his
career as a journalist. Burton received BA in Communica-
tions and Masters in Journalism degrees from Northwestern,
a Master of Arts in Urban Ministry from Gordon-Conwell, and
is currently pursuing a D.Min. degree in the seminary’s The
Preacher and the Message tract. He also directs the Ron
Burton Training Village.
s umme r 2 0 0 5 5
 A Vision
for the City:
The Jeremiah Paradigm for the City
Our Cities – Our Nations
Our cities are not what they were 50 years ago, 25 years
ago, or even 10 years ago. Our cities are multiethnic, multi-
cultural, and increasingly multilingual. They are increasingly
divided between the “haves” and “have-nots” and between
people of color and white.
While Marshall McLuhan spoke of a “global village” to
highlight the critical communication and interdependency of
contemporary life, we need to further qualify it to read an
“URBAN global village.” The apparent contradiction of urban/
village underscores the reality of the global process of people/
ethnic movements from village to major urban centers. This
worldwide phenomenon is also, given our immigration pat-
terns, the experience of cities in the USA. Be it Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Chicago or Los Angeles, each is undergo-
ing this globalization process: a multiethnic and multicultural
reality increasingly defining its ethos.
Ben Wattenberg, the author and demographer, speaks
of our cities and our nation as experiencing “the dawning of
the first universal nation.” The notion of the United States
as a “universal nation” is not new since historically the great
American experiment has represented this very aspiration. It is
important to note that this internal development is consistent
with the external “global mission” of America found in its cultural
narratives—stories that shape American images of self and world.1
6 s u m m e r 20 0 5
Eldin Villafañe, Ph.D.
A Second City
Our cities can be further described in the words of Charles
Dickens as !4ALEOF4WO#ITIES (“It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times”), for there is a “second city” in
all our urban areas. This “second city” is the apt classifica-
tion of the former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, at
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government a few years ago
(February 23, 1999). His eloquent speech, labeled “prophetic”
by the secular media, underlined the plight of those living in
the “second city.” A “second city” is one that increasingly
must live with a second-hand education, second-hand housing,
second-hand security, second-hand health services and second-
hand clothing. A “second city” is one that increasingly must
live with the deterioration, the breakdown, of its moral and
spiritual foundation.
I am concerned for the city—particularly that inner city
reality, the “second city.” And I am deeply concerned with a
Church that needs a holistic vision for the city.
A Biblical Paradigm
In view of the phenomenon of urbanization and globaliza-
tion, and the problems and promises that go along with it, I
need to raise a few critical questions: What is the role of the
people of God in the city? What is the vision of my church
for the city?
 A very wise man of long ago, a man that knew a little of I am helped by the etymology of the word church (EKKLE

the complexities of the city, said: “Where there is no vision, SIA). In ancient Greece it referred to the congregation or as-
the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). The NIV reads as follows: sembly of the “called out ones” to discuss the situation of the
“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.” POLIS. The Church gathers to worship and to equip itself to
The absence of vision (or revelation) results in a “social melt- impact the POLIS. It does not live for itself, but for the king-
down,” a moral and spiritual disintegration. Individuals and dom (rule, sovereignty, lordship) of God. The Church cannot
institutions—including the Church—that are to model and live be indifferent to the human needs in the city—be they physi-
out a vision are often themselves visionless. A vision, whether cal, political, economic or spiritual. It does not hide; neither
we apply it to an individual or an institution, gives direction, does it integrate falsely in society. The people of God do not
focuses energies, informs content and character, and sets the compromise its identity. It knows that it must be present IN the
framework for “seeing” and “valuing” life’s true meaning and city, WITH and FOR the city; yet it also knows that it is not OF
goals. It shapes the image of self and world. the city. The Church is present as salt and light (Matthew 5:
Through the years, many books and persons have inspired 13-16) in all the affairs of the POLIS.
and challenged my work in urban ministry. Yet, time and Moreover, a key word/concept that clarifies the Church’s
again, I have been driven by God’s Spirit to find fresh inspi- presence in the city is contextualization. Contextualization is
ration in the words of the prophet Jeremiah: “And seek the the SINEQUANON of all faithful and effective urban ministry.
peace [SHALOM] of the city... and pray to the Lord for it; for in It may be best defined by the biblical paradigm of incarna-
its peace [SHALOM] you will have peace [SHALOM]” (29: 7). tion (John 1:14; Philippians 2: 5-11) While urban ministry is to
Jeremiah’s words are instructive here. They present a new serve the whole city—the neighborhoods as well as the greater
challenge to God’s people metropolitan area—it
in a new reality. You are begins with and con-
familiar with the histori- The people of God do not compromise its textually expresses a
cal background of Jer-
emiah 29—the people of
God are captive, exiled
identity. It knows that it must be present
commitment to and sol-
idarity with those with
whom Jesus did. In the
in Babylon. From Jeru- in the city,with and for the city; language of Leonardo
salem, Jeremiah writes Boff or Gustavo Gutier-
a radical letter! It ad- yet it also knows that it is not of the city. rez, it manifests “a
dresses their question, preferential option for
our question: What is the the poor”—for those
role of the people of God in the city? Or, to bring it closer to who live in the “second city.” Urban ministry is challenged to
home: What is the role of the Church (God’s people) in the city humbly express an “urban KENOSIS.” It must struggle to empty
today? Jeremiah’s answer—I call it “The Jeremiah Paradigm for itself of the prerogatives, prestige and power so highly valued
the City”—is an overarching, holistic vision for the city, one by the world, and pitch its tent among the poor and marginal-
that can inspire our work in urban ministry. ized communities in our cities.3
Jeremiah’s answer, particularly verses 4-7, involves three
fundamental theological elements critical to any theology of ur- A Theology of Mission/Ministry
ban ministry. Said differently, Jeremiah’s paradigm stems from: 0EACE Jeremiah 29:7 “Seek the peace of the city,” speaks to
(1) a theology of context, (2) a theology of mission/ministry, the Church of our mission in the city. The word and con-
and (3) a theology of prayer (or spirituality). Corresponding to cept “peace” {3HALOM} best sums up for me the mission and
it are three key words: presence, peace and prayer. ministry of the Church. Scripture presents to us at least three
It’s important to underline here that recent New Testament dimensions of 3HALOM, three dimensions of peace that we are
scholarship has affirmed the significance of this passage of Jer- encouraged to seek. They can be summarized as: peace with
emiah for the early church and for us today. Bruce W. Winter God (Romans 5:1), the peace of God (Philippians 4:7) and
in his 3EEKTHE7ELFAREOFTHE#ITY#HRISTIANSAS"ENEFACTORS (seek) the peace of the city (Jeremiah 29:7).
AND#ITIZENS posits as his major thesis that of all letters in the In the Old Testament, 3HALOM speaks of wholeness, sound-
New Testament, it is 1 Peter that considers the theme of the ness, completeness, health, harmony, integrity, prosperity, rec-
welfare of the city in detail (particularly 1 Peter 2:11-3:17). onciliation, welfare, justice and salvation—both personal and
He further states that 1 Peter’s call to “seek the welfare of the social.4 The Church is an instrument, a servant, of peace in the
city” is based on Jeremiah 29 as the key theological paradigm city. It preaches and lives out the 3HALOM of God.
to “do good and seek peace” (3:11)—a text that informs these The essence of the gospel is 3HALOM. In Christ, peace (EI

first century Christians of the DIASPORA to be engaged in the RENE, in the New Testament is a word richly informed by the
POLIS—the city!2 Old Testament word SHALOM) has come (Luke 1:79, 2:14); by
him it is given/bestowed (Mark 5: 34; Luke 7: 50) and his dis-
A Theology of Context ciples are its messengers (Luke 24: 45f). The Church needs to
0RESENCE Jeremiah 29: 4-6 speaks to the Church of our relation- be reminded, in the words of Peter at the house of Cornelius
ship to the city, to culture and society. Jeremiah’s words to those (Acts 10:36): “You know the message God sent... telling the
exiled in “wicked” Babylon are still relevant. Against the false GOODNEWSOFPEACE through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
prophets who might call for “assimilation,” “revolution” or “es- We are exhorted by Paul in Ephesians 6:15, and I like the way
capism,” Jeremiah called for “critical engagement”—for presence! the New Revised Standard Version renders it, “As shoes for

s umme r 2 0 0 5 7
 your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim (EISTHE,ORDOVERTHENATIONSAND(EANSWERSTHEPRAYERSOF
the gospel of peace.” (ISPEOPLE
The Church must be an embodiment and an agent of 3HA
4HEEVIDENCEOF'ODSSUPERNATURALWORKTHROUGHOUT
LOM in our cities—particularly in those places of brokenness HISTORYSHOWSUSTHATPRAYERMOVESTHEHANDOF'OD0RAYER
and hopelessness, the “second city.” Expressed in the classical CHANGESTHEFATEOFNATIONS0RAYERBRINGSVICTORYATTHEBRINK
missiological categories of the Church’s mission, it means: KER
OFDEFEAT7HENTHE#HURCHISATITSWEAKESTITSTILLHASACCESS
YGMA—speaks of a church that proclaims by word and deed the
Good News of peace through Jesus Christ; KOINONIA—speaks of
a church that lives in fellowship and in authentic community,
one that has experience and models for society “the peace of
God that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7); DIAKO
armor of God, we go out to confront the “principalities and
NIA—speaks of a church, and of Christian ministry or service of
SHALOM to a hurting and broken humanity—an agent of recon-
ciliation, welfare and justice; and LEITOURGIA—speaks of a church
that celebrates and worships the Prince of Peace!
A Theology of Prayer (Spirituality)
0RAYER Jeremiah 29: 7b, “and pray to the Lord for it,” speaks
to the Church of the spirituality needed to struggle and live
TOTHEPOWEROF'ODTHROUGHPRAYER5
A true urban spirituality knows that the struggle requires
the nurturing and “caring of the soul.” Spiritual power encoun-
ters are indeed present in the POLIS. Equipped with the whole
powers.”
In the last part of this text, Jeremiah states a great truth
(and a seemingly ironic appeal to “enlightened self-interest”)
when he encourages them and us “for in its peace [that of
“wicked” Babylon] you [the people of God] will have peace”
(7b). Our challenge is clear. We should pray and seek the
peace of the city, if not for “Babylon’s” health, at least for the
Church’s health!
1
See, Roger G. Betsworth, 3OCIAL%THICS!N%XAMINATIONOF!MERICAN-ORAL4RADI
TION (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, 1990), pp. 107-37; see also “Toward
the First Universal Nation,” 4HE"OSTON'LOBE, March 16, 1991, p. 22.
2
Bruce W. Winter, 3EEKTHE7ELFAREOFTHE#ITY#HRISTIANSAS"ENEFACTORSAND
#ITIZENS ((First-Century Christians in the Graeco-Roman World) (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), 1994.
3
See, Eldin Villafañe, 3EEKTHE0EACEOFTHE#ITY2EmECTIONSON5RBAN-INISTRY
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 1995).
4
See among the many works, Perry B. Yoder, 3HALOM: 4HE"IBLES7ORDFOR3ALVATION
*USTICEAND0EACE(Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, 1987); Walter Bruegger-
mann, ,IVING4OWARD!6ISION"IBLICAL2EmECTIONSON3HALOM (New York: United
Church Press, 1982); and Robert Banks, “Peace” in Carl F.H. Henry, ed. "AKERS
$ICTIONARYOF#HRISTIAN%THICS (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973), pp. 494-495.
5
Peter Kuzmic, “Prayer: The Church’s Strength” in -OUNTAIN-OVERS, Vol. 36, No. 2,
February 1994, pp. 5-6.

in the city. A true urban spirituality knows the critical impor-

tance of prayer. Prayer is a radical and revolutionary act. Karl
Barth states it well: “To clasp the hand in prayer is the begin-
ning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”
Read carefully the words of my colleague, Peter Kuzmič,
Paul E. and Eva B. Toms Distinguished Professor
of World Missions and European Studies, on the theme of
Eldin Villafañe, Ph.D., Professor of Christian Social Ethics,
was founding director of Gordon-Conwell’s 29-year-old Boston
Urban Ministry campus, the Center for Urban Ministerial Edu-
cation (CUME), which annually serves nearly 400 multilingual
and multicultural students. He has also served as Minister of
Education at Iglesia Cristiana Juan 3:16 in the Bronx, New
York, then the largest Hispanic church in the nation. From
1996 to 2000, he was also Executive Director, The Contex-
tualized Urban Theological Education Enablement Program
prayer: )N%ASTERN%UROPEWEHAVESEENTHEHANDOF'ODBRING (CUTEEP), a PEW Charitable Trust funded national re-granting
DOWNCOMMUNISM0RAYERISTHESTRONGESTPOLITICALPOWERIN program. He has been named one of the nation’s 10 most influential Hispanic reli-
gious leaders and scholars. Among his books are The Liberating Spirit: Toward An
THEWORLD7EHAVESOMETIMESCONlNEDITTOOURPERSONAL Hispanic-American Pentecostal Social Ethic; Seek the Peace of the City: Reflections
PIETYANDCONCERNSBUTOUR3AVIORNOTONLYMEETSINDIVIDUAL on Urban Ministry; and A Prayer for the City: Further Reflections on Urban Ministry.
NEEDS(EISALSOTHE#REATORTHE3USTAINEROFTHEUNIVERSE

