Missional in Suburbia

The Suburban Good Life Might Be Killing You

Michael Wallenmeyer — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:12:30 +0000

Communities Learn the Good Life Can Be a Killer

By JANE E. BRODY

Atlanta is transforming an old rail corridor into a trail network that encourages walking and biking.

Developers in the last half-century called it progress when they built homes and shopping malls far from city centers throughout the country, sounding the death knell for many downtowns. But now an alarmed cadre of public health experts say these expanded metropolitan areas have had a far more serious impact on the people who live there by creating vehicle-dependent environments that foster obesity, poor health, social isolation, excessive stress and depression.

As a result, these experts say, our “built environment” — where we live, work, play and shop — has become a leading cause of disability and death in the 21st century. Physical activity has been disappearing from the lives of young and old, and many communities are virtual “food deserts,” serviced only by convenience stores that stock nutrient-poor prepared foods and drinks.

According to Dr. Richard J. Jackson, professor and chairman of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, unless changes are made soon in the way many of our neighborhoods are constructed, people in the current generation (born since 1980) will be the first in America to live shorter lives than their parents do.

Although a decade ago urban planning was all but missing from public health concerns, a sea change has occurred. At a meeting of the American Public Health Association in October, Dr. Jackson said, there were about 300 presentations on how the built environment inhibits or fosters the ability to be physically active and get healthy food.

In a healthy environment, he said, “people who are young, elderly, sick or poor can meet their life needs without getting in a car,” which means creating places where it is safe and enjoyable to walk, bike, take in nature and socialize.

“People who walk more weigh less and live longer,” Dr. Jackson said. “People who are fit live longer. People who have friends and remain socially active live longer. We don’t need to prove all of this,” despite the plethora of research reports demonstrating the ill effects of current community structures.

The Price of Progress

“We’ve become the victims of our own success,” Dr. Jackson said of the public health mission that cleared cities of congested slums. “By living far from where we work, we reduced crowding and improved the quality of our air and water, which drove down rates of infectious disease.” But as people have moved farther and farther from where they work, shop and socialize, the rates of chronic diseases have soared.

Public transportation has not kept pace with the expansion of suburbs and exurbs. Nor are there enough sidewalks, nearby parks and safe places to walk, cycle or play outdoors in many, if not most, towns. Parents spend hours in cars getting to and from work; children are bused or driven to and from school; and those who can’t drive must depend on others to take them everywhere or risk becoming socially isolated.

In 1974, 66 percent of all children walked or biked to school By 2000, that number had dropped to 13 percent.

“Children who grow up in suburbia can’t meet their life needs without getting a ride somewhere,” Dr. Jackson said. “The average teen in suburbia says it’s boring.”

His new book, “Designing Healthy Communities,” a companion piece to a coming public television series, says: “When there is nearly nothing within walking distance to interest a young person and it is near-lethal to bicycle, he or she must relinquish autonomy — a capacity every creature must develop just as much as strength and endurance.” The book was written with Stacy Sinclair, director of education at the Media Policy Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

“We’ve engineered physical activity out of children’s lives,” Dr. Jackson said in an interview. “Only a quarter of the children in California can pass a basic fitness test, and two in seven volunteers for the military can’t get in because they’re not in good enough physical condition.”

The health consequences, he said, are terrifying. Not only are Americans of all ages fatter than ever, but also growing numbers of children are developing diseases once seen only in adults: Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and fatty livers.

Can Our Suburbs Be Saved?

The four-part series that Dr. Jackson developed with the documentary producers Dale Bell and Harry Wiland, to be broadcast in the spring, highlights changes being made in forward-thinking communities — changes that foster better physical and mental health by redesigning the built environment.

“Health happens in neighborhoods, not doctors’ offices,” Dr. Jackson states in one of the programs.

Metropolitan Atlanta, which is 8,000 square miles and growing and where workers drive an average of 66 miles a day, has suffered the ill effects of high ozone levels, few sidewalks and bike lanes, and crosswalks as much as a mile apart. In what may be the crown jewel in environmental restructuring for better health, the city plans to create an urban paradise from an abandoned railroad corridor over the next two decades, with light rail and 22 miles of walking and biking trails.

In Lakewood, Colo., an abandoned shopping mall (a blight now rampant in suburbia) was converted into housing, businesses and play areas.

