The Rural Kingdom?

My time in the beautiful high country of Arizona has brought to surface a perennial problem I am having since I’ve been exposed to the idea of actually bringing the kingdom to the world around me. The problem is struggle with is how to bring the kingdom to those around me in meaningful ways. All the discussions and models of radical kingdom living that I have been exposed to have been situated in urban areas. The idea of practicing resurrection is easy to envision in an urban area where consumeristic self interest have left decaying urban cores, and where historic oppression in the form of discrimination have created lingering divides that need healing. The needs are obvious.

But what does it mean to be the kingdom in rural areas? What does it look like? My friends Jared and Tina are trying to answer that question while living on a farm outside of Canton. My friends Robert and Kirsten are trying to answer that question while living in the suburbs of Akron. And so the question that I have is, “How do people embody the kingdom in rural areas?”

On his joint blog, Canonfodder.org, Robert has been struggling with the homogeneity of his suburban community. But the answers are far from clear. The answer for him and his family may be to move into a more diverse community, where racial reconciliation (one of several aspects of reconciliation) is easy to engage. But clearly, that is not a “kingdom solution,” to the extent that the massive relocation of people to achieve some hypothetical level of diversity is not only impractical, but likely also harmful. It may be a great answer for how some (comfortable middle-class) people can answer the question for themselves; but what about people who don’t have the means or desire to move? What about those who have been oppressed, and finally have the means to escape that oppression by moving into a different (more affluent, though likely as homogenous) location? Are these people working against the kingdom? I certainly can’t say that with any moral authority.

But I digress. Are not the rural areas of the country, the small and fairly homogenous enclaves that predominate in many parts of the country, equally in need of the kingdom? Are not the areas where “post-modern enlightenment” are just whispers from “liberal city-folk” in need of the kingdom?

I have no plans on moving to a rural area anytime soon (well, technically, I live in a rural area, but I'm only 20 minutes to a mall and 15 minutes to downtown Canton, so I don't think of it as rural... or is it because my heart is really in Canton anyway?). But life is full of uncertainties. Who knows where opportunities will take me in the future? But in any case, can I really claim to have a message of the kingdom that only envisions urban manifestations? I think this is one area of the emergent discussion that needs more attention. I hope that through prayer, creative meditation, experience, and discussion that I will be contributing to the discussion more fully.