“ The Church must be an embodiment and

an agent of Shalom in our cities—
particularly in those places of brokenness and

8 s u m m e r 20 0 5
hopelessness, the ‘second city.’
”

B uilding a church isn’t like starting a McDonalds’ franchise.
With McDonalds, you achieve success by replicating the
same taste all over the world. Whether you’re in Boston,
Budapest or Beijing, a Big Mac should taste pretty much the
same. If it tastes different, look around you; you may be in
Burger King!
When it comes to building a church, however, we can’t sim-
ply download the franchise game plan for the “perfect church.”
We can, however, learn from other models. Evangelicals of-
ten look to large, contemporary, suburban churches as “model
churches.” City pastors, however, may be better off looking
back at ancient urban models. Our postmodern cities, as schol-
ars have noted, have many similarities to the first century cities
featured in the New Testament.
Antioch, for example, was a city we might recognize. It had
people from all over the world: Europe, the Middle East, Af-
rica, India and East Asia. Antioch was a port city and a center
for trade and commerce. Antioch also housed a great library
and fostered scholarship. The city was religiously pluralistic
and pleasure seeking.
Given Antioch’s urban ethos and the Holy Spirit’s trans-
forming work there through the people of God, the church at
Antioch serves as a powerful model for those of us called to
urban ministry.
International Outreach
Up until the “Antioch Era” of the early church, the Gospel
of Jesus Christ had been communicated almost exclusively to
Jewish people. In Acts 11:19, we read that followers of Jesus
who had been scattered throughout Asia Minor had been tell-
ing the message of Jesus “only to Jews.” But, in Acts 11:20,
we read that some people from Cyprus and Cyrene went to
Antioch and began communicating the news of Jesus with
“Greeks also...”
A theological cornerstone for those of us involved in urban
ministry is the conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is
for all people.
the urban church:
A 1st Century
A.D. Model
Rev. Ken Shigematsu, ‘95
This may sound obvious, but it is significant for us in a
time when persuasive voices in the church growth movement
have emphasized the need to target homogenous units of
people (often people just like the leaders). The reasoning goes
that people will be more receptive to the Gospel if they don’t
have to cross ethnic or economic lines to come to Christ. So
target a specific ethnic group or socio-economic group like
young professionals or a specific generational group, like Gen
X or Y, so people won’t have to cross social barriers to come
to Jesus. A church that focuses on a razor thin demographic
slice may expedite “numerical growth,” but also contradicts
the reconciling power of the Gospel!
The church at Antioch was passionate about reaching
people of different ethnic backgrounds with the Gospel and,
as a result, people were not only reconciled to God, but with
each other. Urban missiologist Ray Bakke points out that
Antioch was a city that had both an exterior wall and interior
walls that separated the various ethnic groups: Greeks, Syrians,
Jewish, Latin and African. As people were reconciled to God,
they began to cross the interior walls of the city and experienced
reconciliation with people who had been their cultural enemies.
Following the lead of the church in Antioch, part of our
vision at Tenth Avenue Church in Vancouver is to serve as a
community where people of all backgrounds (racially, cultur-
ally, socio-economically and religiously) can discover a rela-
tionship with God through Jesus Christ. As people experience
reconciliation with God, we see them connect with people
very different from themselves.
Urban churches that follow Antioch’s lead will be passion-
ate about a Gospel for all that leads to reconciliation with God
and others.
Spiritual and Social Outreach
We also see that the church at Antioch met both the “spiri-
tual” and “social” needs of people.
The church at Antioch (Acts 11: 27-30) was a place where
a hunger offering was taken to bring relief for people who had
s umme r 2 0 0 5 9
 been victims of a famine in Judea. This may have been the first
disaster relief offering in the history of the Christian church.
Each member of the church gave according to his or her abil-
ity. This love offering was then hand delivered by Barnabas
and Paul to those in need (vs. 29).
The Emperor Julian in the first century wrote to a pagan
priest asking him to explain why the Christian way was grow-
ing so quickly, given that they had no political clout and little
money. The priest explained that Greeks helped Greeks, Ro-
mans helped Romans, Africans helped Africans, but Christians
helped everyone.
Philip Jenkins, author of 4HE.EXT#HRISTENDOM, points
out that the reason churches in the 2/3rds world are growing
is because the churches are preaching the Gospel and feeding
people, providing health care, and teaching people the skills
they need to survive in a rapidly developing society.
The conservative branch of the Protestant church has typi-
cally been committed to helping people make sure that their
sins have been forgiven and that they are leading morally
upright lives. The liberal wing of the church has often been
committed to justice for the poor and social issues.
Like the church of Antioch, urban ministry leaders won’t
want to wear either a conservative or liberal straight-jacket!
We will be committed to offering a Gospel that faithfully inte-
grates both the spiritual and social sides of the Gospel.
Even a church like Tenth Avenue, which is not large by
U.S. standards, can be involved in evangelism and feeding the
hungry and housing the poor, helping to provide a safe house
for recovering addicts, and deploying resources to Asia and
other disaster stricken areas of the world.
A Sending Church
The church of Antioch was prepared to not only send financial
resources, but also human resources. In Acts 13, we read that
as the church was worshipping the Lord, praying and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart Saul and Barnabas... for the
work I have for them.”
“ like the church at antioch, god calls us to come
to attention before him in worship,
prayer and fasting, ready to hear god’s voice and
prepared to be sent by the holy spirit.
10 s u m m e r 20 0 5
Like the church at Antioch, God calls us to come to atten-
tion before him in worship, prayer and fasting, ready to hear
God’s voice and prepared to be sent by the Holy Spirit.
Planning and strategy are important, but we must always
be open to altering our course in response to the movements of
the Holy Spirit.
Several years ago, Cathy Ito, a member of our church in
Vancouver, began to ask herself, “Is it just a coincidence that
I am a physiotherapist, or does God have some larger purpose
for me?” She began to pray for guidance and some time later
she had a dream of Sudan. She didn’t know where Sudan was
on a map, but looked it up on an atlas. She went to Missions
Fest (a Vancouver-based missions conference) and picked up
information on the international Leprosy Mission. She ap-
plied and went to England for an interview. At the end of her
interview Cathy asked her interviewer, “Where might you send
me?” “To Sudan,” the interviewer said. Cathy told me she
would be glad to stay in Vancouver, but was ready to go Af-
rica if God made it clear she was to go. After more prayer and
confirmation, Cathy ended up serving as a medical missionary
to the lepers of Sudan.
The term “Christian” was first used to describe the followers
of Jesus in Antioch. It was a word that described followers of
Jesus who were part of a multiethnic community, reaching out
to the spiritually and socially needy, and a church ready to send
out its best members in response to the Holy Spirit. That defini-
tion of Christian—as an international, holistic, Spirit-led move-
ment—also serves as a worthy vision for our urban churches.
The Rev. Ken Shigematsu is Senior Pastor of Tenth Avenue
Alliance Church in Vancouver, B.C., an inner city church
ministering to those in need, immigrants, and business and
cultural leaders. A Gordon-Conwell Trustee since 2001,
he was a keynote speaker at the seminary’s inaugural national
preaching conference in 2002. He is also on the faculty of
the Sandy Ford Fellowship, a scholarship program for semi-
narians who show promise in evangelism. He received
an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell in 1995.
”
The call to pastor in urban settings brings with it unique opportuni-
ties and considerable challenges. The following articles provide a
snapshot of how four pastors are advancing the Gospel in major
multicultural cities. Articles are written by Anne B. Doll, Director of
Communications, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
PASTORING IN THE CITY
Lion of Judah
Church
Roxbury, Massachusetts
S
ome days, in his role as senior pastor of the 1000-member
Lion of Judah Church, a predominantly Latino inner city
congregation in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Dr. Roberto Miranda
consults his “manual,” the Bible, and wonders, “Where is there
in Scripture provision for this?
“Since we are very evangelistically oriented, we bring a
lot of people into the church, and some of the things that
I deal with are like the doctor dealing with diseases that are
very rare...I leaf through every text that I know. It calls for
refining every day my understanding of Scripture,” biblical
principles such as grace versus holiness, keeping intention and
many more.
Much like the ministry challenges the Apostle Paul con-
fronted in his First Century pagan context, Miranda explains
that the city, “because of its dysfunctionality, the diversity of
people that you find there, the brokenness many times of the
cultures that come into play in the city, requires a complexity
of ministry, a finesse in ministry that is really very demanding.”
At Lion of Judah, that complexity of ministry is often
defined by the most basic human needs: three families living in
a two-bedroom apartment; undocumented individuals having
difficulty getting jobs and scrambling to survive; non-English
speakers who require help going to the hospital or an office;
Central and Latin Americans working to send money home
and suffering extreme loneliness, depression, guilt and sexual
pressures spawned by loneliness.
Ministry is also defined by the needs of first generation be-
lievers who had never been touched by the Gospel: alcoholics,
drug addicts, and individuals from broken, single families. “In
order to respond to all those needs,” Roberto explains, “you
really need to conduct a different kind of ministry.”
Born in the Dominican Republic, Roberto moved with his
family to Brooklyn, New York, when he was 10 years old.
Following graduation from Andover prep school in Massachu-
setts, he earned a degree in international affairs at Princeton
University and a Ph.D. at Harvard.
In 1982, his fledgling Lion of Judah Church began meeting
at Boston’s Emmanuel Gospel Center, which has served as an
incubator for many of the city’s churches. Six months later, the
congregation moved to a church building in Cambridgeport in-
herited from a dying Conservative Baptist Anglo congregation.
There, the church continued to flourish, attracting Latinos
from throughout the greater Boston area.
Then in 1993, Roberto recounts, the Lord called the congre-
gation to leave their comfortable, rent-free, ideal environment
and move across the Charles River to inner city Roxbury.
“Even though the Lord had allowed the church to grow well,
we felt we could be so much more effective by coming where
the large portion of the community found itself.” The church
bought and rehabbed a four-story warehouse “with a lot of
volunteer labor and sacrificial giving on the part of the congre-
gation,” and moved to the new facility in 1997.
In the years since, he says, “God has just transformed the
mentality of our congregation, our concept of ministry, our
concept of the city, our understanding of the calling of the
Church to the city and even to the general culture as a whole.”
To meet its continuing growth, the church will soon construct
a new sanctuary on its parking lot “able to hold a larger
number of people and serve as a good, solid foundation for
ministry in the city.”
Ecclesiastically, the church has dual affiliations with the
Conservative Baptist and American Baptist Churches of the
USA denominations. “We like to say we’re kind of schizophren-
ic,” he quips, “but we are a charismatic church. That’s one of
the distinctives of our church. We place a lot of importance on
the gifts of the Spirit, of being a Spirit-led church, on allowing
play for strong prayer, spiritual warfare, intense worship.”
Likewise, he says, “...we would like to model the highest
s umme r 2 0 0 5 11
 values of the Word of God....A lot of charismatic churches,
one of the inner critiques I would offer about ourselves, is
that we are very much into the experiences of the Spirit, into
the intensity, the power of the Spirit, but often, not as much
in grounding ourselves in the Word of God...I always want
to keep that tension in our church between the Spirit and the
Word, because the Word is the foundation.”
Programmatically, in addition to its strong emphasis on
evangelism, the church strives for excellence in community
involvement, administration, and training members and leaders
to be effective servants of Jesus Christ through an extensive
education program on Sundays and throughout the week.
“Community involvement is crucial,” he points out. “We
feel we are called as a congregation and as people of God to
go back into the world to do our part—to be salt and light
to the community,
to show the love of
God...and [to use]
the giftings of God to
attack the problems
that beset our com-
munities, so that we
have the wisdom of
God and the answers
that contribute to the
solutions.”
To that end, one
of the church’s major
initiatives is the High-
er Education Resource
Center (HERC), a
non-profit, faith-based
organization with
its own budget and
Dr. Roberto Miranda has been pastor of Lion of
staff that annually
Judah for more than 20 years. receives several
hundred thousand dol-
lars in government and philanthropic funding for educational
initiatives. These include a mentoring program, computer
literacy classes, SAT and MCAT training, college and career
counseling, a yearly college fair, training for parents and Eng-
lish as a Second Language.
“All of these different ministries are related to showing
the love of God in a different way, exposing unbelievers to a
church that identifies with them and the needs of the commu-
nity beyond the strictly religious and spiritual,” Roberto says.
“We’ve been effective in bringing a lot of those people into the
church [by] showing the merciful side of the church through
those ministries.”
One of the church’s most satisfying ministries extends sup-
port to families from Latin America whose severely burned or
disfigured children are undergoing reconstructive surgery at
Shriners Hospital. “God has done a wonderful job of allow-
ing us to evangelize these families, support them while they
are here, connect them with a community that loves them and
loves their children, and then stay in touch with them when
they go back to Latin America. It’s an amazing, beautiful min-
istry that allows us to communicate the love of God in a way
that is so graphic, so dramatic.”
12 s u m m e r 20 0 5
The church is currently renovating an adjacent five-story build-
ing for use as a community ministry center. “We do work in
counseling for families and we hope to expand into what will
be a major center for counseling to the community that is
faith-based, with professional Christian counselors who will
offer services to anybody, regardless of religious background.”
In addition, through a $700,000 grant from the Lilly Foun-
dation, the church, in cooperation with Emmanuel Gospel
Center, has also created the Institutes for Pastoral Excellence, a
ministry to train Latino pastors. Over a two-year period, these
typically self-taught pastors are exposed to aspects of minis-
try ranging from administration to biblical education in the
Church, counseling, systems thinking and community involve-
ment. “These are ways we hope to strengthen the capacity of
pastors to be effective, and to encourage them on a lifelong
journey of learning and self development.”
“I don’t think we have designed any of the ministries we
now have,” Dr. Miranda observes. “God has brought us into
them and it’s the way we want it to be—a very organic kind
of experience.”
Lion of Judah is presently engaged in an intense process of
evaluating and strengthening its entire administrative infra-
structure, toward the goal of becoming an efficient, functional
institution better able to minister the Gospel effectively. “The
more people you have, the more diversity...the more ambitious
you are for community involvement, this forces you to develop
your infrastructure,” he points out. “Otherwise, you are just
broken by the burden of increased demands...
“It’s not easy,” he adds. “That is why so many churches
and ministers don’t go through that process, because it de-
mands a lot of self questioning, re-visioning and sometimes
even conflict...But it is utterly necessary for us to go to another
level of ministry...Many evangelical churches have the fireplace
but no fire and the house freezes. Many charismatic churches
have the fire but no fireplace, and we end up burning down the
house. The challenge is to bring those two together.”
What does he see as the urban church’s contributions to
the life of the city? “The urban church—its potential—lies in
providing to the community a Gospel that while addressing
spiritual, eternal needs, also shows that it has utility for the
temporal, social needs,” he responds. “It’s other worldly, but
it’s also for this world. I think the urban church is called to
bring these two together, to take eternal truth and translate it
into temporal, effective truth as well...
“How do we do that? Reconciliation is a key element. I
think God wants to use the Latino Church, just as he wants
to use all these other ethnic groups in the community, to be a
blessing to the Anglo community. We have been blessed by the
Anglo European community through all the missionaries that
were sent to Latin America and the Third World. Now it’s
time for us to give back.
“I believe that God is raising the ethnic church in America
to share some of the fire that they themselves generated genera-
tions ago in our own countries—a wonderfully ironic but very
beautifully symmetrical kind of process that God is bringing
together. We want to be a church of reconciliation. God has
given us a lot of gifts and we want to share them.”
For more information, visit www.leondejuda.org.
 PASTORING IN THE CITY
Morning Star Baptist Church
T he Rev. John M. Borders III is wrestling with an enviable
dilemma: how to refashion a church that in 16 weeks
burgeoned from 1000 members to the 2400 to 2800 people
who show up for its Sunday services and tap into its other
ministries.
His former 200-member youth program has nearly tripled.
John pastors Morning Star Baptist Church of Mattapan,
Massachusetts, located in the heart of Boston’s urban commu-
nity. Its congregation is predominantly African American and
Caribbean American. Theologically, it is what John describes
as a “dynamic Baptist Church,” one that “is aflame with the
presence of God.”
“We believe in the gifts and operation of the Holy Spirit,”
he says. “We believe in the supernatural presence of God in a
person’s life and in the community of the church, and we also
believe...in faith grounded in reason. It shouldn’t be a reckless
faith. It should be built by people using their minds to ask the
questions and see God answer them.”
Morning Star’s explosive growth occurred immediately after
the church opened a new $11 million building in late 2004, a
towering facility that touches the sidewalk of a busy Mattapan
thoroughfare. Its sanctuary seats 1,000.
“I thought that the growth would be quick because of the
novelty of the new edifice; I didn’t know it would be this
quick,” John comments. “We took in 45 members on Easter
Sunday. We took in 80 people during the three weeks prior
Mattapan, Massachusetts
to that. And we’ve seen that kind of growth every week since
we’ve been here.”
Because of its vastly expanded membership, John says
that programmatically, the church is in a state of transition.
“We had a sanctuary that seated at most 300 people. We had
reached the point where we had three services. The whole ex-
perience (of growth) meant that we had to change the way we
do ministry: the level of professionalism required in running
this building, the level of organization it takes...We need three
times the amount of people to do everything we did in the old
building.
“Thinking in terms of a larger responsibility to the people,
a larger responsibility to the community, more people coming
to be saved, needing discipleship, families needing more care,
more social services—all those things were what God had to
prepare me for over the years.”
John describes Morning Star’s vision as the biblical vision
for the church as Jesus and Paul articulated it, coupled with a
mission to be an instrument of revival in the City of Boston.
Certain components, he says, reflect the church’s identity as a
congregation.
”One is worship; I call it flaming worship. We believe in
praise and worship and expressions to God that come out
of hearts on fire for the Lord. Another is fellowship. Morn-
ing Star is very conscious not to lose the Southern hospitality
characteristic of the church. Another is discipleship. With the
s umme r 2 0 0 5 13
 church growing in such numbers, we’re working night and day to-one witnessing the message of Jesus Christ,” he explains.
to develop a discipleship program where we move people from “That paradigm is almost outdated. The new paradigm is
being new members to growing disciples of Jesus Christ.” providing social services. You extend social services by way of
Youth ministry figures prominently in the life of Morning outreach. You bring people into the context of the Christian
Star. The church had already been serving 200 children and community and give them the message of Jesus Christ while
teens in its former facility through programs ranging from Sun- you’re giving them a plate of food or a coat to put on. That’s
day school to tutorial services, help with college counseling and the new paradigm of evangelism in the inner city.”
trips to prospective colleges, liturgical dance, an annual retreat Once in the church, individuals are led to salvation, dis-
and fellowship. Currently it is increasing its budget, allocat- cipled and equipped, and they, in turn, begin to serve as well.
ing more space and time for As John explains, “the thing
youth activities, and expand- that is always happening in
ing its Christian Education Evangelism used to be door-to-door witnessing, any church...people come in
team from a staff of less than and their lives are improved.
10 supplemented by volun- or one-to-one witnessing the message of Jesus They know someone who
teers, to one that will include has a job, so they find work.
60 people. Christ. That paradigm is almost outdated. They find social services;
Service also defines Morn- they gain hope and their
ing Star, with members in- The new paradigm is providing social services. lives are improved; and they
volved in numerous outreach wind up joining in the work
ministries: the Long Island force, or reaching higher in
Shelter for the Homeless, the Italian Home for Children, the the work force, and they turn around and help other people.
AIDS wing of Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, and resources and sup- “What I’ve noticed frequently though at Morning Star is
port for natural disasters locally and globally. Service also en- that God is sending graduate students to the church on a level
compasses support for individual crises that, according to John, I’ve never seen before. I’m seeing students from Harvard Medi-
“happen a lot in urban ministry—the crises that take place in cal School, Harvard Law School, some from Boston Univer-
people’s lives. We try to address those things quickly.” sity, from Tufts, many students from Berkeley and Simmons
Likewise, members are taught to give, not only to sustain College, who are attending the church while they’re in school.
the expenses of a large church community and facility, but to Many of them live out of state and they’ve found Morn-
support benevolence—provided in food, clothing and other ing Star to be...a home-like feeling reminding them of their
physical needs of people in the church and community. churches at home.
This holistic approach to advancing the Gospel in the city “The numbers are growing all the time, so we wind up
by meeting people’s spiritual and physical needs represents, in seeing more young doctors and lawyers in the church get-
John’s view, “a paradigm shift in church growth. ting involved. And that’s one of the things that is different
“Evangelism used to be door-to-door witnessing, or one- about this generation. It is a generation of faith. They believe

