I pastor a vibrant, progressive city church, the last of what once numbered 5 UCCs, in Somerville, MA, neighbor to Cambridge and Boston. Our church is rising from the ashes due to focused leadership, enthusiastic faith and our congregation’s willingness to take risks in the name of Jesus’ Great Commission. Some of Jesus’ most critical moments in ministry happened in Jerusalem, or other “city” settings, where people were gathered from every nation, to hear God’s word of hope.

To this end the sabbatical I am planning is one that embraces the holiness and diversity of the city by traveling to 5 excellent urban churches in the Pacific Northwest in order to enjoy and learn about their best practices. I want to find out how they make themselves relevant within their mission field, how they communicate the message of Jesus to the unchurched and the post-churched, and how they build and maintain multiethnic congregations in the face of the rampant stratification of most mainline churches. I will also spend time in the “wilderness,” camping with my family, as a counterpoint to the intensity of the city, escaping “the crowds” as Jesus did, to pray, read, write, reflect.