Love Where You Live, by Shauna Pilgreen

When Shauna Pilgreen and her pastor husband were praying about where to plant a church, they ended up in a not-so-obvious place, a place that was foreign to both of them in many ways: San Francisco.  In Love Where You Live: How to Live Sent in the Place You Call Home, she writes about many of their experiences, life as urban church planters, and attitudes and actions we can all live out wherever we live.

I love Pilgreen's commitment to getting to know her neighbors, investing in and participating in community events and institutions, and contributing to the overall health of the neighborhood.  Whereas for many who look to move out of an area when school quality, public services, or living conditions decline, Pilgreen writes "Now's not the time to bail on your city but to be the people, the families who make it better, more stable, and more grounded in the truth of Jesus Christ."

She tells story after story of people whose lives have been changed by their joining in with their church's fellowship and an encounter with Jesus.  A good bit of her narrative dwells on the nature of living in San Francisco specifically, and more generally on living in a densely populated urban center.  Her tone seems to assume that most of her readers are from little six stoplight towns, like the one in which she grew up, or a midwestern suburb.  She reminded me of some of my friends who moved to inner-city neighborhoods and, with thinly disguised glee, talk about the "exotic" things they experience.  Pilgreeen does this as she talks about the characters and behaviors she sees on the streets.

Beyond the reports of inner-city tourism, Pilgreen lays out lifestyle and relationship choices that support the call to "live sent."  This theme is the strength of the book.  We are missionaries where we are, we have natural connections in which we can spread our influence, and should cultivate other connections through which we invite people into relationship with Jesus.  We can live as connector, storyteller, grace giver, intercessor, and caretaker.  Whether you are rooted in a place for decades, or if God has called you to a new and difference place, Pilgreen's book and her example will inspire you to live sent.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!