The Urban Face of Mission: A Goodreads Quasi-Reivew

The Urban Face of Mission: Ministering the Gospel in a Diverse and Changing World by Harvie M. Conn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here’s the thing. So often books about “urban mission” give me the creeps. But as I work on the issues of homelessness, hunger, mental health, access, and community development in Allentown, I find much to be inspired by in this collection. Clinton E. Stockell’s essay “The Church and Justice in Crisis” alone is worth five stars. He pulls no punches in what I believe must be seen as a politically and economically radical call toward fidelity with what Jesus taught in his own context of margin and empire.

This isn’t a book about how you have to be a Christian to care about justice. It’s about the fact that so many Christians think an abstract (or even well-developed and nuanced) profession of faith is the whole point of the enterprise. Instead, it’s reminding the faith community of progressive, urban, and activist roots…that we can’t settle for inequality in any context, that nations and peoples are accountable to each other (and to history, and to God) for how they do or don’t move people from poverty to sustainability.

I’ve written a bit more about Stocwell’s essay here.

Related articles

• Christopher Cocca on Prolifick Radio (mynameismission.org)
• Helping The Arena Help Allentown (chriscocca.com)