14 s u m m e r 20 0 5
 in the Lord. They’ve been scared.
They’ve been educated to fear the
parasitic and destructive elements of
In the early 1990s, Boston experienced a siege of gang-related the community that would lead to
of the Boston Miracle
youth violence that was claiming young lives nearly daily, and culmi- drugs, teenage pregnancies, problems
nated in what was later dubbed “the Boston Miracle.” of violence, and division and gang
involvement.
Rev. John Borders’ Morning Star Baptist Church in inner city Mat- “Although those things exist, there’s
tapan found itself in the vortex of that crisis—the church where a
violent event lit the fuse for massive community intervention.
a generation of people now who just
seem to know the perils of those things.
“Essentially what happened was this,” he recounts. “I was perform- Instead, they’re getting an education;
ing a funeral at Morning Star for a young murder victim who was not they’re getting support from their
in a gang. He was just an innocent bystander shot out of a window. family; and they’re remaining faithful
Gang members from all over the city attended the funeral in our
small building. Rivalries broke out in the parking lot of the church.
to the Church.”
They started fighting; then they started shooting. Some of the gang To John, the Church’s role in the
In the Vortex

members ran inside Morning Star after the person they were inten-
tionally trying to kill. This young man was stabbed eight times.
I thought he was dead.”
When John sprang from the pulpit, intending to fall on the young
man to prevent further harm, the 15 assailants fled and were met
at the door by police. That night, the event made national news. “A
news reporter in Boston who is now on CBS said to me, ‘You’ve got
to do something.’ So I called a press conference for the next day,
asking preachers and community leaders to come out and stand with
me to discuss this and to pray. At that time, 50 ministers came out.
city is many things. “First, it’s the
same role and mission that Jesus gave
the Church before: to bring glory and
honor to his name and be a means
of salvation. The African American
Church is still the meeting house for
people in the community. We are still

“We had the support of Senator Ted Kennedy, Archbishop Cardinal

Law, and judicatorial heads from every major religion. We stood
together and talked about a strategy to resolve the gang problem
in the City of Boston. But we also knew that the eyes of the world
were on us to address now the gang problem in the United States
of America—because when violence had come into the Church, we
had gone too far. We had lost our sanity.”

Shortly thereafter, the group met again, and this time 300 pastors showed up at Morning Star.
During the next six months, the group hammered out an urban agenda to solve
the problem that John says “involved street workers, the court system, prisons systems and
how police do arrests, what families needed to do at home, and what churches needed to
do to be more responsible. Out of that was born the Ten Point Coalition that gained national
recognition.”
Rev. John M. Borders III is a former member
How did the term “the Boston Miracle” come to be? John explains that during that time, “the of the seminary’s Boston Board of Advisors.
whole city heard about what happened at Morning Star, and the whole city went
into prayer for John Borders and Morning Star Baptist Church. Every time I turned on the
television or the radio, there were people praying for Morning Star and John Borders. It went the haven for social service programs.
on for weeks. We’re still the psychologist’s of-
fice. We’re still the headquarters for
“Two years later, me not knowing why God had allowed this, I was listening to Dan Rather on
CBS Radio talking about the Boston Miracle and stating that this all started at a small church political activism. But the climate,
in Mattapan—and that the murder rate among teenagers had gone down to zero. And that the atmosphere, just has a bit more
existed for two solid years!” tension in it, and it demands a little
more action and imagination to get
Gang violence is on the rise again in Boston, and recently John performed another funeral, things done.”
this time for a young man who was shot on a bus at point blank range.

“When I performed the funeral in our new edifice, we had more people than I have ever seen
Read more about Morning Star Baptist Church at
at any funeral we have had—probably 700 to 800 people, mostly teenagers and youth from
www.msbc-bos.org.
the communities surrounding the church. There was more tension and anger in that funeral
than I have seen since 1992. And it told me something—that there’s a generation now that
does not remember what happened in the Boston Miracle, and that the violence we saw back
then could potentially emerge again because those who were involved are now older. There’s
another generation coming up.

