Greenway’s Theology

[its_brad]

Comment on Greenway’s theology of urban ministry. How would you modify it?

[Poh]

Having listened to Dr. Greenway's lectures, I could summarize his theology of urban ministry that seeks the shalom of God, based on Jeremiah 29:7,pray for the city of Babylon where the Israelites were in captive, and yet God required them to seek the peace of God, so that they might have peace as well.

Urban ministry models that Greenway has suggested were tangible. Some of models may be still effective in urban ministry: Mother-daughter model, Boston Model and Team Model. I find it very helpful.

Being a salt and light of the city is another motto of Urban mission theology according to Greenway. Often we miss out what we ought to be in our ordinary life. Greenway keeps us in a right path of walking as salt and light in the city that leads to our holistic life style.

[kbfalk]

According to Greenway, what began in a garden ends in a city, the New Jerusalem. The cities of today are cultural centers of great human potential in which many beautiful things are created; however, as a result of the fall, they are now places of broken covenant, corrupted and tainted by sin. We look forward to the redeemed city, the holy city, where all of these human potentials will be restored and perfected and shalom will prevail. Every day in cities everywhere there is a battle between the city of man, in which the effects of the fall are evident and everything is marked by rebellion, idolatry, and destruction, and the city of God, where everything is restored towards a divine orientation and there is, what Greenway calls, the “institutional integration of worship and culture.”

As Christians, we are to be agents of God’s grace in the cities of man, the cities of today, while keeping the city of God in view by praying for the city, standing for prophetic action, planting churches, and seeking the redemption of individual lives, communities, and systems. It is essential to keep the Biblical basis for urban missions at the center and foundation of all that we do.

I’m not sure that there’s much I would change about Greenway’s theology of urban ministry. It is comprehensive in scope and provides a foundation from which he offers effective strategies and helpful insights for those who are called to be a light in the city.

[kbfalk]

Having listened to Dr. Greenway's lectures, I could summarize his theology of urban ministry that seeks the shalom of God, based on Jeremiah 29:7,pray for the city of Babylon where the Israelites were in captive, and yet God required them to seek the peace of God, so that they might have peace as well.

Urban ministry models that Greenway has suggested were tangible. Some of models may be still effective in urban ministry: Mother-daughter model, Boston Model and Team Model. I find it very helpful.

Being a salt and light of the city is another motto of Urban mission theology according to Greenway. Often we miss out what we ought to be in our ordinary life. Greenway keeps us in a right path of walking as salt and light in the city that leads to our holistic life style.

I, too, appreciate the various models of church planting that Greenway offers. It reinforces the idea that there is no "one size fits all" approach and underscores the importance of understanding the dynamics, demographics, and history of your city to find out which approach would be most effective and best contextualized to the needs of the people there.

Also, I appreciate your comments on the "holistic" life style. The more we understand our Biblical mandate to minister in the city, the more we will seek shalom in our personal relationships, in our broken communities, and in the oppressive systems that perpetuate injustice.