Syracuse is converting an old saltworks district into a mixed-income, energy-smart housing and business area, giving residents easy access to work and recreation. The local supermarket, Nojaim’s, offers health and nutrition classes and weekly health checks, and a mobile farmers’ market serves an area that lacks grocery stores.

Another jewel in environmental restructuring is Elgin, Ill., where an island park was created in the middle of the rejuvenated Fox River and a former Superfund site known as auto dealers’ row is now Festival Park, giving families a place to gather for water play, picnics and musical performances. A Bikeway Master Plan will eventually connect all the neighborhoods, and easy access to the river has spurred investment.

“For every dollar the city has spent, we have leveraged that into two or three dollars of private investment through new kinds of buildings, row houses and businesses that have opened because the river has a magnetic quality,” said a former mayor of Elgin, Ed Schock. He might have added another economic benefit: the prospect of lower health care costs.

Further information on healthier communities can be found at designinghealthycommunities.org.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-28

Michael Wallenmeyer — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

America's suburbs: Key to the 2012 election: http://t.co/MyfbklyO #

Churches That Don’t Fit In

Michael Wallenmeyer — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:57:17 +0000

Fitting In from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.

Free book giveaway, “A Gospel Primer for Christians” by Milton Vincent

Michael Wallenmeyer — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:43:01 +0000

Gospel-centered. Easy to say, but what does it really mean? How do we apply the gospel to every area of our life? “A Gospel Primer for Christians” is one of the best resources I have found when it comes to immersing my heart and mind in the gospel. We felt so strongly about this that we gave away a copy of this book to every family in our church. The fuel for missional life in suburbia is first and foremost the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you would like to win a free copy of this book all you need to do is go to our “contact” and put down your 1) name 2) mailing address 3) name of the book. We will do a random drawing to determine the winner. We will announce the winner by Friday, Feb 10.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-21

Michael Wallenmeyer — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

A Conference for Failures: http://t.co/4JmfI8xo #

Why Your Work Matters to God (a theology of work)

Michael Wallenmeyer — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:07:35 +0000

It’s easy to just go through the motions when it comes to our job and fail to see how God wants to use it for his kingdom. The video below is one of the best talks I have ever heard when it comes to developing a strong theology of work. It is a presentation given by Jeff Van Duzer (Dean and Professor of Business Law and Ethics at Seattle Pacific University). The talk was given at the Gospel and Culture Lectures put on by Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. My hope is that this will give you a sense of purpose every morning your alarm clock goes off!

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-14

Michael Wallenmeyer — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

What is the gospel? by Jeff Vanderstelt. http://t.co/OyFFoYUR #
When do we compromise the gospel by being cool? http://t.co/MaWCaPTv #
"Suburban Faith" by Margot Starbuck: http://t.co/ao3wUbCv #
Engaging people where they’re at and where you live: http://t.co/AHmen4cr #

Encouragement for Missional Community Leaders

Michael Wallenmeyer — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:46:59 +0000

As a Missional Community leader you are attempting to build a network of relationships where people are sharing life together (1 Thessalonians 2:8) and living for the good of their neighbors (Matthew 22:34-39). This deeper life goes against the flow of much of what we see in Christian circles these days. Because of the challenges you face you sometimes think about quitting. You wonder what it would be like to swim back upstream where the waters are peaceful and calm. You wonder if it is really worth it. Based on my own experience and many conversations with MC leaders I know that these kinds of thoughts and doubts are real.

Here is my encouragement to Missional Community Leaders:

Be encouraged, your convictions are deeply rooted in God’s Word (Matthew 5:14, Acts 2:42-47). You want to build a community that looks like in did in the pages of Acts. What you are doing is hard because it is a denial of self and following in the ways of Jesus.
Be encouraged, you are helping people to rethink what it truly means to be a vital member of the family of God (1 Timothy 3:15). You are modeling to them that to be a part of the church is to embrace the priesthood of believers (1 Peter 2:9). It is not 20% of the people doing 80% of the work. Your life, your example communicates that we all must die to ourselves, roll up our sleeves, live for the good of others and ultimately for the glory of God.
Be encouraged, all the acts (big and small) you have done to reach out to your neighbors will have eternal ramifications. Sometimes you wonder if you are doing enough. Sometimes you feel like your group efforts at loving others is merely a drop of water in an ocean of suffering. You need to know that your love has not gone unnoticed (Matthew 25:31-46). You have made a difference and it brings joy to the heart of God.
Be encouraged, you are being ruined forever to the idea of returning to church life that is merely a weekly gathering (1 Corinthians 12:27). Life in the gospel, life in community, life on mission will work it’s way into your bloodstream and you will never be the same. Thank God for this!
Be encouraged, Christ was misunderstood by those who were religious and you will be too (Luke 15:25-30). It’s not traditional. It’s not the way things use to be. It’s messy. It’s costly. If everyone got on board immediately you would know that you had compromised the gospel somewhere along the way.
Be encouraged, as you persevere you are being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:4). It is human nature to want things to be easy. But we know that God uses the hard times in a redemptive way in our lives. Your pain, your sacrifice is resulting in you becoming more and more like Christ.