“But when I delivered the message, 300 of them stood up to ask Christ into their life as Lord
and Savior.”

s umme r 2 0 0 5 15
 PASTORING IN THE CITY
New Life FellowshipElmhurst, Queens, New York
S eventeen years ago, Rev. Dr. Pete Scazzero (‘85) launched
his multiethnic, multicultural New Life Fellowship in Elm-
hurst, Queens, New York, by sharing the Gospel on the streets
then inviting people to a Bible study—a tact he describes as
“very aggressive evangelism.”
From a church that began with Pete and his wife, Geri, their
little daughter, and a handful of others, New Life has mush-
roomed to 800 to 1000 individuals who attend its two Sunday
services and participate in its cell groups and other ministries.
Its goal is still evangelistic: to glorify God by leading people
to a personal relationship with Christ. Its commitment to dem-
onstrate the love of Christ across racial, cultural, economic and
gender barriers finds fertile soil at its very doorstep.
Located on one of the busiest street in Queens in a neigh-
borhood of people from 123 nations, the church membership
reflects this diversity: African Americans, Latinos, people from
every Asian country, Palestinians, Jewish believers, Russians,
Poles, Turks—55 nations in all. Community development and
racial reconciliation expert John Perkins has called New Life
“the most reconciled, diverse church in the nation.” Pete calls it
“a real taste of the Kingdom, of Revelation, and very wonderful.
“We are very much into equipping and being a quality
church in the midst of the city that truly models the spirituality
that embraces emotional health. Reconciliation for us is part of
the Gospel, so everyone deals with their issues of racism and
tensions between cultures and races.”
Long before Pete began evangelizing on the streets of
Queens, he and Geri had a vision to start an urban church
planting movement in the U.S. and around the world. At
Rutgers University, Pete had helped plant new Christian groups
for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, in the process becoming
heavily involved in cross cultural ministry. After receiving an
M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell, the two set off for a year
in Costa Rica to learn Spanish.
The church planting vision has born fruit in 12 New Life
Fellowships, six in the U.S., two in the Philippines and one
each in Columbia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Chile.
One of their U.S. church plants, a Spanish congregation just
16 s u m m e r 20 0 5
down the street from Pete’s English congregation, has 1500
members and its own staff. All the overseas churches were
planted by former church members, reflecting New Life’s mis-
sion strategy to develop people from different countries who
return home to serve Christ.
Community outreach plays a key role at New Life. When
Asian nurses in the church developed a heart for overseas medi-
cal missions, church leaders considered the long flight times to
other countries, and the nurses’ limited vacations. Then they
looked around at the mission field in their own back yard.
Now, the nurses provide care and prayer to their multiethnic
neighbors under tents set up in community parks for church-
sponsored health fairs.
Under a separate arm, New Life Community Development
Corporation, a permanent medical clinic is currently under
construction, and corporation officials have applied for designa-
tion as a Federally Qualified Health Center. If successful, the
new facility can receive insurance reimbursement, and medical
students agreeing to serve there after graduation can receive
financial assistance for their schooling.
Community development services, which flow from what
Pete describes as a commitment “to coupling the preaching of
the Gospel with a commitment to social justice,” also extend
to a legal clinic for the poor, teaching English as a Second
Language, an after school program, a food pantry and a music
recording ministry, the Beats and Blessings Academy, to get
at-risk youth off the streets. There, youth can write and record
their own rap music, gain training in music production and
perform their music in various venues.
Some of these kids end up in the church’s 100-plus youth
group—a diverse assortment of Bloods and Crypts gang
members, individuals coming out of prison and the “church
kids,” like two of Pete’s four daughters. Leading this team is
the Director of Youth Ministry who is a professional rap artist,
and a youth pastor who’s a former drug dealer. Pete says this
husband-wife team has built “a phenomenal ministry” in which
young people are “very committed and very on fire...
“The thing about our setting is that either you’re going to be
for Christ or you’re not. You’re not going to have this ‘churchy For the first time, I understood what it meant to minister out of
group.’ These kids are serious, very multicultural, because we’re who you are, not what you do. My discovery was contagious.
committed to kids on the streets. So the group has an evangelis- We went from being ‘human doings’ to ‘human beings.’ The
tic thrust.” Figuring in this thrust is a once-a-month event, The result has been a rippling effect, very slowly, through the entire
Spot, which integrates rap and hip hop music. church.”
A few years ago, Pete hit a crisis that was to shape an un- Pete’s contention is that “the overall health of any church or
derpinning of ministry at New Life Fellowship. “What happened ministry depends on the emotional and spiritual health of
was that we planted the church in September 1987 and the church its leadership.” His book, which won the Gold Medallion
was growing, but basically something was wrong. I was tired, Award for the best book on Christian Ministry for 2004, looks
stressed and hurried personally. We had a split in one of the theologically at issues that impede emotional and spiritual
Spanish congregations. I was health, such as grieving,
angry and depressed; my wife
was unhappy. It looked like
My commitment is that people would know and limits, loving well and more.
He is presently writing a
we were going to be another new book, %MOTIONALLY
urban casualty—another min- love Christ, out of which they would become the (EALTHY3PIRITUALITY, that
istry casualty—because there integrates the contemplative
are casualties everywhere. men and women God has called them to be and into emotional health.
And it was very hard to be Pete says that leading a
a pastor. Through that whole serve him and serve other people. church in the 21st Century is
journey, God met my wife a challenge—in rural Kansas
and me in a very extraordinary way and transformed our life.” or a major metropolitan city—adding, “Sometimes I think New
The crisis that sparked their journey was Geri’s pronounce- York City is easier because people are so broken, so there is
ment that she was quitting the church. During the next two more openness to the Gospel...
years, in a process that seemed initially to Pete like death, he “What’s the greatest gift we can give
looked honestly at issues that had fueled the crisis, such as fear the City of New York and the planting of
of confrontation and conflict, inability to set limits and many churches both here and overseas? It is the
others. In his wrestling, he ultimately forged a broader theology living Jesus. I am committed to meeting
of discipleship. practical needs, of course, but I am not
In his subsequent book, 4HE%MOTIONALLY(EALTHY#HURCH primarily a social worker. My commitment
(Zondervan, 2003), Pete recounts: “The sad reality we discov- is that people would know and love Christ,
ered was that Jesus had penetrated only superficially into the out of which they would become the men
depth of our persons—even though we had been Christians for and women God has called them to be and
almost 20 years...With all my background in prayer and the serve him and serve other people. Dr. Pete Scazzero planted
New Life Fellowship
Bible, it was quite a shock to realize that whole emotional lay- “So I am about Christ Jesus— in 1987.
ers of my life existed that God had not yet touched.” the Living Lord. That’s why I’m here.”
What God did through Pete and Geri’s own journey “spilled
out into the church immediately, beginning with our staff team,
then our elder board, and eventually the rest of our leadership. For additional information, visit www.newlifefellowship.org

s umme r 2 0 0 5 17
 PASTORING IN THE CITY
Cambridge Community Fellowship Church
Cambridge, Massachusetts
R ev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah’s greatest satisfactions as an urban
pastor occur in those moments when he sees individuals in
his church grasp “God’s heart for justice and compassion,” and
make life-changing decisions as a result.
When this takes place, “it’s very satisfying that the Gospel
is really transforming lives, not only on a personal level, but in
how it is directed externally,” says the senior pastor of Cam-
bridge Community Fellowship Church, and a Gordon-Conwell
alumnus (M.Div.’94, D.Min.‘05).
Transforming understanding of, and responses to, issues of
social justice and reconciliation have been key values of Pastor
Rah’s Evangelical Covenant church since its founding in 1996
in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lo-
cated in the shadow of Harvard and MIT, its 300 members are
primarily college and graduate students, and younger adults.
While most are Asians, 15 to 20 different ethnic groups are
represented as well.
“A big part of our vision is to be a church concerned about
God’s heart for compassion, mercy and justice in the urban
context,” he explains. “Related to that is a concern that God
is calling all people to him, and a part of that is reconciliation
along racial and ethnic lines.”
18 s u m m e r 20 0 5
The church’s vision for transformation plays out in inten-
tional initiatives, a process, as Pastor Rah describes it, that
begins with educational awareness, and progresses toward the
ultimate goal of lifestyle and values transformation—where in-
dividuals live, what that community should look like, the type
of career they choose, and how they will live out their lives in
the city. Pastor Rah says that because many in the congregation
have lived in the suburbs, their worldview is not necessarily a
concern for the city.
“We are trying to transform their values based upon Scrip-
ture—that Scripture talks about concern for the poor, about
reconciliation among races, and concern for those who are
disenfranchised and marginalized in our society...And as we
progress through this, we also want individuals to have theo-
logical knowledge of what it means to be an individual who
has a concern for God’s justice, and how to live that out. The
way we’ve done that is to give individuals practical opportuni-
ties to serve the community in some form.”
Service can take place through the church’s own minis-
tries, or through existing community programs with which
the church partners. Much of its own outreach is to youth in
the community, including a church planting effort that birthed
VOICE ministry, an outreach to Vietnamese gang and at-risk article about multiracial churches, “Harder Than Anyone Can
youth in Dorchester. For youngsters, the church holds Vacation Imagine,” (April 2005), Pastor Rah commented that his 3-year-
Bible Schools and Children’s Church. Members can also serve old daughter, now at the age where she is beginning to distin-
senior citizens through their church’s ongoing outreach to the guish different ethnicities, “thinks it’s normal to have a Haitian
Vernon Hall Nursing Home. auntie, a Jamaican uncle, a Caucasian big sister, to have half
In addition, through the church’s relationship with Lion of of her friends be biracial. That is the kind of environment that
Judah Church, members are helping start a mentoring program I want for my kids, and this is a part of what the Church is all
for teens at that church’s Higher Educational Resource Center about.”
(HERC), and have also supported through volunteer service the It is a Church, he adds, where “despite differences that can-
initiatives for at-risk youth of the Boston Ten-Point Coalition, not be downplayed because they’re part of what we were cre-
Boston Youth Organizing Project, the Ella J. Baker House, and ated for, we can still live in unity, still live as family members
PREP, an inner city Christian community computer center. part of the same body.”
Political activism also figures in the church’s vision for He admits, however, that building a racially reconciled com-
social justice and reconciliation, and the church’s Health Care munity can be difficult. “There’s actually a spiritual resistance in
Caucus helps members put feet to their faith. Caucus members that we’re confronting spiritual warfare at the front lines of faith,”
are currently working in partnership with the Greater Boston he explains. “We going against the issue of race which has divided
Interfaith Organization to identify healthcare needs within their this nation for centuries—the stronghold of racial segregation—
own church and the city. and obviously there is going to be spiritual resistance...
Pastor Rah says his church has been actively involved with a “In addition, it’s so much easier to live with folks who are
number of different churches and synagogues as a moral voice similar to you. Life is a lot easier if all you do is hang out with
of the community, calling for legislation to provide healthcare people like yourself, people with similar socioeconomic and
for the city’s uninsured. In Massachusetts, a half million people educational backgrounds. Life gets more complicated when you
are without health insurance, and most are from communities have to cross cultures, when you have to cross socioeconomic
of color. barriers. It can feel like more of a struggle because there’s a lot
“We’re involved because we feel that God’s call for justice—to more you’re up against.”
feed the hungry and care for those who are hurting—really needs For Pastor Rah, modeling the Gospel is pivotal in reach-
to be practical and real, and backed up with action...We want ing Postmoderns, especially college students who, he says, are
to live out justice and not looking for an authentic
just speak about justice.” witness. “They’ve heard
The church also spon-
Transforming worldviews on reconciliation the Word; they know the
sors OnRamp, a residen- facts of Christianity, but
tial experience in inner
occurs, in part, simply in the living out of it. they really want to see
city Dorchester to help re- that lived out...That’s
cent college graduates become more involved in the urban com- why the urban ministry component is so critical in terms of
munity. Five to six young adults live for a year in intentional student outreach...We want to show in the decisions we make,
community, receive discipleship training by resident directors, how we treat our neighbors, how we have compassion for the
and learn urban outreach and practical measures for expressing poor, and how we advocate for justice that we are trying to
justice in the city. Church leaders are hoping that of the five live out what God’s call for us is. That’s much more evangelis-
current OnRamp participants, four will remain and continue to tic...than just to go knocking [on doors].”
minister in the city. Pastor Rah says not everyone follows the developmental
Cambridge Community Fellowship Church wants, as well, to path toward worldview transformation; but sometimes a life is
be a racially and ethnically reconciled church and to see members transformed—like that of a young man in the congregation.
transformed in their understanding and responses to this dimen- As with many of the college students in the church who
sion of the Gospel. “One of the things that’s happened—and I come from affluent, upper middle or middle class suburbs, this
believe it is a God thing—is that God is bringing the different student came from a suburb in the Midwest. “He had not been
nations right here to the United States,” Pastor Rah explains. “I exposed to a whole lot of the Gospel that is directed outward,
think for us to live in this community is in some way honoring and was very much coming out of a pietistic, personal faith
what God is doing, because God is trying to build unity. tradition,” Pastor Rah relates. “But after being a part of our
“How sad it would be if the secular world is able to recon- church, he began to really see God’s heart for the poor. So he
cile different races and ethnicities, and the church is unable to changed his major from engineering to urban studies, because
do that. In fact, the Church is actually one of the worst orga- he felt God was calling him to minister in the city.
nizations about doing that. That’s a pretty strong indictment... “Then God began to place on his heart a particular passion
that we remain as segregated and separated as we are, because for the poor overseas. And so right after he graduated from a
Christ gives us images of a united, reconciled body, and it’s in very prestigious university in Cambridge, he was on a plane to
the Scripture that we are challenged to examine and live this a very poor third world country. He now lives in the slums of
out in the Church. So we feel that as Christ reconciled himself that country and ministers to the poor in his neighborhood.”
to us, and God reconciled himself to us, another expression of
our call is how we are reconciled one to another.”
Transforming worldviews on reconciliation occurs, in part, CCFC was founded in 1996. Read more about Cambridge Community
simply in the living out of it. In a recent #HRISTIANITY4ODAY Fellowship Church at www.ccfconline.org.

s umme r 2 0 0 5 19
 Urban and Suburban Churches:

Partnering to Serve Craig W. McMullen,

M.Div. ‘85, D.Min, ‘01

Over 40 years ago, Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes, a young African American pastor of the

historic Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston’s inner-city neighborhood of Roxbury, met

Rev. Dr. Donald S. Ewing, Senior Pastor of the suburban Trinitarian Congregational Church

of Wayland, Massachusetts. This day began a lifelong friendship that became a major

foundation for many urban and suburban partnerships.

