Most social scientists of religion believe that the mainstream liberal Protestant church, particularly in the city, is in decline. The typical explanation of liberal Protestant survival is that the church is accommodated to culture. However, this same explanation is used as a reason for the failure of the church. My thesis examines a liberal urban Protestant church which attracts large numbers of people. My hypothesis is that the stability of Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago has been maintained by a constructive tension between accommodation and resistance to culture. Fourth accommodated to cultural forces by creating a milieu finely tuned to the needs of the cultural and economic elite of the Gold Coast. But by reminding its congregation that there was a wider community to whom they were responsible, Fourth resisted complete acquiescence. Moreover, Fourth attempted to limit the spread of the utilitarian values of the market place into nonmarket arenas, such as the family. Thus, Fourth cultivated an environment where individuals could find meaning, combined with a challenge to make practical this spirituality. My method involves historical sociology and an ethnographic survey of the congregation. This social history provides a needed portrayal of an urban Protestant church in all its complexity.