Missional in Suburbia Interviews Singer And Songwriter Ben Rector

Michael Wallenmeyer — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:05:47 +0000

Ben Rector is an immensely talented singer, songwriter who lives in Nashville with his wife. It is on his newest album “Something Like This” that I discovered “Song for the Suburbs.” It is an incredibly catchy tune, but it is the message being communicated that really resonated with many of the things we write about and discuss here on this blog.

Through Ben’s Twitter account I asked him if he would be willing to answer a few questions about “Song for the Suburbs.” He has graciously agreed to do so.

Missional in Suburbia: Thanks a ton for being willing to answer a few questions for us! Tell us a little about yourself and what you are up to these days.

Ben Rector: I’ve got a little bit of a break from touring, so right now I’m just enjoying being home in Nashville. I try to write daily when I’m home so I’m working on that and soaking up some normal life.

Missional in Suburbia: On your new album “Something Like This” you sing a song entitled “Song for the Suburbs.” In the song you write these lyrics, “Cause I wanna live/Until I die/Don’t let devil bury me alive/When my heart stops let me go home/Don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul.” Just so you know, I really like the song! Tell us what you see in the burbs that leads to a person “being buried alive?”

Ben Rector: I grew up in the suburbs. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them. What the suburbs symbolize in that song is American prosperity. I know there are lots of needy people in America, but there are also plenty of people with all their needs met and surpassed. While that’s a wonderful thing, I think it’s really easy for that to be dangerous. I see so many people who seem to have slowly bought into the “American Dream”, working a job they don’t care about to buying things they don’t need, not really living for or working towards anything of substance. I can feel that pull in my own life. It’s really natural for me to make my world smaller and more comfortable, and I think it’s important to keep growing, learning new things, being a better spouse and family member and friend.

Missional in Suburbia: Continuing the line of thought from the previous question. What are some ways that you personally try to keep the suburbs from killing your heart and soul?

Ben Rector: I know I’m in a unique situation and that it just isn’t possible for everyone’s profession to be their passion, or even something they enjoy. I don’t think there’s anything wrong at all with earning a living and providing for a family. However, I think it’s so important to continue to dream, to constantly reevaluate whether your life is about what you want it to be about, if your relationships are healthy, if you’re still becoming who you want to be. I know no one can keep from growing old, but the thought of growing up sometimes scares me. Not to say I want to be irresponsible or careless, but I just don’t ever want to lose the passion I started out with.

Missional in Suburbia: You can put this question under the category of “not very original.” But I am genuinely interested in what you think. In what ways do you see your Christian faith impacting the music you write and sing?

Ben Rector: I think anything that’s in your heart and mind leaks out into into whatever you’re doing, in big ways and small. I try not to get in the way of letting that happen.

Ben Rector singing “Song for the Suburbs”

Michael Wallenmeyer — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:45:27 +0000

“Song For The Suburbs”

This American dream is
not what it seems.
Maybe we’re still breathing
but we’re all asleep

Cause I wanna live
Until I die
Don’t let devil bury me alive
When my heart stops let me go home,
Don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul
My heart and soul

Pretty cars and pretty houses
Pretty people on parade
If this dream is what you’re after
Then dreamin’ is where you’ll stay

Cause I wanna live,
Until I die
Don’t let devil bury me alive.
When my heart stops
Let me go home,
Don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul
My heart and soul

Are we just runnin’ in the dark or livin’
Are we just runnin in the dark or livin’

Cause I wanna live,
Until I die
Don’t let the Devil bury me alive.
When my heart stops,
Let me go home
Don’t let the suburbs

Oh I wanna live
Until I die
Don’t let the Devil bury me alive
When my heart stops,
Let me go Home,
Don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul
Kill my heart and soul
My heart and soul