Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith

by Eric O. Jacobsen
Brazos Press, 2003.

Growing up in the suburbs of metro Atlanta taught me two things: 1) expect the Braves to win in the National League East and 2) don't expect to get anywhere without a car. Getting my driver's license was a passport to freedom - freedom to drive half an hour to visit friends further out in the suburbs, and freedom to sit in traffic on the way back.

In college I moved to a small town in Germany on a one-year exchange program. My '89 Camry didn't fit in my suitcase, and it didn't need to. The grocery store, bakery, post office, university, church, and friends were all a short walk, bike, or bus ride away. Granted, the homes were much smaller, and nobody had huge grassy lawns - but the quality of life seemed just as good as, if not better than, my American-dream hometown.

Sidewalks in the Kingdom articulates my intuitions about the value of urban life while calling Christians to begin seeing ourselves as "city people" as we anticipate our eternal home - not in a garden or clouds in the sky - but in a city, the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2). Author and pastor Eric Jacobsen traces a biblical theology of the city and then draws out contemporary implications from the perspective of an urban planner. While recognizing negative elements usually associated with urban areas (crime, poverty, etc.), Jacobsen chooses to see the city's redemptive potential.

"So much of our Christian literature seems to be focused on the question of whether and how we can save our cities. It seems to me that we need to adjust this approach and begin to look for ways that our cities can save us. I mean save here not in the sense of salvation from sin - only Christ can do that - but rather save our souls from the damaging effects of uglification, standardization, privatization, and mass consumerism that have fueled this historically unprecedented appetite for sprawl in this country."

Now I'm living in a small university town again, and experiencing for the first time in the US what I had only seen overseas. Sidewalks in the Kingdom has inspired me to appreciate my new surroundings and become a steward of the community in practical ways - by choosing to walk or bike instead of driving, choosing to shop locally at the farmer's market rather than the big chain supermarkets, making time to get to know my neighbors, learning more about the town's history and government, and praying over the sidewalks. Most of all, I've been challenged to rethink what kind of environment I'd want to raise a family in. I'll always have fond memories of growing up in the suburbs - but I doubt my children ever will.