Comments on: Is Incarnational Ministry Possible in a Commuter City?

By: Tweets that mention » Is Incarnational Ministry Possible in a Commuter City? -- Topsy.com

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 07:16:29 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by waynepark and waynepark, waynepark. waynepark said: Wondering: If you live in NY / NJ, how far (long) do you commute to church? http://ow.ly/1qZd6 [...]

By: Wayne

Wayne — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:05:54 +0000

@drew I think that's really true. Lots of time when we hear about incarnational location-based ministry in our seminaries, it's unconsciously coming from a suburban P.O.V.; that's not to say that incarnated suburban churches are not cutting edge and highly needed; but perhaps we need more seminaries operating within the cities as well? (and not just on the outskirts) But the mobility and wealth critique is an important one... puts a new spin on the popularity of "incarnational ministry". Maybe instead of incarnational ministry we need more "ascensional ministry."

By: drew

drew — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:09:39 +0000

hey wayne- i think that one factor that plays into this is one’s wealth. often, as scrah would say, mobility is tied to wealth, and i think the same is true for nyc, especially when one considers the availability of subways, express stops, and the people who can afford to be close to both (subways and specifically, express stops). obviously there are subways stops all over manhattan, but that’s one reason why manhattan can be so expensive, thereby excluding a certain sector of less-well-off folks to live there. unless, of course, poorer folks are relegated to areas that are on the outskirts of manhattan where it’s still quite a hike to the train.

hence, i think you’ll get a lot of different answers about commuters in nyc… we have our fair share of both – neighborhood folks and commuters, but I think our commuter population is self-selective to people who are willing to deal with difficult parking circumstances or cooky train schedules on the weekend.