(For the record, I believe in total depravity and that the world needs to realize Jesus Christ is the King or else this darkness will continue. But the bad will continue until Jesus returns. I just wanted to say that before some Christians who might be reading this thought I believed we can make the utopia now, but to the ones who don't believe in Jesus I don't want you to think that my head is in the heavenly clouds and we should ignore Earth and that we are all going to "float away." I believe we need Jesus, but I believe Jesus' mission on Earth and the church's role is to help, cultivate, fix, save, and restore this place.)
So what does Church Socialism look like? Well, for a second I want you to think about your block; picture where you live, what your home sits on, the streets you have to use to get in and out. Now zoom out and look at everything from an aerial view. What is your neighborhood's "center"? Is it a grocery store, a Main st, a Simon Mall plaza, a park? Maybe you live in a spot like I do in Orlando where you don't have actual town centers due to a high car usage and Urban Sprawl (the spreading of a city from downtown to more rural areas that have been turned into suburbs, which started around the 50s). Typically, town squares are where the majority of residents gravitate to, they're the location where you know you're going to to run into someone you recognize, and town centers tend to be the face of your neighborhood. However, regardless of what your town square might or might not be, you need one that is more than only a gathering place.
A Neighborhood's Heartbeat
Town Centers are more than just a natural sociological happening; they were a necessary piece to a city. There are plenty of reasons why we built these centers, from commerce to government to the functional aspect, but this was also one of the only ways you knew you were going to get a hold of someone. Now with everyone having cars, phones, social media, access to anyone anytime anyplace the need for squares have gone away, but back in the day it was a necessity to function. Funny enough, though, we still want them and we might not pay much attention to our weird inclinations (almost instinct) behind wanting to go there, but we do still need them. We need them as humans. They do more than represent our neighborhood, they're expressions of who we are in that area. Town squares aren't the face, they're the heart and that's the problem.
"City squares seem to be waiting for a crowd to fill them up—to assume a collective character and confer a public identity on private individuals." (City Squares by Catie Marron)
These main streets are so important for community growth that the state government has developed a very successful program with some nice grants to help cities redevelop these centers. Orlando has benefited tremendously from it; we're a whole different city, because of this Main St program and we're loving it.
But if town squares are more than just a face and they're actually a neighborhood's spirit then what are they telling us? Or, if it's difficult to gauge what your main st might be representing then look around your immediate neighborhood; what are some actions or characteristics your neighborhood is known for? We'll call them fruits. What fruits does your community produce?
Are you in a wealthy area with well thought out parks and recreation, but unwelcoming to the poor? Are you in a Latin neighborhood that has the best restaurants and bakeries, but make fun of people who don't speak Spanish while they're in your stores? In a impoverished community that needs to do whatever to survive, even sell drugs to kids by the convenient store everyone hangs out at? Or do you live on a block that has seen a huge decrease in vandalism, because you all implemented a program? Or are you improving economically, because of a new local farmers market?
Whatever characteristics you notice about where you live, you'll see them most defined at these town centers.
Christ-Centered Town Center
Until we begin to re-engineer the Main Streets so they direct the community where we want it to go, it will be our broken hearts (or corrupt, sinful, confused, misled, dark, whatever you want to call it) building what it wants. For a town center to direct the community, we'll need a Christ-centered town center; it doesn't have to be a typical church building, like in the old days when towns were built around the church, it could be anything, but it has to be a place that worships Jesus Christ and follows his mission for Kingdom on Earth and isn't open only for Sunday and Wednesday services. (If you don't believe in Jesus Christ, I understand your hesitations with this idea, but a proper one of these will not only be concerned with soul winning and making sure people are living holy. They will care about the community, the poor, the environment, the good of all.) These town squares can be a Christian coffee shop, a rec center, a sports bar, anything where people can hangout but ideally it would be a church that has opened its doors for the community to use. Regardless of the type of building, it needs to be a spot where everyone knows "this place is focused on Jesus."
Through a church (or any establishment that is vocal about Christ) living out the role as the town center then the neighborhood will have the opportunity to literally see the city on a hill; a Christ-centered town center, through commitment and labor, will be able to speak to the neighborhood, because they have spoken for the neighborhood. Similar to an old timer who is seen as the community's elder, the church will be seen as a resource for the people to come to, because they trust us. The relationship between the church and the community will allow the church to have an impactful voice regarding racial reconciliation, charity, crime, politics, environmental design, the whole culture of the area.
However, the part we've seen a lot of churches struggle with (and it's more so the pastor, because of tithe money) is they aren't content with their neighborhood. They don't see their vision fitting with either the demographic or the location so they don't fully invest in the area, but each of our congregations has to see the beauty of the area we're in and submit to the reality God has us in particular areas for a reason and he will change the world through your church there. If you let your roots get deep into your neighborhood and make a difference in individual households they will in turn have an effect on their streets, which will spread to your neighborhood, and your neighborhood could eventually highlight your church's work to the surrounding neighborhoods in the city and so on. But we have to do our part by committing to the people in our so-so neighborhoods, not just the nice ones.
Read More: God and the Desert