Planting Churches Among the City's Poor - Volume 2

114 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 2

The SIAFU Network – Assembling God’s Warriors Toward a Strategy to Win the City

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? ~ James 2.5

If you are an urban Christian, you are caught up in a great battle, a single conflict which is part of a larger war. Yes, the universe is at war, with everything in creation at stake. The opposing forces are disciplined and committed, and in the end, there can only be a single victor. Believe it or not, understand it or ignore it, you still have a role in one of the greatest spiritual struggles in the history of humankind. With hundreds of millions of souls in play, we must each decide whose side we will fight on in this, the campaign of our time. This motif of spiritual war is prominent throughout the Holy Scriptures, which tell the story of God’s commitment to rescue creation from the tyranny of the devil, to save humankind from the penalty and power of sin, and to call together a people from the nations who would belong to him through Christ, his Son. Our God is a man of war (Exod. 15.1-4), a great Lord who promised to send his Son who would be Champion for humankind and all creation, reconciling all things to himself, and establishing his reign in the earth. We know that Jesus of Nazareth was this promised Champion, who through his incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, session, and return will accomplish God’s rule, including over the dark cities of our time. This basic biblical theology, this faith, is often referred to as the Great Tradition, and TUMI’s ongoing passion and project is to recover, articulate, and embody God’s truthful Story of redemption and restoration of the world that spans from creation to the con summation of all things. This is key to understanding what God is doing in the world, and central to knowing how we are to live as disciples of Christ in the city today. The Bible tells the Story of God’s determination to restore his kingdom rule, anchored in his loving-kindness and covenantal faithfulness. The Lord God is determined to restore his creation and save out of all humankind a people of his own possession forever. God’s Story is authoritatively told in the Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit. The