Renewing the City: Reflections on Community Development and Urban Renewal

When an expatriate bureaucrat toured a devastated city, he saw more than ashes and ruins. He envisioned a thriving metropolis where God's people could find safety and community. Likewise, when we consider today's urban challenges, we can be daunted by corruption and despair, or we can see opportunities for rejuvenation, restoration and rebirth. Community developer and urban activist Robert D. Lupton looks to the Old Testament example of Nehemiah as a role model for community transformation and renewal. Lupton sees the book of Nehemiah as the memoirs of an urban developer who transformed a decaying city into a place of security and vitality. Placing Nehemiah's story in juxtaposition with contemporary realities offers encouragement and concrete models for how our own metropolitan environments can be revitalized. Nehemiah's example--and Lupton's--offer guidance and hope for all who would seek the welfare of their cities.

Robert D. Lupton is founder and president of FCS Urban Ministries based in Atlanta, Georgia. His other books include Theirs Is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America and Return Flight: Community Development Through Reneighboring Our Cities.

Raymond J. Bakke is senior associate of Ray Bakke Associates, a nonprofit organization that partners with those who are passionate about empowering the church to be creatively missional in an urban world. He is the former chancellor and professor of global urban studies at Bakke Graduate University and former executive director of International Urban Associates in Chicago, Illinois.