Out From the Safe Places

It struck me this week that Nashville is indeed a unique town. I don't mean that good or bad--it is what it is. And it's not the first time I've had this thought.

I've been substitute teaching (Metro Public Schools and Lipscomb Campus School) this fall to help pay the grad school bills as I finish the M.Div. later this year. At Lipscomb Campus, the majority of the students are upper middle class white kids from families who are members of Churches of Christ. There are some students who are members of other Evangelical churches ("money is money, all denominations are accepted"), but the overwhelming majority come from Churches of Christ.

In the Metro Public School System, my experience has been the complete opposite. Most of the students are from minority homes: African-american, Hispanic, Latino, Arabic, Kurdish, Asian, etc. These students come from mostly middle to low income homes and the religious views are as diverse as the ethnicity: Islam, Hindu, various eastern religions, and some branches of the Christian faith.

There are almost two worlds that exist in Nashville (albeit different from John Edwards notion)

I wonder what the Christian influence/mission will look like in Nashville over the next twenty years in the areas that are not conventional Christian institutions (Christian churches, schools, and universities)? I wonder if the division that separates the white suburban Christians from everyone else will continue to increase or if bridge builders will emerge in an urgency to realize the vision of the Gospel in which all are united as children of God.

As wealthy white Christians, we can continue to live our lives in an attempt to preserve what we deem most important (blood families, savings, homes, honor) or we can embrace death over preservation and be adamant about living out the life of Jesus in every nook and cranny of the culture we find ourselves in.

One is safe, the other is risky business. I think Jesus spent some time teaching the religious folks of his day which one his Kingdom is about (Mt. 25). As C.S. Lewis reminds me, "though God is good, he's never been safe."