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Compassion Coalition to host luncheon featuring Seek the Peace of the City: Ten Ways to Bless the Place Where You Live
KNOXVILLE -- Doug Banister, pastor of All Souls Church, is the feature speaker at the Compassion Coalition Salt & Light Community Luncheon on Thursday, April 25th at Messiah Lutheran Church, 6900 Kingston Pike, 37919, from 11:30 am to 1 pm. At this time, Banister will discuss his new e-book Seek the Peace of the City: Ten Ways to Bless the Place Where You Live, which will be made available for free to attendees and the entire community.
For the past 15 years, Banister feels God has been revealing to him how God's people can love and serve their city. During those 15 years, he says, “Slowly it dawned on me. God had put me in my own city to seek its peace. I began praying a dangerous prayer: God, what does it mean for me to seek the peace of my city?”
After months of research and lots of interviews, in the fall of 2012 Banister preached a ten-part sermon series on Jeremiah 29:7. His new e-book, Seek the Peace of the City: Ten Ways to Bless the Place Where You Live grew out of those sermons and explores the different ways that we can better love and serve Knoxville.
In the prologue of his e-book, Doug says, “I believe every Christian in our community is called by God to seek the peace of our city. I believe this calling applies to you no matter where you live in our community. It’s not enough to care only about our little corner of the city. We need to care about every neighbor in our city, specifically those who experience shalom the least. We don’t all need to move to an at-risk neighborhood, volunteer at an inner city non-profit, or attend an inner city church, but we do need to care about those who suffer a few miles from our doorstep. We don’t need to stop taking mission trips to cities thousands of miles away, but we do need to pay attention to the weak and vulnerable right here at home.”
Following are quotes from Banister’s book:
“Cities are like people. They have their own stories, and Knoxville is no exception. Sometimes people try to help our city without letting her tell her story first, and this usually does not work out too well. Before we seek the peace of the city, we need to listen to our city’s story. ”
“People in shalom-deprived neighborhoods are weary of drive-by compassion. They are tired of feeling like somebody’s project.”
“In recent years, I have come to believe that event-driven compassion ministry is not the best way to bring shalom to the city. In fact, I think it often does more harm than good. One-time projects, heavily funded by wealthy suburban churches, disempower and disrespect the churches and people they aim to help. Whenever we do something for a struggling neighbor that we could have done with them, we have not helped them, no matter how sincere our intentions. What at-risk neighborhoods need are people who are willing to commit to a long-term, relational presence in the neighborhood. Practicing presence means listening. Practicing presence means waiting. Practicing presence means watching and joining in with whatever God is already doing in the neighborhood. It’s slow and messy, and you usually don’t take home a t-shirt.”
Published April 25, 2013
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