Abstract
“So let’s go back to the trenches of urban ministry to participate in the future that God has in mind for us as it struggles toward realization now,” invites Roger J. Gench. In this book Theology from the Trenches, Gench, Senior Minister of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., cogently argues that congregations should participate in what God is doing in the cities and provides strategies on how to lead urban congregations to participate in such mission. If participating in the future that God has in mind for humanity is Christian mission and such praxis should be incarnational, then the church at large and missiologists in particular should heed this invitation.
Throughout the book, Gench gently prods the reader to love the world as God loves it. Citing Douglas Ottati’s theological framework, Gench avers that the church is placed in the world, with the world, against the world, and for the world. The biblical vision of new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:22) should guide the church’s engagement with the world, Gench suggests. The Johannine vision of life in abundance to all (John 10:10) is another central theme of Gench’s missiology.
Identifying the theological principles and helpful practices for creating, engaging, and deepening “covenant communities,” Gench underlines the importance of the practices of listening, contemplation, praxis, and learning in a congregation’s life as well as in the life of a minister. Gench shares his experiences in leading congregations in building bridges between races and advocating for living wages. The wealth of wisdom shared in these two chapters would benefit ministers committed to leading their congregations in urban ministry.
An ethicist by training, Gench interprets biblical texts with ease, analyzes their implications for today, and puts his findings in conversation with current and historical theological discourses, especially those of John Calvin, the Niebuhr brothers, and Douglas Ottati. His mastery in social analysis further enriches his interpretation of the Scriptures. The book is richly adorned with and illumined by Gench’s ministerial experiences in Baltimore, MD, and Washington, D.C. Each chapter ends with a practicum to guide congregations’ conversations about their calling in urban contexts. Congregations committed to God’s mission would vastly benefit from this book, and missiologists teaching urban ministry and preparing seminarians to lead congregations in urban America would find it a valuable textbook.