Suburbia: Paradise or Wasteland? Suburbia is a place of spiritual yearnings. People come to suburbia looking for a fresh start, the second chance, a new life. It embodies the hopes and longings of its residents, dreams for the future, safety and security for their children, and the search for meaningful community and relationships. Yet much in our suburban world militates against such aspirations, and people find themselves isolated and alienated, trapped by consumerism and materialism. Is there hope for a Christian vision for the suburbs? Al 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 practical insights for living Christianly in a suburban context. Probing such dynamics as commuting and consuming, he offers Christian alternatives for authentic spirituality, genuine community and relevant ministry. And he challenges suburban Christians to look beyond suburbia and marshal their resources toward urban and global justice. Suburbia may be one of the most significant mission fields of the twenty-first century. Here is guidance and hope for all who would seek the welfare of the suburbs.
Albert Y. Hsu is senior editor at InterVarsity Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Suburbia—Paradise or Wasteland? 1. The Suburban Moment: Glimpses of a Suburban Future 2. Living in Suburbia: The Pursuit of the Promised Land 3. Spaced Out: The Impact of Commuter Culture 4. Material World: The Challenges of Consumer Culture 5. Status Check: How Consuming and Branding Shape Our Identity 6. Won't You Be My Neighbor? Moving from Anonymity to Community 7. Finding God in the Suburbs: Cultivating Spirituality in Everyday Life 8. The Suburban Church: Gathering Places of Relevance and Hope 9. Beyond Suburbia: Mission to and from the Suburbs Epilogue: Seek the Welfare of the Suburbs Acknowledgments Notes Index
What People are Saying About This
Kelly Monroe Kullberg
"What an education. Al Hsu's excellent book inspires me to see the place in which I live with new clarity, creativity and gratitude. He expanded my imagination and enlarged my heart for the city near us, and God's world around us. I hope every suburban Christian will read it." — Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder of The Veritas Forum and author of Finding God Beyond Harvard
John Ortberg
"Albert Hsu has written a readable and well-researched treatment of a key issue. I live and work in the exurb, and I am grateful for his wisdom." — John Ortberg, author of If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat
Shane Claiborne
"This book is a long-overdue pilgrimage through the empty promises, hidden hopes and subtle demons of suburbia. Urban cynics and suburban hermits rejoice--here is a refreshing invitation to find God at work in the margins, the same God who showed up in the unlikely badlands of Nazareth from which the world said nothing good could come." — Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution
Robert D. Lupton
"With no end in sight for suburban sprawl and urban challenges spreading relentlessly outward from the city core, The Suburban Christian is right on time. Don't run from the suburbs, Al Hsu urges--redeem them. It's a message whose time has come." — Robert D. Lupton, author of Theirs Is the Kingdom and Renewing the City
Lauren F. Winner
"Provocative, thoughtful, even prophetic, The Suburban Christian is a book the church badly needs." — Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Real Sex
Don Everts
"The Suburban Christian is a helpful, needed resource for living thoughtfully and faithfully in suburbia. Al Hsu has researched well, thought hard and lived vulnerably to produce what I believe will become a basic primer for all believers who live in suburbia. There are no easy answers here, though. By thoughtfully deconstructing suburbia (I'll never look at malls or roads or sidewalks exactly the same way again) and by honestly wrestling with what it is like to live in suburbia (finely highlighting the tensions, ironies and surprises of life here) Al Hsu gives me a clearer, deeper understanding of the life I live and helps me ask the right questions about how to live as a suburban believer." — Don Everts, author of Jesus with Dirty Feet, The Smell of Sin and God in the Flesh
Tom Sine
"A very important book for all of those who are seeking to faithfully follow Jesus in the suburbs. A candid grappling with both the challenges and the opportunities of suburban living. A great resource for church study groups." — Tom Sine, author of The Mustard Seed Conspiracy and Living on Purpose
