WHAT IS CITY LIFE?

We talk about “City Life” because our vision is much bigger than “Church Life”. We want you to be involved in the life of your city. Not so much in city politics (though that may be your calling), but in the life of your neighbors and the people you interact with every day. “In your city, for your city” is the tagline. More than that, it’s a way of talking about incarnation.

City Life is about Incarnation

A few months from now we will be talking about incarnation as we do every year at Christmas. The “Word” became flesh (in-carne – yes, like carne asada!) and dwelt among us. Jesus, the eternal “Word” of God and second person of the Trinity took on our human limitations and, as Eugene Peterson puts in in the Message version of the Bible, “moved into the neighborhood”. Jesus lived in this world for this world. He is calling us to the same.

In your city, for your city

Ultimately, this is a missionary calling. As a Christian, you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven living in a foreign land. Your home is an embassy of the Kingdom. It is where the values and culture of the Kingdom where Jesus is in charge are the dominant culture. You represent this alternative King in your home, your neighborhood and your city.  Your primary allegiance is to King Jesus and not to whomever is sitting in Washington DC.

Rethinking Life in the OC

How would seeing your life and calling from this perspective change how you operate day to day? What are some simple ways you can represent Jesus in your neighborhood? Where is your influence most needed? What would have to change if you saw your house as an embassy of the Kingdom? We will explore these questions for the next three weeks at Mountain View Church in our City Life series.