Is God an Urban-Strategist? Are You?

The following discussion questions were written by me to go with a talk given by Tim Keller, entitled “Joy in the City” (based on Acts 8:4-8). The audio can be found on Monergism's audio links, listed by speaker. When you get to Keller's collection, just scroll down a bit.


1. What were the two main, physical differences between the first century church and the American church of today?

2. Do you know roughly when Christians started to retreat from the cities? Do you know roughly when Christianity began to retreat within the various cultural institutions?

Keller’s basic outline:

God is an “urban strategist”

I. Fact of this Strategy
II. Learning of this Strategy
III. Dynamic of this Strategy
IV. Method of this Strategy

3. We evangelize an area (a surrounding culture) by going to its biggest city. If the city goes pagan, where does the culture go? If the city goes Christian, where does the culture go? So, who has taken the city in our day?

4. How did the church in Acts learn to get back in the city? Specifically, in cities who had “dirty people”? How does this “lesson” directly apply to today? Or our near future?

5. What does Keller mean by being “theologically scattered”? What people-group have your ultimate allegiance? What is so liberating about this?

6. God is saying what the old Fram oil-filter commercials said: “Pay me now, or pay me later!” In what exact sense will we “pay later” in the cities?

7. What is the power that these Christians had in returning to the cities? It can’t be mere duty. Where does this love come from? What does this love look like?

8. The story of the Ethiopian eunuch shows us about who we get to touch in the city and the story that we get to tell loudly—that we don’t get to tell the same way in the suburbs. The city is cursed, cut off, without descendents—So was Christ! For those in the city.

9. What do the healings in Acts show us about our mission? Is there a right order in “word and deed”?