City of God, City of Satan

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Summary: The Textbook of Urban Ministry
Review: This book should be a must read for every person interested in urban ministry. The title of the book comes from the author's premise that every city includes elements of "Babylon"--"a city totally given over to evil and to the Evil One" and "Jerusalem"--"an idealized city...belonging to God,--a city of peace." What impressed me most about the book is that Bob has spent an hour a day for the past 20+ years studying the city in the Bible. Of the 20-25 books I have read on urban ministry, this work is certainly the most thorough. (Imagine the level of the granularity that one would come to after studying the same topic for over 20 years!) It is the dynamic equivilent of Strong's Concordance. In this 300 page work, Robert addresses the role of prayer, presence and proclamation of the church in the city. He also gives visible signposts that the city is being transformed by the church. It is the epic work of urban ministry.