There has been much ink spilled in the evangelical community about "claiming our cities for Christ" and plenty of lip service paid to the need to address urban concerns. But according to author and pastor Eric Jacobsen, this discussion has remained far too abstract. His Sidewalks in the Kingdom challenges Christians to gain a practical, informed vision for the city that includes a broad understanding of the needs and rewards of a vital urban community. Building on the principles of New Urbanism, Jacobsen emphasizes the need to preserve the nourishing characteristics of traditional city life, such as shared public spaces, mixed-use neighborhoods, a well-supported local economy, and aesthetic diversity and beauty.

Sidewalks in the Kingdom includes three appendices: a glossary of urban vocabulary, an annotated bibliography of related sources, and a detailed description of the principles and goals of New Urbanism. A companion website with posted discussion questions, www.sidewalksinthekingdom.com, makes it ideal for study groups. Pastors, city-dwellers, and those interested in urban ministry, politics, and development will be both encouraged and informed by Sidewalks in the Kingdom.

The churches have been reluctant to take on contemporary culture. Not so Eric Jacobsen, who tackles the most difficult and hopeful issue–centering the city around the church. Eric is a knowledgeable guide, a practical soul, and a most engaging writer.-Albert Borgmann, author of Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology

This book offers one of the most robust defenses of the public, the communal, the shared that I’ve ever read. It is a powerful riposte to the privatizing creed of our age, and it makes painfully clear how much of our contemporary life is not only un-Christian, but uninteresting as well.-Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Enough