Make All Things New

Gentrification and Real Renewal

In the book I am currently reading Urban Ministry, I was challenged to rethink my view on gentrification.  I had always looked at gentrification as a postiive thing, even an evidence of renewal taking place in some small measure.  The restoration of homes into more comfortable and esthetically pleasing dwellings has always appealed to me.  To see a whole neighborhood made better always seemed to be good to me.  And there lies the challenge.  For whom is this better neighborhood actually better?  Is it better for me and people like me who may be able to afford a nice home in an up-and-coming neighborhood?  Is it really better for the poor who can’t afford to purchase a home pre-gentrification and certainly not after their neighborhood is “renewed”.  This type of urban renewal has two sides and I have really tended to focus only on one.  Making things newer, cleaner, safer, nicer is good but without addressing the displaced, is it just?

Now I am not totally opposed to gentrification, I am just admitting that I have really looked at it from only one side.  Renewing an area might raise the real estate prices but without caring for the people that are pushed out, is that really renewal?  Thinking about all of this just made me love Jesus even more. For He plans to not only make “all things new” but he also promises to “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  He promises real renewal. Renewal that provides both beauty and freedom from the sins of crime and decay while also providing justice and freedom from the signs abuse and forced poverty.

It is somewhat odd to think that having a greater understanding of the complexity of the problems still does not deter from having a greater desire to be a part of the solution.  But that’s what Jesus does.  He renews our hearts and shows His glory — even veiled now — and we are captivated.  Knowing what he has done at the cross… and in my heart… and what he promise to do at his return, that drives me to want to put him on display, regardless of how impossible the task may appear.

For the first time in three years I couldn’t make it out to the DG conference.  Bummer.  But thanks to our good friends at The Resurgence, we can all follow along on Mike’s live blog – very cool!

Also, the folks at DG will put all the conference audio online within an hour after each session.  Wow!

An enjoyable read and worth reflecting on Piper’s counsel.

Just found this link to some new Keller audio from RTS on iTunes U (seminar on Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World with Edmund Clowney).
H.T. Steve McCoy

rock on the wissahickon creek

I took this picture while on a date with Jill a couple weeks ago (not bad for a phone, huh?). We took it while walking through Valley Green along the Wissahickon Creek. The picture hardly does justice to the beauty of the sight. We were walking along and – POW – we see this rock. In an already breathtaking spot, there is this one place that outdoes the others. That made me think of the New Earth where everything will outdo all that I currently see. That’s cool.

A side note for the fellas. If you are in the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend taking your love to Valley Green. Talk and walk along the trail and perhaps have lunch at the Valley Green Inn. It’s always a nice time.

Long over due to get back on track.

This week, Justin Taylor pointed me to this post from Christopher Wright.  In it, Wright shares a portion of his upcoming book, The God I Don’t Understand (Zondervan, January 2009). Here’s a portion of what he shared (it’s exciting):

All that has enriched and honoured the life of all nations in all history will be brought in to enrich the new creation. The new creation will not be a blank page, as if God will simply crumple up the whole of human historical life in this creation and toss it in the cosmic bin, and then hand us a new sheet to start all over again. The new creation will start with the unimagineable reservoir of all that human civilization has accomplished in the old creation – but purged, cleansed, disinfected, sanctified and blessed. And we shall have eternity to enjoy it and to build upon it in ways we cannot dream of now as we will exercise the powers of creativity of our redeemed humanity.

Speaking personally, I find enormous comfort and hope in this thought, precisely because it goes way beyond what I can understand. I don’t understand how it will be so, but the firm biblical affirmation that it will be so fills me with great excitement and anticipation.

…

Think of the prospect! All human culture, language, literature, art, music, science, business, sport, technological achievement, – actual and potential – all available to us. All of it with the poison of evil and sin sucked out of it forever. All of it glorifying God. All of it under his loving and approving smile. All of it for us to enjoy with God and indeed being enjoyed by God. And all eternity for us to explore it, understand it, appreciate it, and expand it.

If this is the new creation that the Bible promises, you can understand why I don’t want just to “go to heaven when I die.” Who wants just heaven, when God promises heaven and earth?

Wright’s post is worth taking the time to read. I profited from it.

I spent a couple hours the other morning reading through 2 Kings at the local Starbucks. The background noise of customers coming and going was not as distracting as I had thought it would be.  There’s something about the smell of coffee against the ambient sounds of jazz music mixed with people happily (if not completely superficially) chatting with each other that puts me into a place of deep focus.
So all was well with my studying and my concentration until I was drawn in to overhearing a conversation between the four ladies behind the counter.  I don’t think it was so much what they were saying that drew me in but rather the tone with which they all began speaking.  They all began to speak with great enthusiasm as one girl began talking about her new boyfriend.  I can’t really describe how the atmosphere changed other than to say that giggles and comments like, “Is he a keeper?” danced about the air.  I looked up from my reading to see all of their faces filled with smiles and bright eyes.  Something happened here.  Something infiltrated the calm environment of this Starbucks.  At first I thought it was true joy, but it didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t the case.  It seemed to be a joy found in a fulfilled longing.  The desire to love and be loved in some way appeared to be “satisfied” in these moments. It showed on their faces and it made a recognizable difference in the place.  But hearing their comments and seeing their happy faces made me deeply sad.  Not because I resent someone else taking joy in other’s happiness but because it all seems so fleeting.  The joy that filled the room, the satisfaction that they all seemed to feel, really won’t satisfy them.  Their joy was filled in the happiness of another person and that will never satisfy.  In fact, it will only let them down for it is idolatry.

I was saddened by the thought that someday my daughters will be their age and what if they hope in a boyfriend so much that having one would be the true delight of their hearts?  How empty will they be when that relationship ends?  What if my daughters, what if these ladies, were as satisfied in Jesus as they appear to be in this guy?  What joy might fill the air as they delight in the only One who will truly satisfy them?

But you know, it didn’t take long to be convicted of my own idolatry.  How often do I ascribe my greatest admiration for things other than the only One worthy of such admiration?  Too often, I know.

I went back to my reading and was struck by this passage:

“So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.” (2 Kings 17:41)

I am guilty of this.  I look at the Father with awe and reverence yet act as though He isn’t my Lord.  That behavior, no that heart condition, is something my children will see and possibly emulate.  Only by his grace, through his Son, will they grow in the fear of the Lord and worship the Creator rather than the creation.

I have read, enjoyed but not yet blogged about Andy Crouch’s book “Culture Making”.  I would encourage everyone to read it.  As Crouch suggests, it is a book to be read together and discussed (How are you coming along with it Larry?).  I would enjoy more discussion about it myself.

In the hopes of encouraging others to read it, check out this review from Books & Culture.  The writer seemed to be similarly impacted by this book as I have been.