Dr. Douglas Hall, President of the Emmanuel Gospel Center, and Urban Ministries Professor for Gordon-Con-
well Theological Seminary, recalls how he arranged for these two pastors to meet. “Trinitarian Congregational
Church had expressed interest in urban ministry and we had been working with them in some collaborative efforts,
particularly with children. At one point Dr. Haynes, who had heard Dr. Ewing in his radio program, expressed a
very real interest in meeting him. Knowing the two men, I doubted that this would amount to too much, because
they seemed so politically distant, but I did arrange for them to meet. (I didn’t go to the meeting myself.) To my
great surprise, this produced one of the most enduring relationships between an urban and a suburban church that I
have ever known. It was all based on the very close relationship they developed between each other.”
These men were as different in their philosophies as they were black and white, yet their love for the Lord and
each other forged an authentic relationship that brought their respective congregations together, as they shared as
mutual advisors over evening meals in each other’s homes. They became like family members to each other, presid-
ing over each other’s children’s weddings. Rev. Haynes became an honorary pastor of the Wayland congregation
and Twelfth Baptist Church named one of its church halls after Dr. Ewing. Through this relationship, the two con-
gregations moved beyond the traditional pulpit and choir exchanges towards building significant partnerships where
each church was challenged to share equally with each other their resources of people and finances. Their ministerial
staffs shared regular dinner discussions where the urban youth ministers and seminarians found a new home to share
their gifts, and Wayland’s executives helped build technical capacity structures for the Roxbury church.
At this time I came to this historic black Baptist Church as a seminarian participating in Gordon-Conwell’s
Urban Ministry program. As a white male from Seattle, Washington, little did I see how my life would be influenced
by the friendship of Haynes and Ewing. After seven years of serving on the ministerial staff, Dr. Haynes appointed
me to be his Minister of Children and Youth over one of Boston’s largest youth ministries. One of my first projects
was to plan a youth retreat with families with little finances and a limited budget. Remembering that the Wayland
congregation owned its lake front retreat center in New Hampshire, I called my youth ministry counterpart in the

20 s u m m e r 20 0 5
suburbs and proposed a joint youth retreat at the lake front
facility. He accepted the idea! Out of this retreat, entitled
“Coming Together,” and other youth gatherings over the next
10 years, more than 60 urban/suburban partnerships between
various youth groups throughout New England were estab-
lished through the Coming Together Christian Youth Leader-
ship Movement. The Emmanuel Gospel Center’s research has
confirmed what these young people discovered was the key to
such partnerships—relationships! “The key to anything multi-
cultural is, first, relationships, relationships, relationships. And,
second, the suburban community needs to serve the urban
community, and not lead.”
During the 1984 Billy Graham Crusade in Boston, a number
of churches, who did not want to participate in the crusade if
it had no way of reaching out to social needs, asked the Em-
manuel Gospel Center (EGC) to design a social component for
the evangelistic effort. If EGC did this, they would participate
in the Crusade. In response to this request, EGC developed
an urban/suburban partnership program that became known
as “Love in Action.” The primary work EGC did was train
suburban people to sensitively interview urban social ministries
for inclusion in a directory of social service opportunities that
EGC published, with the intention of making it available to
churches involved in the crusade. The booklet was distributed
during that event, but no significant connections were made
for its use until Grace Chapel of Lexington, Massachusetts,
through Rev. Mary Ann Mitchener (’87) incorporated the ap-
proach in Grace Chapel’s Bridge Builders program. Through
her ministry, more than a dozen Boston churches and minis-
tries received volunteers and support from Grace Chapel.
One of Rev. Mitchener’s most successful urban partner-
ships developed through her relationship with activist Rev.
Dr. Bruce Wall. Mitchener’s introduction to Wall’s campaign
against urban violence and drugs came when he invited her to
participate in the “Yes We Can” movement marches against
street violence. Their relationship grew into partnerships that
extended beyond Boston and its suburbs when they combined
youth groups on a mission trip to Haiti. This trip exposed
suburban prejudices held against Haitians, yet highlighted the
effectiveness of a bi-racial team. This important principle was
applied in 1995, when Mary Ann and Rev. Wall co-led four
teams to help rebuild five arson stricken churches in Tennes-
see. Mitchener’s workers provided the construction expertise
and Wall’s team members provided the needed community
outreach and evangelism.
Also during this period, several couples from Gordon Col-
lege with whom I had begun a relationship through my teach-
ing, had established the Boston Project Ministries, Inc. This in-
ner-city Dorchester organization trains and coordinates urban
and suburban volunteers for compassionate service in Boston
through home repairs, neighborhood development, building a
children’s park and staffing a homework center, collecting and
distributing furniture donations and coordinating partnerships
for outreach to the homeless.
In 1999, an MIT University dot com computer tech named
Andrew Sears from the Cambridge Vineyard Christian Fellow-
ship, connected with Rev. Angel Halstead of Bruce Wall
Ministries to establish their first PREP community computer
center in Boston’s inner-city neighborhood of Dorchester.
Here, hundreds of people receive computer training in an effort
to close the digital divide. Today, this one center has multi-
plied into the Association of Christian Community Computer
Centers (AC4). There are over 500 centers in this association,
and in 2003, they served 108,865 participants in technology
programs with budgets totaling more than $16.5 million.
Today, Dr. Doug Hall’s Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC)
in Boston is engaged in applied research, exploring the barriers
that have limited urban/suburban partnerships. One of the
major barriers identified is that the urban church is seen by
the suburban church as a needy place, not as an asset. As mod-
eled by Haynes and Ewing, reciprocity is crucial for effective
partnerships. EGC research into mental models shows what
people are thinking: “In collaborations and partnerships [as an
urban church], you have to fit into someone else’s structure. In
urban-suburban partnerships, [it’s customary to ask] who’s the
dominant one in the partnership, because [you think] the sub-
urban church is big, has money, and has no needs, so you don’t
come to the table as an asset, but as a mission. Have you ever
heard anyone say, ‘Let’s do a missions trip into the suburbs?”
Each of these examples models reciprocal relationships as
the foundation key for effective partnerships. Emmanuel Gos-
pel Center’s research on ministry facilitation supports this prin-
ciple. “There are no short cuts to building relationships, trying
to get out and be with key people, get their feedback, learn
what they’re doing. Trying to start with their vision so that
it’s not something we’re creating, but something that’s relevant
and productive for them...The easiest way to mobilize a team
is pragmatically: from an activity to a relationship and partner-
ship. But it is more effective and transformational to start with
relationship and then develop activities and partnerships.”
Michelle Mitsumori, research coordinator on ministry fa-
cilitation for a ministry of the Emmanuel Gospel Center called
“CityServe,” stated that as a church resource center, EGC was
continually faced with people who had received an invitation
to serve in the city, yet had no one who could facilitate this
work. One of their research interviewers said that the number
one barrier to effective partnerships between urban and sub-
urban churches is busyness. “Who’s busier – the senior pastor
at a large suburban church with a full-time staff, or a bi-voca-
tional urban pastor who has a smaller congregation and has to
answer his own phones?”
Today, I join with the many people mentioned in this arti-
cle who are thankful that Dr. Michael E. Haynes and Dr. Don-
ald S. Ewing reached out across the barriers of busyness and
cultural differences to commit to an authentic and reciprocal
relationship that paved the way for so many significant urban
and suburban partnerships. Boston and its suburbs are much
closer to the Kingdom of God because of their friendship.
Craig W. McMullen, D.Min., was the first Anglo American
ordained by Twelfth Baptist Church, an historic African Ameri-
can church in Roxbury, MA. As the church’s Minister to Youth,
he established the COMING TOGETHER: Christian Youth
Leadership Movement, which brought together more than 60
New England youth groups for a ministry of reconciliation,
student leadership development and social action. In 1993,
he and Rev. Dr. Bruce Wall were called as an interracial team
to co-pastor Dorchester Temple Baptist Church, a multiracial
congregation in Boston’s inner city. After earning a D.Min. de-
gree from Gordon-Conwell, he joined the faculty of Gordon College, Wenham, MA,
as founding director of Gordon in Boston, a residential semester of urban studies.
s umme r 2 0 0 5 21
 Michael L. Colaneri

Is Christ in Community
Building community is an integral part of the Church. Congregations have un-

derstood the need to foster and build community within their four walls. But is

the Church also called to be an agent of community-building outside the fellow-

ship of believers? Should a local church be a vital member of its community?

Rev. Paul Bothwell, ’75, thinks that the church should be
“about redeeming the community,” a subject he has been pas-
sionate about almost all of his adult life.
Bothwell was born to missionary parents in the Republic of
Congo, Africa. After moving back to the United States at 15, he
eventually graduated from the University of Colorado and then
came to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
After earning his Master of Divinity degree in 1975, Both-
well began an urban church plant with Mission to the Americas
(MTTA), and helped to found the Jesus Helps Neighborhood
Church in 1977 in the Dudley Street section of Boston. After
the plant became self-sustaining, he then moved on to other
churches and other roles in MTTA. However, it was during
this time that Bothwell saw the immense physical, emotional
and spiritual dismembering that occurs in the inner city.
According to Bothwell, the Dudley street area, in the Rox-
bury/North Dorchester section of Boston, was in shambles.
“Half the neighborhood was missing,” he recalls. Basic services
weren’t being provided, and trash companies were using empty
lots as illegal dumping sites. Residents of the neighborhood re-
ferred to it as “the Bermuda triangle.” A local attorney toured
the neighborhood in 1984 and said it “looked like Beirut.”
“The community was devastated at that time,” says Both-
well. For a number of reasons, the neighborhood had fallen
into intense disrepair and the community was fractured. Even
fundamental services were neglected. “We were just trying to
force the fire department to come sooner ... or at all. There
were so many fires during that time. Houses burning, businesses
burning, people burning. And you don’t have to have too many
people burning right in front of your face before you realize
that you need to do something.”
But when you have so many needs right in front of you, it
can be difficult to do more than just stay afloat. “So, you can
spend your whole time ‘fire-fighting,’ or dealing with surface
level issues, but really need to deal with deeper and more com-
plex issues, like why are there so many fires [in the neighbor-
hood] and who might be profiting from that?”
The neighborhood was given time to think about those is-
sues through a grant from the Riley Foundation. During that
time, “there was a process of community thinking and planning.
We were asking the questions, ‘Where do we want to go, what
is it that we want to see here, and how might we possibly get
that done?’”
The answers to those questions eventually took the form of
the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), an organiza-
tion in which Bothwell has been involved from the beginning.
Their mission is “To empower Dudley residents to organize,
plan for, create and control a vibrant, diverse and high qual-
ity neighborhood in collaboration with community partners.”
According to Bothwell, it is “a community-controlled umbrella
organization that constantly brings people together to bring
about change.”
Since its inception, DSNI has had a number of significant
successes. Its first campaign sought to shut down some of
the worst offending illegal trash transfer stations in the area.
Through their efforts, the mayor of the city came in and pad-
locked two of the lots shut.
In 1988, DSNI was granted eminent domain authority over
abandoned lots within its boundaries, for acquiring land to
build new housing. It is the only community-based non-profit in
the U.S. to be given such authority.
No one would argue that the DSNI has been a community

22 s u m m e r 20 0 5
revitalization success. But is that the business of the church?
“Yes,” says Bothwell. “The church is and must be Christ incar-
nate here in a given place. [Building community] is a demon-
stration of the kingdom, a visible manifestation of the kingdom.
Now, the work of the kingdom is certainly about church plant-
ing, about saving souls, and a lot of other things, too. And,
practically, the church should not be in and leading every single
effort in the community. That’s crazy. The church does not
need to be everything or be involved in everything, but it needs
to be what it can be...what no other entity can be – the heart,
the soul of the movement.”
Bothwell continued,“There was an African proverb I learned
while growing up, ‘Together we find the way.’ We need to
learn to reconnect with the community that we are a part of,
whether here in the city, or the suburbs of Wellesley, or wher-
ever the church is located. We are connected to that commu-
nity. We use the sidewalks, utilize the trash pickup. We enjoy
the streets and the sewer system that works. One very simple
way of connecting is by praying for your community. We pray
for the people who carry the mail, who pick up the trash, the
city councilors, for example – and together we find the way.”
He illustrates this with a story.
“In the community, one piece of land was recently made
into a park devoted primarily to toddlers and young children.
Last year was the big celebration for the dedication of this
park. It is dedicated to the memory of Trina Persad, a 10-
year-old girl who was shot and killed in this neighborhood in
gang crossfire. Her mother and younger siblings still live here.
So, during the celebration, her younger sister comes running
through the crowd crying, with blood dripping out of her
mouth and she runs right past me and over to one of the trash
cans. And my heart just stopped, as did everyone else’s. You
know, we thought, what could have happened to her today. So
I ran over there with a bunch of others, and she has her head
over the trash can and turns her head up and looks at us with
this big, bloody smile on her face and says, ‘Isn’t this an excit-
ing day to lose a tooth?’
“She was so excited. Then she turned her head back to the
trash can and then back up at us, eyes sparkling, and said,
‘After today, there’s not going to be any more shooting and
killing in this neighborhood, is there?’ You just stand there
and your heart drops. Her mother says to the girl, ‘Well, you
know, baby, that isn’t going to happen until the kingdom of
God comes.’ Then there is another pause, and another woman
standing around the trash can, a powerful, courageous, Chris-
tian woman in the community, says, ‘You know what, honey,
the kingdom of God is here. And we are it.’
“If we are talking about community transformation, and the
healing of broken and bleeding communities and devastated
urban areas, then we sure best be doing the job.”
Find out more about DSNI at www.dsni.org
A book was written about DSNI called Streets of Hope: The Fall and Rise of an
Urban Neighborhood, by Peter Medoff and Holly Sklar. A documentary was created
about DSNI called Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street, by Mark Lipman
and Leah Mahan.
Michael L. Colaneri is Assistant Director of Communications at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary.
s umme r 2 0 0 5 23
 A Theology of the City
Is It Time for Another St.Augustine

and a Roland Allen to Set the Case

for the City Once Again?

