Thrive in the City by Living Into the Great StorySample

Exercising Prophetic Imagination  

Proverb 11:10 says, “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices.” What does this assume? It implies that the righteous (Jesus followers) are stewarding their power in such a way that it seeks the welfare and shalom of the marginalized, the oppressed, and the poor. Why else would the city rejoice? 

Stewardship comes from the same Greek word as economics (oikonomia) and refers to the management of things. Greg Forster writes that “the economy is a moral system . . . the kind of economy we have is going to be based on what kind of people we are and what kind of people we are will also be shaped, in turn by what kind of economy we have.” Whole-life stewardship goes beyond giving of financial resources and how you volunteer your time but includes all economic activity.

Deploying your vocational power is one way to bring gospel renewal in the city by stewarding your influence for the sake of others. The late John Lewis was 25 when he marched across the Edmund Pettus bridge on the way to Selma. Alexander Hamilton resisted oppression by signing the Declaration of Independence at age 21. Queen Esther risked her life at a very young age to spare the nation of Israel from annihilation. You may find yourself on the underside of power or in a position of power. Everyone has agency and choice to use their prophetic imaginations to participate in the renewal of all things. 

What if protest is an act of prophecy? Is it not an act of condemning and judging injustice in order to point to a better world? In the midst of the cry for justice, we have the opportunity as the Church to join with others in creating a better world. Jesus called this better world the Kingdom of God and prays for it to come. And we can’t have the Kingdom without the King.

There are two general movements in gospel renewal. The movement towards restoration of what’s broken (e.g. Reconciliation/Justice/Peacemaking) and the movement towards using our imaginations to create what doesn’t yet exist (e.g. Cultivating/Beauty/Storytelling). 

Take a moment with God.

Are you on the underside of cultural power or in a position of cultural power? How can you deploy your power to benefit others?

Exercise some prophetic imagination (what heaven on earth might look like) and brainstorm ideas for gospel renewal in your context (church, community, workplace, city). Share this idea with one person for accountability to take a next step.