I get a chuckle out of Google’s daily tributes to individuals or events significant on the day’s date through it’s search portal. On this date, May 4th, a few years ago the honoree was Jane Jacobs, a Canadian and American journalist, author, and activist best known for her influence on urban studies. Her influential book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) argued that urban renewal did not respect the needs of most city-dwellers. The book also introduced sociology concepts such as “eyes on the street” and “social capital”.
I love those two phrases “eyes on the street” and “social capital”. I feel at times that by working in the margins of society with people who normally would not come into a Methodist Church, I am the Church’s “eyes on the street” and am able to spot issues that we as Christians can address in our immediate field of missions. There is a lot of social capital present in our congregation and in the community and I often enjoy the privilege of connecting the two!
Church is not merely theology….it is sociology, psychology, history, current events, mathematics, biology, language and communications….It is as much an educational institution as it is a community of faith. That is why I believe God called me to the task of teaching and discipling in the church and also to ministry in the margins of the culture.