Your Neighbor Is Not a Number

4. We often fail to recognize the good alongside the bad.

God is doing more good in your city than you realize. Yes, it’s broken. Yes, it’s dark. But if we slow down enough to notice, we’ll see light breaking through too. In all likelihood, gospel work has been happening in your city long before you got there. Acknowledge that and rejoice in it.

Most of the time, it’s not that we’re doing the work no one else wanted to do, but that God created a new opportunity. He opened another door. We’re standing on the shoulders of many who came before us, and alongside many who are standing with us even now.

There’s no need for novelty here. We’re not trying to do anything completely different from the faithful gospel witness already present. We’re a part of something much bigger than ourselves and our churches. Kingdom-minded Christians will relish all the good things God is doing through others, even while they lament discouraging and challenging trends.

5. We highlight data we’re not actively trying to change.

A lot could be said about the cities in which we live, work and serve. The worst of things are probably true in some parts of our city, but hardly anything is true in every part of our city. And when it comes to highlighting the negative data, it doesn’t make sense to draw attention to anything unrelated to our on-the-ground ministry.

Why would we call out the problems in our city if our church is not actively seeking to remedy them—if we’re not on our knees pleading with God for change and moving toward those problems with our own two hands and two feet?

What makes us and our churches faithful is not identifying as many problems as possible, but ministering the gospel in truth and love to real people somewhere, wherever God has called us and placed us.

Our cities are dark. They’re messed up, each in their own ways, and some worse than others. But as bad as they may be, let’s agree together that it’s not all bad, and perhaps rethink the way we talk about our cities.