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ph.D.

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24 s u m m e r 20 0 5
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EMPIREACOMMONCITIZENSHIPINSHORTALAUNCHINGPADANDA #HRISTAND#ULTURETHATTELLSUSTODOMORETHAN(2ICHARD
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4HUSTHEAPOSTLE0AULSETASTRONGURBANORIENTATIONFORWORLD PROPHETSOFAFORMERDAY4HEYWEREREVOLUTIONARIESINDEED
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SEPARATISTMENTALITYWHICHWITHDREWFROMSOCIETYINISOLATION INSTITUTIONSORGOVERNMENTSOFSOCIETY.OINSTEADTHEYWENT
THE EARLY PIONEERS FOR INEVERYCASEFORTHE
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WITH POWER WITH THE (OLY 3PIRIT AND WITH DEEP CONVICTIONv !RMYOFTENWEMUSTGIVETHECITIESOFTHEWORLDTHATARETHE
VS   4HESE BELIEVING 4HESSALONICANS BECAME hA MODEL TO KEYREGIONALINmUENCERSSOUPSOAPANDTHENSALVATIONTOPUT
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USANDOFTHE,ORDvVS (ERETHENEXISTSAMODELFORUSTO -INISTERIAL%DUCATION#5-% IN2OXBURY"OSTONWILLBY
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.ORSHOULDWEEXPECTANYTHINGLESSFROMASTUDYOFTHE WORLD ANDASOURSTAKEINTHEHEARTOFTHECITYFORTHESAKE
CITIESINTHE/LD4ESTAMENT&ROMTHElRSTCITYBUILTBY OFTHE'OSPEL!NDITWILLDEMONSTRATEADESIREFORTHECITIES
#AINTOTHElNALCITYBUILTBY'ODCOMINGDOWNFROMABOVE OFTHEWORLDTOBEMINISTEREDTOASSTRATEGICALLYAS2OLAND!LLEN
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ISNOT
)THASTHEVERYSAMEPROBLEMSTHELOCAL#HURCHHAS
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PEOPLE
7EARETHEMAINPROBLEM
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THEWORLDWHILEAFlRMINGANESCAPISTMENTALITYTHATONLY
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PROVINCESREPRESENTEDBYKEYCITIESCOMETOTHE3AVIORFORHIS
GREATHONORANDHISMAGNIlCENTGLORY

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ph.D., is President and Colman M. Mockler
Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary. An internationally recognized Old
h/*ERUSALEM*ERUSALEMYOUWHOKILLTHEPROPHETSAND Testament scholar, Dr. Kaiser continues his classroom teaching
STONETHOSESENTTOYOU(OWOFTEN)HAVELONGEDTOGATHER and is a popular Bible preacher and teacher at churches and
YOURCHILDRENTOGETHERASAHENGATHERSHERCHICKSBUTYOU conferences throughout the U.S. and abroad. He formerly
served in leadership capacities at Trinity Evangelical Divinity
WERENOTWILLINGv-ATT.)6  School including the position of academic dean, and has
4HEREFORETODEPICTTHECITYASEVILWOULDBETOMISSTHE authored over 30 books, among them, Revive Us Again: Biblical
PROBLEMOFSINANDTHEFACTTHAT3CRIPTURELOCATESSINSROOTS Insights for Encouraging Spiritual Renewal, Toward An Old
Testament Theology and A History of Israel. He received M.A.
INTHEHEARTSOFMENANDWOMEN4HUSOURPROBLEMOFTHE and Ph.D. degrees from Brandeis University

s umme r 2 0 0 5 25
 New CUME building at 90 Warren Street

#ONTEXTUALIZED5RBAN4HEOLOGICAL%DUCATION
4HE#ENTER&OR5RBAN-INISTERIAL%DUCATIONS'UIDING0HILOSOPHY Eldin Villafañe, Ph.D.

Introduction
/NEOFTHEMANYCHALLENGESTHATCONFRONTSTHEURBANCHURCH THECITY*EREMIAH ,OCATION0ILGRIM3EMINARY #5-%
TODAYISTHENEEDFORTRAINEDLEADERSHIPˆNOTJUSTMORECLERGY ISSITUATEDBOTHADMINISTRATIVELYANDPROGRAMMATICALLYINTHE
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BY'ODANDEMPOWEREDBYTHE3PIRITTOMAKEADIFFERENCEIN ANADMINISTRATIVEBUILDINGHOUSINGOFlCESAFUNCTIONALLIBRARYAND
THEIRCOMMUNITIES4HEOLOGICALEDUCATIONGEAREDTOTRAININGTHE TWOSMALLCLASSROOMSTHROUGHOUTOURHISTORYWEHAVETAUGHT
INDIGENOUSLEADERSHIPOFURBANCHURCHESINTHECONTEXTOFTHEIR COURSESINDECENTRALIZEDCLASSSITESUTILIZINGEXISTINGCHURCHAND
EVERYDAYMINISTRYISNEEDEDONALLLEVELS5NFORTUNATELYMUCH PARACHURCHFACILITIESTHROUGHOUTTHECITYANDTHE'REATER"OSTON
OFTHEOLOGICALEDUCATIONDOESNOTCRITICALLYlTTHEURBANSCENE AREA0RESENTLYCLASSESARETAUGHTINABOUTDISTINCTSITES.OT
CHOOSINGTOIGNORETHECITYASAPOSITIVELOCUSOF'ODSREDEMPTIVE ONLYDOESTHISREmECTBIBLICALSTEWARDSHIPBUTTHEPRACTICEOF
ACTIVITY4HERESULTISANEDUCATIONALPROCESSANDPRODUCTWHICH SITUATINGCOURSESINAVARIETYOFLOCATIONSISALSOAWAYTHAT#5-%
APPROACHESURBANMINISTRYASAPROBLEMTOBESOLVEDRATHERTHAN ISINFORMEDBYTHECONTEXTOFMINISTRYANDEXPOSESSTUDENTSTOTHE
ASANOPPORTUNITYTODISCOVERTHESIGNSOF'ODSREIGN RICHNESSANDDIVERSITYOFTHECITY#OMPOSITIONOF!DMINISTRATIVE
4HUSMANYINSTITUTIONSANDPROGRAMSARENOTCONTEXTUALIZEDTO 3TAFF&ACULTYAND!DVISORY"OARDS4HEADMINISTRATIONFACULTYAND
THEURBANENVIRONMENTDONOTTAKEINTOACCOUNTTHEEXPERIENCE !DVISORY"OARDSARECOMPRISEDOFREPRESENTATIVESOFTHECONSTITUENT
GIFTSANDEXPERTISEOFTHEEXISTINGLEADERSHIPANDARENOTREmECTIVE COMMUNITIES&OR#5-%THEFACULTYADMINISTRATIVESTAFFAND
OFTHECOMMUNITIESTHATAREINTHECITY4HEIREDUCATIONALPOLICIES BOARDSAREREmECTIVEOF"OSTONSMULTIETHNICANDMULTICULTURAL
CURRICULUMANDTEACHINGMETHODOLOGIESDONOThlTvADIVERSE REALITYWITH!FRICAN!MERICANS(ISPANICS"RAZILIANS(AITIANSAND
CONSTITUENCY4HECOMMUNITYHASNOhOWNERSHIPvOFTHEPROGRAM !NGLOSREPRESENTEDINVARIOUSPOSITIONS0RESENCEOF,IBERATING
ANDTHUSPARTICIPATESTOAMARGINALDEGREE)NCONTRASTTHE#ENTER 3TRUCTURESAND0OLICIES'IVENTHEUNIQUESOCIOCULTURALREALITY
FOR5RBAN-INISTERIAL%DUCATION#5-% HASGRAPPLEDWITH NEEDSANDGIFTSOF#5-%SINNERCITYCONSTITUENCIES#5-%SEEKS
THESEREALITIESDETERMININGTOPRESENTTHE'OSPELINITSHOLISTIC TOSERVEITSSTUDENTSWITHAMINIMUMOFBUREAUCRACY4HEREISA
DIMENSIONSˆFROMEVANGELISMTOSOCIALJUSTICE)NDOINGSO#5-% DISTINCTEMPHASISONFACE
TO
FACEANDPERSONALCONTACTSREmECTING
HASSTRUCTUREDITSELFTOBEINTHECITYOFTHECITYANDFORTHECITY THEORALCULTURETRADITIONOF#5-%SCONSTITUENCIES4HEMENUOF
*EREMIAH  COURSEOFFERINGSINTHELATEAFTERNOONEVENINGSANDONWEEKENDS
5NDERGIRDINGALLOF#5-%SEDUCATIONALPHILOSOPHYAND ACCOMMODATESTHEREALITYTHATTHEMAJORITYOF#5-%SSTUDENTS
STRUCTUREFROMTHEDIPLOMATOTHEDOCTORALPROGRAMSISTHECONCEPT AREBI
VOCATIONAL#OMMITMENTTO!FFORDABLE%DUCATION#5-%
OFCONTEXTUALIZEDURBANTHEOLOGICALEDUCATION#ONTEXTUALIZATION ISMINDFULTHATTHECOSTOFASEMINARYEDUCATIONISOFTENABARRIER
MEANSMANYTHINGSTOMANYPEOPLEBUTTHEBESTIMAGEANDBIBLICAL FORINNER
CITYCHURCHLEADERS4HROUGHTHECONTINUEDSUPPORTOF
INSIGHTINTOITSMEANINGISTHE)NCARNATION)TISTHEh(OLY/THERv 'ORDON
#ONWELL4HEOLOGICAL3EMINARYTHETUITIONCOSTSAT#5-%
PITCHING'ODSTENTAMONGUSINTHEPERSONOF*ESUS#HRIST*OHN HAVEBEENKEPTATALEVELCOMMENSURATEWITHITSCONSTITUENT
0HILIPPIANS
 #ONTEXTUALIZINGANEDUCATIONALENDEAVORIN STUDENTPOPULATIONS#OMMUNITYh/WNERSHIPv#5-%SEES
THEMIDSTOFACITYMEANSEXPRESSINGANhURBANKENOSISvˆEMPTYING ITSRELATIONSHIPSWITHTHESURROUNDINGCOMMUNITYASVITALLY
ONESELFFORTHESERVICEOFOTHERS4HETHEOLOGYCURRICULUMTEACHING IMPORTANT)NAVERYREALSENSETHEREARESEVERALhCOMMUNITIESv
METHODSANDACADEMICPOLICIESAREINFORMEDBYTHECONTEXTOF WHICHAREREmECTEDBYTHELANGUAGECONSTITUENCIESTHATCOMPRISE
MINISTRYIEBYTHECITYANDITSCONSTITUENCIES  #5-%SSTUDENTBODY/WNERSHIPBYTHECOMMUNITYTAKESMANY
7HILEURBANTHEOLOGICALEDUCATIONENCOMPASSESMINISTRYTOTHE FORMSAMONGTHEMCURRICULUMANDMENTOREDMINISTRYINPUT
MIDDLECLASSANDTHEWEALTHYINOURCITIES#5-%SPRIMARYFOCUS REPRESENTATIONONTHE!DVISORY"OARDSUPPORTOFFUND
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ISMINISTRYTOTHEhINNERCITIESvOFOURGREATMETROPOLISES4HE THECOMMUNITIESOFSERVICEANDACTIVERELATIONSHIPSWITHCHURCHES
SPECIlCITYOFEDUCATINGPEOPLEFORMINISTRYAMONGTHEhPOORvHAS
BIBLICALWARRANTSASWELLASSOCIOCULTURALRELEVANCY
Contextualization as Missiological
a n d Structural Integr ity
#ONTEXTUALIZEDURBANTHEOLOGICALEDUCATIONAT#5-%INCLUDESBUT
ISNOTLIMITEDTO THEFOLLOWINGDIMENSIONS
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ANDDENOMINATIONALJUDICATORIESMAINTAINEDTHROUGHPERSONAL
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!BASICQUESTIONTHATMUSTBEASKEDBYANYEDUCATIONALINSTITUTION
IS7HOMAREWEEDUCATING4HEQUESTIONOFCONSTITUENCYIS
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CITYINPARTNERSHIPWITHTHEURBANCHURCH)TSEEKSTHESHALOMOF INSERVICETOTHE#HURCHANDTHEWORLD#5-%HASPURPOSELY

