City of God: A dialogue with society about the social role of the Church in community transformation
City of God: A dialogue with society about the social role of the Church in community transformation
Guillermo Gustavo Puppo | 2021
Abstract
Jesus’ teachings and actions enacted shalom-making principles and denounced shalom-breaking systems that sustain the city’s economic, social, and cultural structures of power and oppression. He showed how Shalom works –he favored the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the outcast, and the foreigner. The study produced an exegetical survey of four pericopes in the Lukan Travel Narrative (Lu. 9:51- 19:47) in which Jesus showed how shalom should inform sociocultural norms: (1) the parable of the Good Samaritan, (2) the healing of the crippled woman, (3) the rich man and Lazarus, and (4) the cleansing of the temple. The analysis is twofold. In the first part, through Social Rhetorical Analysis (SRA), the exegesis produced ten social themes addressed by Luke: (1) crime and violence, (2) racial segregation, (3) disadvantaged groups, (4) class-based privilege, (5) profit-driven healthcare, (6) elite policy-making, (7) socially responsible wealth management, (8) unhoused residents, (9) protesting, and (10) social capital formation. The second part employed in-depth interviews based on the ten questions created from the social themes about the Church’s role in such issues. Sampling utilized Mintzberg’s (2015) three-sector society model –public, private, and social to interview twenty-six participants, including the Chief of Police, the city Mayor, CEOs from private companies, pastors, and community organizers, among others. Utilizing Qualitative Content analysis Software Atlas.ti, the answers rendered six themes: (1) challenges, (2) values, character traits, (4) organizations, (5) people, and (6) actionable items. The findings show commonalities with Jesus’ actions and teaching on bringing biblical community transformation to the city. The shalom-making process starts with the Church assessing and repenting from its internal challenges, intentionally creating relationships of trust with people and organizations, and collaborating with them to transform the city into a more biblically just environment in which the Church adds value to the life of the community. Recommendations for future research include a broader exegetical analysis of the Gospels, a more extensive and diverse pool of participants, a more comprehensive taxonomy of the social sectors, and the creation of a quantitative instrument that allows faith-based organizations to measure their shalom-making effectiveness.