Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life)

Rating:
Summary: not just for Christians
Review: A good discussion of the virtues of cities and other pedestrian-friendly environments from a Christian perspective. For example, Jacobsen emphasizes the importance of cities (and in particular Jerusalem) in the Bible, as well as more practical considerations such as social equity and the importance of sharing, civility to strangers, and other values best met in a public sphere. Not just for Christians, because Jacobsen uses the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible as well as the New Testament.

Rating:
Summary: Putting back Sidewalks
Review: God instructed Jeremiah, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare" (29:7). Imagine creating an approach to church life, church growth, and evangelism based on seeking the welfare of the city--the city (or neighborhood) that your church represents? Imagine. Eric O. Jacobsen in Sidewalks in the Kingdom gives us a blueprint for considering the welfare of the city. Jacobsen builds a case for Christian communities to take an interest in the urban centers where many churches are located. He points out that we have been relying on the false gods of individualism, independence, and freedom, worshipping at the feet of gods that come in the name of American values. Granted not everyone lives in an large urban setting--even Jacobsen writes on urbanism as a pastor, not in NY City or Detroit, but of the First Presbyterian Church in Missoula, Montana. Nonetheless, Sidewalks is worth the reading, if only to help you develop your own theology of the city or town you live in or near. Sidewalks shifts the discussion from "how do we grow our church?" to a more biblical mandate, "are we looking out for the welfare of the city?"

Rating:
Summary: Putting back Sidewalks
Review: God instructed Jeremiah, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare" (29:7). Imagine creating an approach to church life, church growth, and evangelism based on seeking the welfare of the city--the city (or neighborhood) that your church represents? Imagine. Eric O. Jacobsen in Sidewalks in the Kingdom gives us a blueprint for considering the welfare of the city. Jacobsen builds a case for Christian communities to take an interest in the urban centers where many churches are located. He points out that we have been relying on the false gods of individualism, independence, and freedom, worshipping at the feet of gods that come in the name of American values. Granted not everyone lives in an large urban setting--even Jacobsen writes on urbanism as a pastor, not in NY City or Detroit, but of the First Presbyterian Church in Missoula, Montana. Nonetheless, Sidewalks is worth the reading, if only to help you develop your own theology of the city or town you live in or near. Sidewalks shifts the discussion from "how do we grow our church?" to a more biblical mandate, "are we looking out for the welfare of the city?"

Rating:
Summary: Weaving faith and life into an integrated fabric
Review: If you are a person of faith who feels vaguely uneasy with our car-centric suburban American culture, you simply must read this book!
Jacobsen tackles the somewhat trendy topic of new urbanism, the idea of creating (or preserving) neighborhoods like some of us remember from our childhood, where it was possible to walk to the barbershop and stop for an ice cream cone along the way. Jacobsen goes to some length to connect this powerful idea to a sound biblical theology of the city. He makes the point (more than once) that the ultimate conusmation of human existence is described not as a garden--where it all started--but as a city. But not one to only give one side of the story, the author deals honestly with scriptures that show how cities also grew out of human vanity and pride. His arguments are well grounded in both reason and scripture, and he manages to find fault with both conservative evangelicals and mainline liberals, which I consider a plus.
The introduction invokes a powerful sense of community as the author describes a walk to a local coffee shop, and how the decision to relocate his church to the suburban edge of town would not only make such a walk impossible, but would at the same time disenfranchise the elderly, infirm and younger members of the congregation whose access to cars is limited.
In short, this book, as the title suggests, gives a superb overview of the most compelling New Urbanist ideas from a Christian perspective that is not biased toward liberal or conservative, but is biased toward a humane theology that cares about people and the cities they live in. Highly, highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: City dwellers are divine
Review: People of all religious persuasions can find wisdom in this plain-spoken portrait of how humanity and culture are enriched by the informal social contacts of city life. Jacobsen, a pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Missoula, Montana, builds a case for why Christians should have special concern for traditionally designed urban areas. At the same time, the book explores themes of community and identity that are relevant to people of all spiritual traditions.

He argues that we have been lulled into "worshipping false gods in the name of American values." The concepts of individualism, independence and freedom are wrongly associated with life in the suburbs, Jacobsen tells us. Pointing out that identical tract homes and big box retailers are not expressions of individual choice, he says we have allowed corporations to bend our communities to their bottom-lines instead of our communal needs.

The car, so often equated with freedom, does not, in Jacobsen's view, equal the Biblical sense of liberation, instead it represents a form of escapism. He writes that we have allowed ourselves to be isolated from one another by our cars and our low-density developments. The result is a loss of civility and a dismissal of God's command to "love the stranger."

He notes that cities give rise to critical mass, a condition that stimulates and incubates new ideas, significant events and formal art. Sidewalks in the Kingdom is a powerful call for Christians to endorse our cities in the same way they have embraced our natural environment. Should the concept catch hold, Christians everywhere may soon be fleeing the suburbs for a city near you.