26 s u m m e r 20 0 5
STRUCTUREDITSCLASSESFORBOTHCLERGYANDLAITYTOBEENGAGEDIN BESEENIN3AMUELANDTHE3CHOOLOFTHE0ROPHETS*ESUSANDTHE
THEOLOGICALSTUDYTOGETHER4HEDYNAMICWHICHEMERGESFROM $ISCIPLESAND0AULANDTHE3CHOOLOF4YRANNUS!CTS 
THEhPEOPLEOF'ODvPARADIGMPROVIDESFORRICHINTERACTIONAS -ENTORED-INISTRY!PPROACH&ORDEGREESTUDENTSAVERYSPECIlC
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-ULTILINGUAL%MPHASIS(ISTORICALLYOURCITIESHAVEBEENTHELOCUSOF ASTHEADULTSTUDENT DIRECTEDLEARNINGISFOUNDINTHE-ENTORED
ETHNICANDCULTURALDIVERSITY4HEYAREINEFFECTAMICROCOSMOFOUR -INISTRY0ROGRAM-ENTORED-INISTRYISABRIDGEFROMTHE
WORLD4HEhTRADITIONALMINORITIESvˆ!FRICAN!MERICAN(ISPANIC CLASSROOMLEARNINGENVIRONMENTTOTHEPRACTICALREALITIESOFMINISTRY
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2ECOGNIZINGTHATTHECHURCHESINTHECITYPARALLELTHEDEMOGRAPHIC THESTUDENTEXPERIENCESADYNAMICAPPROACHTHATEMPHASIZESTHE
SHIFTS#5-%HASALWAYSEMPHASIZEDTHENEEDTOOFFERCOURSESINA INTEGRATIONOFSEMINARYLEARNINGWITHTHEIRPERSONALEXPERIENCES
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)NCLUSIVE!PPROACH #5-%HASINTENTIONALLYSOUGHTTOREmECTTHE TRAININGWHILEINTHECONTEXTOFMINISTRY4HEEXPERIENCESANDPRIOR
INCLUSIONOFWOMENINALLLEVELSOFITSMINISTRYˆADMINISTRATION LEARNINGANDKNOWLEDGEOFSTUDENTSARENOTONLYAFlRMEDTHEY
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4HEDIVERSITYOFTHECITYINCLUDESITSRELIGIOUSDIMENSION#5-% MINISTRY#5-%PROVIDESANALTERNATIVEDELIVERYSYSTEMOFGRADUATE
WELCOMESANDAFlRMSAMULTIPLICITYOF#HRISTIANDENOMINATIONSAND THEOLOGICALEDUCATION4HE$IPLOMAWASDESIGNEDTOPROVIDEDA
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s umme r 2 0 0 5 27
 and a Theological Education
Urban Youth Ministry

Urban youth ministry is different from suburban or rural youth

ministry. So is the teaching of urban youth ministry in an urban
setting. So is theology in an urban context.
9OUMAYHAVEBEENWITHMEUNTILTHATLASTSTATEMENT,ETMEQUALIFYANDEXPLAIN4HEREARE
ABSOLUTESANDUNIVERSALSINTHEOLOGYBASEDON'ODSREVEALEDTRUTHIN#HRISTTHELIVING7ORD
AND3CRIPTURETHEWRITTEN7ORDOF'OD"UTTHEQUESTIONSASKEDTHEPRIORITIESSETANDTHE
APPLICATIONSEMPHASIZEDMAYDIFFER4HESTYLEOFTHEOLOGYINBARRIOORGHETTOISBOUNDTOBE
Professor Dean Borgman

DIFFERENTFROMTHEOLOGYINMOREAFmUENTSETTINGS
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28 s u m m e r 20 0 5
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Professor Dean Borgman holds the Charles E. Culpeper Chair of
Youth Ministry at Gordon-Conwell—Boston, and is also founder/
director of the Center for Youth Studies. He established Young
Life in New England and was a streetworker on Manhattan’s
Lower East Side, where he also developed Young Life’s Urban
Training Institute. He has taught youth ministry courses at Holy
Cross Greek Orthodox, Fuller Theological and Ontario Theological
Seminaries, Daystar University College in Nairobi, Kenya, and
Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology Among his
EXCITING-ARTIN,UTHER+ING*RBREAKFASTANOTHERTHOUSAND books are When Kumbaya Is Not Enough: A Practical Theology
for Youth Ministry and God at the Mall: Youth Ministry That
LISTENEDTOSPEAKERSTHETEENAGERSOFWHOMWERETHEMOST Meets Kids Where They’re At. He is an Episcopal priest.
ELECTRIFYING4HIS"OSTONYOUTHMOVEMENTWASlTTINGLYCALLED
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BYSTANDERSASWELL4RACY,ITHCOTTA#5-%STUDENTWHOSE

s umme r 2 0 0 5 29
 The Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME):
An Historical Overview* Alvin Padilla, Ph.D., ‘84

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1969 Gordon-Conwell founded 1973-74 First M.Div. courses 1982 MRE degree introduced;
with mandate to engage the city. offered at Emmanuel Gospel Center enrollment swells to 170

1971 Proposal for year of 1976 CUME opens with 30 students at Martin 1989 Full M.Div. degree introduced
urban theological education Luther King, Jr. House of Twelfth Baptist Church

30 s u m m e r 20 0 5
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Alvin Padilla, Ph.D., is Dean of Gordon-Conwell—Boston,
and Associate Professor of New Testament. In addition to his
administrative responsibilities, he teaches New Testament courses
and urban ministry to doctoral students. He has also taught at
Nyack College and the Spanish Eastern School of Theology in Swan
Lake, New York, a school he founded. Dr. Padilla is an ordained
minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and served as a pastor
RISKPROVIDING to a Spanish-speaking congregation in New York City. He received
an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell and a Ph.D. from Drew University
Graduate School.

1990-2004 Additional MA and 2005 New administrative

1989-90 Enrollment at 300 students D.Min. degrees introduced. building purchased in Roxbury.

1990 Administrative building 2004-05 Classes offered to

acquired in Jamaica Plain 395 students

s umme r 2 0 0 5 31
 IN THE CITY?

Urban ministry is, by definition, focused on those human needs most evident in

cities. We study the subtle and complex dynamics of urbanization and the impact of

this increasingly global phenomenon on individuals and communities. Though some

SHEPHERDS

refer to our world as a global village, it is more accurately a global metropolis. So,

one might ask, is there any place in urban ministry for shepherds?

)RAISETHISQUESTIONOFCOURSEBECAUSEPASTORALLEADERSARECENTRALTOTHE.EW4ESTAMENTS

VISIONOFLOCALCHURCHMINISTRY0ASTORSCONTINUETHEWORKOFTHEMESSIANIC3HEPHERDWHOWAS
ANEXAMPLETOHISFOLLOWERSINLIFEANDDEATH0ETERURGEDHISFELLOWELDERSTOh"ESHEPHERDSOF
'ODSmOCKTHATISUNDERYOURCAREvTOSERVESELmESSLYTHEIRCHIEF3HEPHERD0ETER  
"UTSHEPHERDLEADERSHIPDIDNTBEGINWITHTHEMINISTRYOF#HRIST9(7(THE'ODOF)SRAEL
Dr. Timothy S. Laniak, ’89

WASTHESHEPHERDOFHISPEOPLEINTHEIRWILDERNESSSOJOURNANDTHROUGHOUTTHEIRHISTORY!NDTHE
LEADERSOF)SRAELnESPECIALLYKINGSnWEREOFTENCALLEDTHESHEPHERDSOF'ODSPEOPLEMEDIATORS
OFTHEDIVINE3HEPHERDSCAREFOR(ISCOMMUNITY3OTHEREHAVEBEENhPASTORSvALLALONGEVER
SINCETHECOVENANTCOMMUNITYBEGAN
7HILEITISUNDENIABLETHATSHEPHERDING'ODSPEOPLEISATHOROUGHLYBIBLICALNOTIONISITAN
IMAGETHATONLYHADCULTURALSIGNIlCANCETONOMADICPEOPLESWHOMOVEDABOUTINTENTSWITH
THEIRmOCKSANDHERDS#ERTAINLYWEOUGHTTOBECAREFULINMEASURINGOURCULTURALDISTANCEFROM
THEBIBLICALWRITERS(OWEVERTOOURSURPRISESHEPHERDLANGUAGEWASDELIBERATELYEMPLOYEDBY
RULERSOFSOMEOFTHEANCIENTWORLDSMOSTCOMPLEXANDSTRATIlEDSOCIETIES+INGSRESORTEDTOTHE
IMAGEOFSHEPHERDESPECIALLYWHENTHEPRESSURESOFURBANIZATIONPUTTHEIRPOPULATIONSATRISKFOR
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)NHISEPILOGUEHEDESCRIBESHISROLEASASHEPHERDFURTHERhTHEYPROSPEREDUNDERMYPROTECTION
)ALWAYSGOVERNEDTHEMINPEACE)SHELTEREDTHEMINMYWISDOM)NORDERTHATTHESTRONG
MIGHTNOTOPPRESSTHEWEAKTHATJUSTICEMIGHTBEDEALTTHEORPHANAND THEWIDOWv4HERE
ARESIMILARPASTORALSELF DEPICTIONSTHROUGHOUTTHEROYALLITERATURESOF-ESOPOTAMIA%GYPTAND
'REECE3HEPHERDRULEWASAWAYOFEMPHASIZINGCOMPREHENSIVERESPONSIBILITYFORECONOMIC
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OFSHEEPCOMMUNITIESOFPEOPLEESPECIALLYINURBANSOCIETIES
NEEDEDPROVISIONPROTECTIONAND
GUIDANCE4HISREQUIRESLEADERSWHOARECOMPASSIONATEVIGILANTANDTRUSTWORTHY)TTURNSOUT

32 s u m m e r 20 0 5
THATTHESEATTRIBUTESOFhSHEPHERDLEADERSHIPvARECENTRALIN 'ODSPEOPLENEEDPROTECTIONNOTONLYFROMEXTERNALTHREATS
SCRIPTURE BUTALSOFROMTHECHAOSOFCOMPETITIONANDSELlSHNESSWITHIN
THECOMMUNITY/URCITIESNEEDSUCHCOURAGEOUSSHEPHERDS
COMPASSIONATE WHOTIRELESSLYADVOCATEFORTHEDISPLACEDANDDISENFRANCHISED
!CCORDINGTO%ZEKIEL
 ONEOFTHEREASONS)SRAELWENT BUTWITHOUTPROVIDINGFORANYONEIMMUNITYFROMTHESTANDARDS
INTOEXILEWASBECAUSETHEIRLEADERSHADBEENABUSIVESHEPHERDS OFBIBLICALJUSTICE!mOCKISNOTHEALTHYTHATDOESNOTBENElT
WHOWEREmEECINGTHEIRmOCKSh9OUEATTHECURDSCLOTHE
YOURSELVESWITHTHEWOOLANDSLAUGHTERTHECHOICEANIMALS
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 4HE,ORDGUARANTEED)SRAEL
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.OTICE THAT %ZEKIEL ALSO REFERRED TO PEOPLE AS SCATTERED 7HETHERTHROUGHTHEFORMALSTIPULATIONSOFTHELAWORTHROUGH
4HE GATHERING OF DISPERSED POPULATIONS IS A TYPICAL ANCIENT DAILYGUIDANCEhONTHEROADv)SRAELWASTRAINEDTOFOLLOWTHEIR
.EAR %ASTERN MOTIF OFTEN TRUSTWORTHY'UIDE!S'ODS
ACCOMPANYINGAKINGSASCENT UNDERSHEPHERDSPASTORS
TOPOWER4HE,ORDPROMISES OUR CITIES NEED SUCH COURAGEOUS ARECALLEDTOBETHESAME
TOGATHERTHEEXILESFROMTHEIR
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OF )SRAEL V   )T IS
SHEPHERDS WHO TIRELESSLY ADVOCATE FOR KINDOFTRUSTWORTHYGUIDES
THOSEWHOKEEPTHEmOCKON
THE DISPLACED AND DISENFRANCHISED, BUT THERIGHTPATHANDENSURE
THATTHEYALLMAKEITHOME
WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR ANYONE IMMUNITY
FASCINATINGTOSEETHISMISSION !MONGTHEAPARTMENTS
EXPANDED IN *ESUS MINISTRY FROM THE STANDARDS OF BIBLICAL JUSTICE. WAREHOUSESAGENCIES
TO INCLUDE ALL THOSE WHO ARE BOARDROOMSCOMMUNITY
hLOSTv 7HEN :ACHAEUS FOR CENTERSANDCHURCHESOF
EXAMPLECOMESTOFAITH*ESUSDECLARESHIMALSOTOBEAhSONOF !MERICASCITIESANDALONGEACHOFTHEIRASPHALTSTREETSAND
!BRAHAMv,UKE 4HISNICELYCLIMAXES*ESUSMINISTRYIN CONCRETESIDEWALKSTHEAVERAGEPEDESTRIANWONTRECOGNIZE
,UKETOhSEEKANDTOSAVETHELOSTv,UKE 4OCONTINUE ASHEPHERDWITHAmOCKOFSHEEP(OWEVERTHEMOREURBAN
THE WORK OF THE 3HEPHERD IN THE CITY THEN IS TO CARE FOR THE OURSOCIALREALITYBECOMESTHEMORELIKELYWILLBEOURNEED
NEEDYANDTOGATHERTHELOSTCF,UKE  TORETURNTOTHEFUNDAMENTALSOFPASTORALLEADERSHIPWHERE
PERSONSAREPROVIDEDFORWITHCOMPASSIONPROTECTEDWITH
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!SECONDCHARACTERISTICOFTHESHEPHERDISVIGILANTPROTECTOR MEv*ESUSSAYSTOALLOFUShSHEPHERDMYSHEEPv*OHN 
,ACKOFATTENTIVENESSMAKESAmOCKVULNERABLETOPREDATORS
%ZEKIELCONTINUESh3OTHEYWERESCATTEREDBECAUSETHEREWAS 
!LL"IBLECITATIONSTAKENFROMTHE.EW)NTERNATIONAL6ERSION
NOSHEPHERDANDWHENTHEYWERESCATTEREDTHEYBECAME

