What will it mean for communities of faith to demonstrate Jesus’ priority for "the least of these" (Mt.25:45) in the emerging and urban culture of Europe?

Papers presented in Dublin, 12-15th November 2005

Another way to approach the issue would be to raise two further questions. Is there a biblical bias toward the poor and marginalized? If so, what does it mean for communities of faith in the emerging and urban culture of Europe?

The emerging culture is demanding that faith be validated in socially active ways in the interest of biblical justice. Prioritizing the needs of marginalized people incurs questions of how power and wealth are understood and distributed. Answers to these questions may urge missional communities toward aggressive downward mobility (rather than upward) in terms of ministry focus, lifestyle, attitudes and teaching. In this session of Thinklings we want to wrestle with what all this means for church-planting across Europe.