Well, I don't rule the world.
But if I did (and it's good I don't!), I'd have all the world's Christian engineers, architects, designers, and urban planners meet together in communities and ask these questions:
A Theology of Place: How does the Christian story (removal from Eden, wandering & sojourners, new Jerusalem, etc) influence our understanding of the places we inhabit? What kind of places and structures best reflect that story?
Environment and Community: How do our structures either facilitate or hinder community?
Beauty: What is beauty? What structures and materials are beautiful, and why? What does it mean to embed more beauty in our engineering and architecture?
God as Craftsman: If God is an architect (Heb 11:10), then what, and how, does he “build?” In creation? Tabernacle, Temple, Ark? New Jerusalem? Us (Eph 2:10)? What lessons can we draw for our work in the E/A/C community?
History: How do buildings either connect us with the past, and thus the human family, or disconnect us from the past?
Culture and Place: How can we build in a way that reflects the culture and moral values of those inhabiting those places?
Homes: What of the loss of the “front porch?” What trends in home design/building have changed how families and communities interact?
The Polis: How can we plan neighborhoods (commercial and residential) to strengthen communities? How about providing affordable housing for the poor or access to work?
Church Architecture: Cathedral or former Wal-mart? Utility or beauty? And why does it matter?
Spiritual Formation: Can buildings influence our perception of God? If so, how?
Sustainability: What practices lead toward not only environmentally sustainable structures but also sustainable rhythms for a community?
Interpersonal Issues: How do architects, engineers, and constructors get along? What’s broken and needs to be redeemed?
Gentrification? A godsend, a plague of white, urban yuppies, or a little of both? What should Christians do? And what should they build?
Hospitality: How can our buildings be made to “welcome strangers” as Christ has welcomed us?
