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Suburban Suicide
A Review of Death by
Suburb: How to Keep the |
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Christians who are disappointed or disillusioned with the lack of depth in their spiritual lives will find a sympathetic voice in Goetz’s book. The former editor for Leadership Journal and writer for Christianity Today is a suburbanite himself. Instead of beating us down with guilt for failing God, Goetz bares his soul from deep within the suburban trenches. Divulging his own failures to live up to expectation, Death by Suburb is as much his confessional as it is a practical guide for Christians in search of the “thicker life.” People who would rather have a helping hand than another censorious sermon will be particularly pleased that Goetz provides just the lift we need. The appeal of the book rests in it eminent practicality. Goetz writes from inside the confines of suburbia so he knows the life many of us live. He offers far more than platitudes and nostrums. He devotes his attention to cultivating spiritual disciplines within the confines of the suburban jungle instead of unhelpfully telling us to escape it. In talking about the discipline of silence he emphasizes cultivating “inside space” instead of looking for a way out. He talks of self-denial in terms of our quest for “immortality symbols,” a term he borrows from Ernest Becker. In elaborating on Becker’s idea, Goetz says, “An immortality symbol is not really about the thing… It’s about the glory the thing bestows on me. I will be famous, finally. I will have the masses bow down and then rise up and call me Lord.” (42) One of the biggest immortality symbols in suburbia (possibly bigger than the McMansion and Suburban Assault Vehicle) is the suburban child. Any glory that accrues to the child; whether it be on the soccer field, the academic arena, or some other talented endeavor, falls also on the devoted parent. This assures the parents that they will be the benefactors of the admiration – or just as satisfyingly, the envy – of their peers. Goetz rightly points out, “the quest for immortality is mostly about the care and feeding of the self. It’s the unreflective pursuit of such symbols that creates the inverse cripple, the bloated tiny soul.” (43) Using suburban spiritual disciplines to counteract environment toxins such as wanting to live our neighbor’s life, an easier life, significance, the perfect church, friends that benefit us and more time to pursue our own agenda, Goetz guides the reader into a more satisfying form of spiritual endeavor. Probably his most revealing chapter is the one on “Slacker Service.” On first glance, one would think that those who are busiest at church are also the most spiritual and fulfilled. Goetz overturns this notion by claiming that, “…Shirkers are religious folk who inadvertently disengage from the suffering of the world and who unwittingly collect to themselves every available religious experience.” (100) In this counterintuitive insight, he shows us why we feel so unfulfilled in the midst of religious busy-ness. It isn’t all our activity that is at fault, but rather our unhealthy adolescent preoccupation with self and something else.
One sure sign of a Shirker
is his or her relentless, unreflective pursuit of
significance: I want
The problem isn’t with the
act of service but with its motivation. The fifth key
spiritual practice With many more unexpected insights, Goetz provides a refreshing, reassuring look at the subject of spiritual disciplines. Death by Suburb is a welcome life preserver to the Christian swimming toward the deeper life, even in the midst of suburban sprawl. Read more at http://www.deathbysuburb.net/ by Rick Presley |
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