Where do I make my life?
Seeking to understand our context in the city in this cultural moment.
The transience of modern life is one of the variables that actively works against our best efforts to practice the missional presence of Jesus in Richmond. Many of us have the option to leave our current context whenever a new job opportunity presents itself or the dream of a better life begins to materialize in a new locale. The Christian commitment to incarnation is a radical response to this impulse. When we choose to stay and live more deeply into the communities we are a part of, we experience the unique fruit that can only be produced through love over lengthy amounts of time.
Listen
“Where Do I Make My Life?” — The Rev. Dan Marotta
Read
The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
Loving the City by Timothy Keller
Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
Sidewalks in the Kingdom by Eric O. Jacobsen
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
Practice
PROXIMITY
Move into the the city and live in close proximity to neighbors.
STABILITY
Resist the temptation to move somewhere else for a better life. Put down roots.
CURIOSITY
Cultivate a genuine interest in your neighbors and in the complexities of the city.
Note: Some Redeemer parishioners who live in the county neighborhoods or countryside surrounding the city of Richmond may, for financial or other reasons, be unable to move into the city in this season of life. If this is the case, they should practice proximity, stability, and curiosity as best they can in their current context while recognizing that Redeemer’s parish will always have an emphasis on the city.
