Why Do You Live in London?

London can feel like two different cities at times. There's the London of Borough Market, astonishing period architecture, amazing food and world-class museums. And then there's the London of soaring rents, packed commutes, and a loneliness that can leave you feeling invisible and desperate for physical connection. When we’ve reached the later stage of this London experience, it’s important to remember God’s heart for this city and your place in it - and we do that by holding a theology of the city.


A Theology of the City

God tells his people in Jeremiah 29:7 to "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you... for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

This passage was written to exiles who wanted nothing more than to leave Babylon, a pagan, oppressive city that represented everything opposed to their way of life, culture and faith. Yet, God's word through Jeremiah is to stay and to "seek the welfare of the city... and pray to the Lord on its behalf.” 

Now this is significant because it grounds caring for the city not in the city's own merits, but in God's placement of his people there for its good. Therefore, the foundation for us caring for the city is the conviction that God sends his people into hostile and spiritually compromised places as agents of blessing, tying their flourishing to the flourishing of the place they didn't choose and might not love.

Without this theological framework, it’s easy to drift toward one of two postures. Either we withdraw from the city, seeing it as dangerous, immoral, and financially unsustainable. Or we embrace it uncritically, assuming that everything about modern, cosmopolitan London must be good.

A theology of the city corrects both instincts. It teaches us that we can love the city without conforming to it, and critique the city without despising it. And because it holds these two realities in tension (love and critique), it compels us in two further directions. First, it drives us towards prayer because prayer opens our eyes to see that behind the city's visible brokenness lie spiritual realities that only prayer can address (prayer walks are a great way to practice this). Second, it moves us toward compassion, so that our hearts don't harden into indifference toward the suffering and brokenness around us - including our own.


A Missional Presence

In the providence of God, you are here in this city to seek its welfare and to pray to the Lord on its behalf. To be a consistent presence, to pursue meaningful relationships, and to courageously and creatively proclaim the gospel in both word and witness. 

So whether you're in the office or rubbing shoulders with people of power and influence, unwinding with friends at the pub after work, or simply sharing a home with unbelieving housemates, you are here as a missionary to seek the good of this city and the people in it. So don't let the loneliness, the struggles, or the sheer dazzle of city life distract you from living on mission.

Pray: God, give me a heart for this city. Give me grace for this city. Empower me by your Spirit to help bring beauty, goodness, and renewal to this place that you love. In Jesus' name, amen.

These articles are written without the use of generative AI.

Put Down Roots

Back in January, I spoke to a group of our church leaders giving them sixteen tips on flourishing in the city. Soon after, I began writing a series of short letters to the whole church enlarging on each of these tips. You can catch up on these here. In the coming weeks, I want to resume this series and aim to write a few more.

I once knew a pastor and wife from abroad who spent decades living and ministering in London. They enjoyed real success in ministry, and as a result many people appreciated them and their work. And so it was surprising for me to visit their home in London, as they were preparing to leave the city, and discover that in all the decades they had lived here, they had never decorated or made it their own. When asked why this was the case, they explained, ‘Because we always thought, there’s no point; we’ll be going home next year.’

Living in a place whilst thinking about the next place is a uniquely miserable way to live. It fosters many of the worst conditions of soul – discontentment, dissatisfaction, and disconnection from the people you are with and the place God has put you. Worst of all, it makes you unhappy, and joylessness is the soil in which all kinds of sins may grow.

As humans, for the good of our souls, we need to behave more like plants and put down roots. This is a biblical image that speaks primarily to the need for spiritual joy and nourishment drawn from God, his Spirit, and his word (see Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17.7–8). Now, it is possible to be rooted in God alone even when living an unsettled existence, moving from place to place. That was Christ’s own experience for the three years of his ministry on earth. ‘Foxes have holes,’ he said, ‘and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’.

But, the Lord designed you to flourish by being settled in some place, with some people. Adam and Eve were put in a garden. Abraham was called to a land. Caleb laid claim to his mountain. Christ has asked his Father for the entire earth (Psalm 2). I conclude: our modern, nomadic way of life is not normal or particularly healthy, in most cases.

One of the most important pieces of advice on flourishing in the city is this: put down roots. There are things outside your control, such as whether or not you’re ever able to marry, or to buy a home, or to raise a family. But putting down roots is more about your mindset. As the missionary Jim Elliot once put it, ‘Wherever you are, be all there!’