Idealistic types, or anyone with a healthy imagination, can usually romanticize a city like Chicago. Incredible restaurants. Improv. Cultural fusion. Hustle and bustle. Artistry. Social adventure. Global influence. Bulls/Bears/Cubs/Sox/Blackhawks. World-class career and educational opportunities. Chicago is a collective habitat of aspiring human progress proximal to some of the deepest social pain. It beckons heroic redemption and tempts grand experiences.

There are things we want from Chicago, and things Chicago wants from us.

The world is urban-centric.¹ Cities continue to chart global direction.² Cities contain the institutions and human capital that form culture. Cities were always the inevitable, you may argue — desirable, outcome of human activity. People expanding to new regions throughout history would unavoidably settle and build. We are irresistibly social creatures who must learn collaboration to thrive. Hence our time in history. Hence our proximity and density. Hence cities. Hence you, or you potentially, in a city. Hence our descendants almost certainly in a city.

Cities. Romantic. Heroic. Troubled. Inevitable. Influential. Collaborative. Cities.

To the unfamiliar, whether it’s realism or paranoia, cities elicit fears about the vulnerability of big systems, the tendencies of collectivism, and the pressure of unpredictability. Yet more and more people are adapting to their respective Babylons. There may not be much of a choice in fact. By 2050, 70% of the world's population will be urban.³ As populations increase and sprawls saturate, cities are predicted to become the normalized way of life for the majority. Prolonged singleness and smaller families have shifted city dwelling from feasible to advantageous. The good news is that people have incredible resources for environmental adaptation, far more than they give themselves credit. We fear change, but it finds us nonetheless, and then we discover new abilities to flourish.

The fear of city complexity is beautifully reframed by a healthy eschatological perspective.

Chicago has a unique story as cities go, experiencing stagnancy in some places, decline in others, yet more than doubling in highly significant areas.⁴ That growth is not stopping. Multiple factors are at play in the inevitable growth of all cities. With the next predicted wave of technological transformation in agriculture,⁵ and a plethora of other domains, rurality could easily be rendered even less viable. The classic suburban view of life feels more and more...well...sub-urban...more unsustainable,⁶ poorer,⁷ and predictably dissatisfying to the emerging generation — who are still more enchanted with cities than suburbs.⁸ Growing environmental concerns, whatever you think of them, make long commutes seem less favorable and too costly.⁹ Curating the news reveals all these points to be no overstatement.

While inevitability is daunting — opportunity is inspiring.

This urban outcome is not to be seen as the irresistible tide of culture, nor an exile from the promised land, but a compelling narrative of gospel potentiality. It’s the sensible result of the divinely mandated multiplication and cultivation in Genesis. It’s our contextual moment to share the grace of Jesus. A Christian worldview — that which blends heroic redemption and social engagement with the need for unified collaboration and meaningful activity — uniquely equips us to value and willingly embrace the positive gravity of cities. Cities have emerged everywhere and they are magnets for humans. Christians are now faced with the missionary task of reaching cities. The future will look more and more this way.

Chicago presents its people with a unique chance to integrate a wholistic Christ-like vision of life. Chicago draws people from virtually every nation under heaven. That’s the Great Commission of Jesus right in front of us, in our everyday lives. Chicago enhances innovation and work, which is not a means to an end, but central to our divine purpose. Chicago gives the gift of interesting and meaningful cultivation, granted this avails the ambitious. Chicago has more people than most other cities and towns. God loves people, therefore... (you finish the thought). Chicago has justice opportunities coming out the wazoo. Those things are right in the heart of God.

Let’s not be naive. Chicago has a litany of ills. Schools, taxes, parking, violence, corruption, injustice, etc… Yet with the eyes of God we don’t rule out personal involvement based on such discomforts, we see resurrection where there is death. Due to its magnitude, Chicago is uniquely suited to develop personal grit inside our hearts in a way most other contexts cannot. The vision Jesus painted for us is to be those who stand firm, remain steadfast, endure suffering, incarnate His mission, and meet tangible needs.

This whole mission-of-Jesus-thing is profoundly amped up in a city like Chicago.

There are many opportunities, but here is one. We have a generation of at-risk youth who need spiritual authority figures to counter the breakdown of family life. As individuals we can't do much. Yet, with the support of the community of Jesus in the city, maybe each of us can impact one at-risk life? Becoming a mentor to one kid, especially before they succumb to the wrong crowd and negative peer pressure, could help break the cycle of neglect and trauma. Recruiting one or two other mentors creates a reproducing model. That could change a city. That could change the world.

It’s amped up.

If it’s not already, a city like Chicago might be in your future, and it might even be in your future for the foreseeable future. Like Jane Addams, Quincy Jones, Ernest Hemingway, Walt Disney, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Hudson, Elliot Ness, Mavis Staples, or D. L. Moody, Chicago may have a YOU sized hole. A place for you to uniquely shine.

Whether you grew up in Chicago, or currently call it home, prayerfully consider staying longer. Add a year. Or two years. Or more. Try a different neighborhood if you need to. Currently live elsewhere? If you have any inclination whatsoever, what’s the harm in prayerfully testing it for a year? See what God does. Don’t succumb to inevitability. Embrace opportunity. Embrace Chicago.

References

1. How cities took over the world: a history of globalisation spanning 4,000 years
2. Global Cities as Centers of Cultural Influence: A Focus on Istanbul, Turkey
3. By 2050, 70% Of The World’s Population Will Be Urban. Is That A Good Thing?
4. Downtown Keeps Growing As Rest Of Chicago Shrinks
5. AI in Agriculture – Present Applications and Impact
6. Unsustainable Suburban Sprawl
7. Why Are America’s Suburbs Becoming Poorer?
8. No, Young People Aren't Fleeing Cities
9. How Much Does a Long Commute Cost You?