Seeking a book on urban mission
by Tim Chester on Jul.07, 2011, under Misc
David Smith’s new book on urban mission, Seeking a City with Foundations: Theology for an Urban World is just out from IVP. David is one of our leading evangelical missiologists and always a stimulating read. He is Senior Research Fellow at the International Christian College in Glasgow where until recently he led their urban mission masters programme. He was also a speaker at our first Reaching the Unreached conference.
This book is the fruit of many years of practical and theological engagement with urban mission. But don’t take my word for it …
‘Whether in the rapidly emerging cities of the global South or in the towns and cities of the Western world, this book will prove to be an excellent guide for students and practitioners alike who seek a deeper understanding of how the texts of the Bible can powerfully and prophetically speak afresh into our contemporary urban world.’
- Colin Smith, Urban Mission Training Centre, Kibera, Nairobi
‘Seeking a City with Foundations lays a foundation that all future urban theological works must reckon with if they are to be faithful to their task … Smith both instructs and inspires in this very important book.’
- Eldin Villafane, Professor of Christian Social Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston, USA
And here’s what you get …
Preface
1. Introduction
The garden and the city
The city of God
The challenge for theology
PART ONE: THE URBAN WORLD
2. The challenge of an urban world
The growth of an urban world
Urbanization in Africa
Cities of the rich, cities of the poor
Understanding the urban world
Agenda for an urban theology
3. The birth and growth of the city
The sacred city
The search for the good city
The fall and rise of urban cultures
The holy commonwealth
The city and the Industrial Revolution
Urban pathologies
Conclusion
4. Urban visions, urban nightmares
The garden city
The radiant city
Visions and nightmares
In the cities of the South
Storm clouds over the city
Back to the future?
The really big issue
5. City skylines, city meanings
From sacred centre to preserved monument
Moving down the hill
The forest of symbols
Visions of utopia
A city without meaning?
PART TWO: BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
6. The Bible and the city: from patriarchs to prophets
In the beginning
Let my people go
The challenge of the cities of Canaan
Holy Zion: the promise and the failure
The prophetic perspective
The critique of urban religion
Love in the city
Lament for the city
Hope for an urban world
The promise of shalom
The cities of the world
7. The Bible and the city: From Jesus to John of Patmos
Jesus and the city
The tragedy of Jerusalem
Death and resurrection
Urban Christianity in the Roman Empire
Romans: a letter to an urban church
The new Jerusalem
Conclusion
8. Theology for an urban world
Idols of our time
Theology and hope for the city
The gospel for an urban world
Pentecostalism, theology and the urban world
The urban ekklesia: evangelical, emerging and catholic
Here is your God!
Bibliography
Social science perspectives
Biblical/theological perspectives
