I Love This Place Enough to Have No Doubt - Missional Lyrics in a Secular World

As one lives missionally, occasionally one is going to come across parts of culture that catch their attention. As one seeks to engage culture, one will find inside a secular, post-Christian culture some art, some music, etc that will resonate and illustrate foundational truth. This just serves as an example of how much the Church must engage culture, not create a sub-culture, in order to redeem it with the Gospel and Jesus. In turn, this will create a counter culture and allow for the Kingdom to explicitly break forth.

One such example of this type of thing is from the secular band - Snow Patrol and "Take Back the City". Go listen to it and come back, here is the link...Snow Patrol's "Take Back the City"

When this song is played it reminds me of the Church's call of Nehemiah to love their city and take the Gospel to it. It reminds me of how much God loves the city and how Jesus wept over Jerusalem before he was crucified. It helps remind me of how important of a task it is for the Church and it's people to love the city in which God has placed them and called them to.

I just want to highlight some impactful lyrics:


God knows you've put your life into its hands
And its both cradled you and crushed
But now its time to make your own demands
(What are your demands for the city you live in? Are they that of Jesus? Why do we rely so much on the city, the world and not on God?)

All these years later and its killing me
Your broken records and words
Ten thousand craters where it all should be
(All the world, the city does is placate us...)

No need to put your words into my mouth
Don't need convincing at all
I love this place enough to have no doubt
(I love this place enough to have no doubt. These are the lyric that touch me the most. Do you honestly love your city enough, that you have no doubt that God has called you to it? Do you love your city to the point that you don't need to get convinced on mission? This is what I constantly get challenged with by this song.)


It's a mess, it's a start, it's a flawed work of art
Your city, your call, every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight, but get your epitaph right
Or you can sing til you drop 'cause the fun just never stops
(Of course its not perfect, that's why your city needs Jesus. Are you gonna run from your mission - or do you love your city enough for it to give your life to repairing it through the Gospel and Jesus?)


I love this city tonight
I love this city always
It bares its teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
(The world, the city, I love it. But it isn't going to go down with out a fight. Don't expect this to be easy. Don't expect this to not cost anything.)

But we're all gluttons for it
We know it's wrong and it's right
For every time its been hit
Take back the city tonight
(Its full of the good and the bad. We run to the city for the wrong reasons. Its time to run to the city with the Gospel and be the hands and feet of Jesus.)

This is one of my favorite songs of the moment. It is also, probably one of the best missional engagement songs out there. It shocks me how powerful and informative these lyrics are. My question for you is: Do you love your city? Are you willing to engage it with the Gospel and bring the Kingdom?Do you want to see Jesus take claim of His city? Do you want to see the Kingdom invade your city?