The Suburban Christian

Albert Hsu unpacks the spiritual significance of suburbia and explores how suburban culture shapes how we live and practice our faith. With broad historical background and sociological analysis, Hsu offers guidance and hope for all who would seek the welfare of the suburbs.

Suburban life—including tract homes, strip malls, commuter culture—shapes our desires. More than half of Americans live in the suburbs. Ashley Hales writes that for many Christians, however: "The suburbs are ignored ('Your place doesn't matter, we're all going to heaven anyway'), denigrated and demeaned ('You're selfish if you live in a suburb; you only care about your own safety and advancement'), or seen as a cop-out from a faithful Christian life ('If you really loved God, you'd move to Africa or work in an impoverished area'). In everything from books to Hollywood jokes, the suburbs aren't supposed to be good for our souls." What does it look like to live a full Christian life in the suburbs? Suburbs reflect our good, God-given desire for a place to call home. And suburbs also reflect our own brokenness. This book is an invitation to look deeply into your soul as a suburbanite and discover what it means to live holy there.

Like an ecosystem, cities develop, change, thrive, adapt, expand, and contract through the interaction of myriad components. Religion is one of those living parts, shaping and being shaped by urban contexts. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Cities is an outstanding interdisciplinary reference source to the key topics, problems, and methodologies of this cutting-edge subject. Representing a diverse array of cities and religions, the common analytical approach is ecological and spatial. It is the first collection of its kind and reflects state-of-the-art research focusing on the interaction of religions and their urban contexts. Comprising 29 chapters, by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into three parts: Research methodologies Religious frameworks and ideologies in urban contexts Contemporary issues in religion and cities Within these sections, emerging research and analysis of current dynamics of urban religions are examined, including: housing, economics, and gentrification; sacred ritual and public space; immigration and the refugee crisis; political conflicts and social change; ethnic and religious diversity; urban policy and religion; racial justice; architecture and the built environment; religious art and symbology; religion and urban violence; technology and smart cities; the challenge of climate change for global cities; and religious meaning-making of the city. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Cities is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies and urban studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as sociology, history, architecture, urban planning, theology, social work, and cultural studies.

Rick Warren famously wrote, “It’s not about you.” But much of the Western church seems to disagree, having settled for a self-centered message of personal fulfillment. With incisiveness and a passionate love for the church, pastor and author Byron Forrest Yawn offers a compelling call away from narcissism and back to the powerful and transforming gospel of Jesus. He shows the difference between... Sunday-morning life coaches selling self-help seminars, and preachers proclaiming God’s redemptive work through Christ promises of prosperity and comfort, and a realistic and helpful perspective on suffering escape from unbelievers and their godless world, and redemptive engagement with people As Byron exposes the false gospel of “suburbianity,” he offers readers a better alternative: to look beyond themselves and embrace God’s call to be His image-bearers and ambassadors, partnering with Him as He restores people and all creation to His original design.

I came out of the womb already on fire from the homophobic hell of the Southern Baptist Church. Their Savior said 'Love Your Neighbor' yet they hated me for expressing my love? My childhood was how sinful I am, what pills to swallow, how ashamed I made my father. My honorable judge father lol, he beat me, belittled me, sent me to Gay-to-Straight Christian Conversion Camps where I was mole...whoa, we're just meeting each other, sorry.Senior year daddy dearest said "stop being queer, attend my Alma Mater, join my frat or be homeless!" Deeply desiring a family, I caved. Yeah, I still hate me for it too. I entered the University of Alabama as the role my father cast but no amount of beer bongs turned off my inner truth so I turned to Jesus. The more I learned the more I wanted to heal the sick, feed the poor, embody his message. So on my 21st instead of beers with bros, I drove home to give Dad my truth. I thought since Jesus inspired me he'd understand instead he strangled me, said if I come back he'd finish the job. I still hear mom screaming 'look what you made him do...'WTF am I doing? You don't care about me. You only care about getting retweets and subscribers on fucking Youtube. You don't care that I was locked in a mental institution for no reason and break out to find my partner cheating, my job firing me, and becoming homeless. You don't care about the trauma beat into my childhood. You don't care about what's keeping you from embodying your deepest truth. Fuck, I'm sorry, you're not supposed too. That's my job. That's why I wrote this.The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues is me confronting my trauma and changing it so I can embody who I am so I can help change this fucking stupid disconnected beautiful world!

A great number of seekers find themselves in the seemingly unreal world of the suburbs. They read spirituality books but find themselves in carpools and coaching soccer, not in monasteries. Dave Goetz, a former pastor, shows that the suburbs are a real world, but a spiritually corrosive one. The land of SUVs and soccer leagues can truly be toxic to the soul. Suburbanites need to understand how the environment affects them and what spiritual disciplines are needed for their faith to survive and thrive. Goetz identifies eight toxins in the suburban life, such as hyper–competition and the "transactional" friendship, and suggests eight corresponding disciplines to keep the spiritual life authentic. Goetz weaves sociology studies, his own experiences, current events, wisdom of the spiritual masters, and a little humor to equip spiritual suburbanites for how to relate to God amidst Starbucks, strip–malls, and perfect lawns.