!NCIENT.EAR%ASTERN4EXTS2ELATINGTOTHE/LD4ESTAMENTED*
0RITCHARD0RINCETON5NIVERSITY0RESSPPn
FOODFORALLTHEWILDANIMALSv%ZEKIEL .EW4ESTAMENT 
#OMPARETHISIDEATOTHEhOTHERSHEEPv*ESUSMENTIONSIN*OHN
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mOCK-ATTHEW!CTS 6IGILANTSHEPHERDSWILLBEON
THEIRGUARD!CTS 7HILEACTSOFMERCYMAYBEROUNDLY
Timothy S. Laniak, Th.D., is Associate Professor of Old
PRAISEDTHECOURAGETOSIGNALDANGERWHENITISFAROFFTO Testament, Coordinator of the Urban Ministry Certificate
NAMETHEENEMYANDTOFACEITAGAINSTALLODDSnTHISKINDOF Program, Charlotte Campus, and Mentor of the Christian
COURAGEISOFTENMISSINGINOURCOMMUNITIES Leadership D.Min. program. He and his wife have worked
with international students and immigrants in the Boston
"UT%ZEKIELSSHEPHERDPARABLEENDSWITHANUNEXPECTED area, lived in Israel, and served as short-term missionaries
WARNING!FTERREPLACING)SRAELSUNlTLEADERS'ODWILLSHIFT in Europe and Asia. Since moving to North Carolina, they
HISRIGHTEOUSANGERAGAINSTTHEMEMBERSOFTHECOMMUNITY have begun a public charter school. He has authored Shame
and Honor in the Book of Esther and “Esther” in the Ezra-
WHOAREPUSHINGTHEIRWEIGHTAROUND Nehemiah NIBC series. A book on the biblical theology of
3EE)MYSELFWILLJUDGEBETWEENTHEFATSHEEPANDTHELEAN pastoral leadership is forthcoming from Inter-Varsity-UK. He
received an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell, pursued doctoral
SHEEP"ECAUSEYOUSHOVEWITHmANKANDSHOULDERBUTTINGALL
studies at Brandeis University and earned a Th.D. from
THEWEAKSHEEPWITHYOURHORNSUNTILYOUHAVEDRIVENTHEMAWAY Harvard Divinity School.
)WILLSAVEMYmOCKANDTHEYWILLNOLONGERBEPLUNDERED)WILL
JUDGEBETWEENONESHEEPANDANOTHER%ZEKIEL
 

s umme r 2 0 0 5 33
 There’s Gold
in the City Gregg Detwiler, D. Min., ‘01

“There is gold for the Lord in the cities of the world…The city is a gold mine. It has prominent ethnic (vertical)

veins. It has prominent sociological (horizontal) veins. And it has other veins that run at will in all directions…

But there is yet another level of complexity…The city is also an organism constantly on the move.”

Gold Overlooked THISVITALITYOF#HRISTIANITYINTHECITY!S)HAVEPONDEREDTHIS

4HEPREVIOUSQUOTEFROM-ISSIOLOGIST4IMOTHY-ONSMA QUESTION)HAVECOMETOSEEATLEASTTWOREASONS4HElRSTONEIS
GIVESUSAPOSITIVEANDVIVIDMETAPHOROFTHECITYBUTNOTALL THEOLOGICALOVERSIGHTANDTHESECONDISSOCIOLOGICALOVERSIGHT
#HRISTIANLEADERSSEESUCHSPIRITUALRICHNESSINTHECITYANDIN "YTHEOLOGICALOVERSIGHT)MEANNOTSEEINGTHECITYANDTHECITY
THECITYCHURCH)NFACTWHEN)WASAMISSIONARYCHURCHPLANTER CHURCHINAPOSITIVEBIBLICALLIGHTSUCHASISILLUSTRATEDIN4IMOTHY
IN"OSTONINTHESMANYLOCALANDNATIONALCHURCHLEADERS -ONSOMASMETAPHOROFTHECITYASAGOLDMINE!LLTOOOFTENTHE
TOLDMEhNOTHINGWASHAPPENINGINTHECHURCHIN"OSTONv4HE CITYISVIEWEDONLYASAPLACEOFDARKNESSANDSINRATHERTHANA
CONVENTIONALWISDOMWASANDSTILLISINMANYCASES THAT STRATEGICPLACEWHERE'ODDOES(ISREDEEMINGWORKANDEXPORTSIT
THECHURCHIN"OSTONWASDEADANDDECLINING!MAZINGLYTHAT TOTHENATIONS4HEhSvOFTHE.4ˆ!CTS2OMANSAND
ANALYSISCOULDNTHAVEBEENFARTHERFROMTHETRUTH!CCORDING )4HESSALONIANSˆALLILLUSTRATEHOWTHECITYSERVESASANENGINE
TOABENCHMARKSTUDYDONEBYTHE%MMANUEL'OSPEL#ENTER FOREXPORTINGTHE'OSPELTOTHEREGIONANDTOTHENATIONSOFTHE
#HRISTIANITYIN"OSTONWASEXPERIENCINGWHATWASPERHAPSITS WORLD4HISWASTRUEINTHE.EW4ESTAMENTERAANDISSTILLTRUE
GREATESTGROWTHINTHECITYSHISTORY%'#0RESIDENT$R$OUG TODAY
(ALLDUBBEDTHISREMARKABLEMOVEOF'ODAS"OSTONS1UIET 4HISTHEOLOGICALTRUTHISFURTHERDESCRIBEDIN-ONSOMAS
2EVIVALBECAUSEITWASVIRTUALLYUNDETECTED4HE1UIET2EVIVALHAS METAPHORˆTHECITYANDTHECITYCHURCH HAShPROMINENTETHNIC
BEENGOINGONNOWFORNEARLYFOURDECADESANDCONTINUESTOOUR VERTICAL VEINSPROMINENTSOCIOLOGICALHORIZONTAL VEINSxANDIT
PRESENTDAY HASOTHERVEINSTHATRUNATWILLINALLDIRECTIONSv-OREOVERSAYS
-ONSOMAhTHECITYISALSOANORGANISMCONSTANTLYONTHEMOVEv
Why the Gold was Overlooked 4HISISANAPTDESCRIPTIONOFWORLD CLASSCITIESSUCHAS"OSTONAND
!NIMPORTANTQUESTIONTOCONSIDERISTHIS(OWCOULDVERY ILLUSTRATESHOWANDWHY'ODHASALWAYSUSEDCITIESTOADVANCE
SINCEREANDWELL RESPECTEDMISSIONANDCHURCHLEADERSMISSSEEING (IS+INGDOMPURPOSESONTHEEARTH#ITIESAREˆTOBORROWONE

34 s u m m e r 20 0 5
OF$ONALD-C'AVRANSTERMSˆONEOFTHEhBRIDGESOF'ODvIN #HRISTIANSAREUNAWARETHATTHATTHEREAREATLEASTNATIONS
REACHINGTHEWORLD4HECITYISCOMPRISEDOFDIVERSEPOPULATIONS REPRESENTEDINTHECHURCHESOF"OSTONAND#AMBRIDGEALONE
OFPEOPLEFROMEVERYCORNEROFTHEEARTHANDITISALIVING WITHWORSHIPSERVICESBEINGOFFEREDINLANGUAGES!MERICAN

ECOSYSTEMTHATISCONSTANTLYRECEIVINGANDSENDINGTHESEPEOPLETO BORN#HRISTIANSWOULDGOALONGWAYINCOOPERATINGWITH'ODS
ANDFROMTHECITY)NALLOFTHISPEOPLEMOVEMENTTOANDFROMTHE +INGDOMPURPOSESBYSIMPLYPRACTICINGHOSPITALITYTOTHESE
CITYWESEE'ODSSOVEREIGNHANDFOR(IS+INGDOMPURPOSES PRECIOUSBROTHERSANDSISTERS3OMUCHMUTUALGROWTHAND
4WOPASSAGESCOMETOMINDINTHISREGARD BLESSINGOCCURSINSUCHCROSS
CULTURALRELATIONSHIPS
3ECONDATTHESAMETIMETHAT'ODHASIMPORTED#HRISTIAN
&ROMONEMAN'ODMADEEVERYNATIONOFMEN VITALITYFROMTHEWORLD(EHASALSOBROUGHTPEOPLEFROMAREAS
THATTHEYSHOULDINHABITTHEWHOLEEARTHAND OFDARKNESSWHERETHECHURCHISWEAKORNEARLYNON
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(EDETERMINEDTHETIMESSETFORTHEMANDTHE 4OILLUSTRATETHEPOINTSOMEMISSIONSEDUCATORSUSETHEACROSTIC
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ISNOTFARFROMEACHONEOFUS!CTS METPEOPLEFROMEACHOFTHESEMAJORBLOCKS3IMILARLYTHEREARE
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)HAVEMADEYOUALIGHTFORTHE'ENTILESTHAT )NDIA)RAQ.EPAL0AKISTAN3UDAN3YRIAANDMANYOTHERS)N
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MANYMISSEDSEEINGTHE1UIET2EVIVALIN"OSTONWASBECAUSE 1UIET2EVIVALAMONGTHEINTELLECTUALSOF#HINA
THEYWERENOTINRELATIONSHIPWITHWHERE+INGDOMGROWTHWAS )NDEEDTHEREISGOLDINTHECITY
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ETHNICGROUPS THEFAMEOF(IS.AMEAMONGTHENATIONS

Heal Our Eyes to See h!FTERTHIS)LOOKEDANDTHEREBEFOREMEWAS
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OURVISIONSOTHATWECANSEETHECITYWITH+INGDOMEYESh!ND STANDING;ANDWORSHIPPING=BEFORETHETHRONE
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Seeing Gold in Boston
'RAND2APIDS"AKER(OUSE 
Gregg W. Detwiler, D.Min., ’01, began his ministry as a national
home missionary with the Assemblies of God following
his graduation from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.
)FWEHAVEEYESTHATCANSEEWHATDOWESEEWHENWELOOKAT He served for 13 years as a missionary church planter and lead
ACITYLIKE"OSTON)WOULDSUGGESTTHATWESEEATLEASTTHREEAREAS pastor of Boston Worship Center in Boston’s historic North End,
OFTREMENDOUSVITALITYANDOPPORTUNITY and for three years as the Diaspora Ministry and Missions Pastor
at Mount Hope Christian Center in Burlington, Massachusetts.
&IRST'ODHASBROUGHTTO"OSTONhPEOPLEOFTHELIGHTvFROM
In 2001, the Emmanuel Gospel Center and the Southern New
!FRICA!SIAAND,ATIN!MERICA-ANYOFTHESEIMMIGRANTS England District of the Assemblies of God appointed him as
REFUGEESANDINTERNATIONALSHAVECOMEFROMAREASOFTHEWORLD a missionary to Boston’s multicultural communities. He has
WHERE#HRISTIANITYISVITALANDGROWINGANDTHEYHAVEHELPED published articles in Discipleship Journal and other periodicals. He holds a D. Min.
degree in Ministry in Complex Urban Settings from Gordon-Conwell.
REVITALIZE#HRISTIANITYINOURCITY4HEYAREINFACT'ODSGIFTS
TOUSBUTMANY!MERICAN
BORN#HRISTIANSAREUNAWAREOFTHEIR
PRESENCEANDHENCEARECUTOFFFROMRECEIVINGTHEMASPRECIOUS
GIFTSFROM'ODSHAND&OREXAMPLEMOST!MERICAN
BORN

s umme r 2 0 0 5 35