My wife passed along to me an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal titled, "The Perils of Hipster Christianity". It is a good article about the attempts of the Christian Church to be cool. To be relevant. To be hip. I posted it on my Facebook and it drew some comments. I have been thinking about it a bit since, developing my thoughts.
This is has been a topic of discussion for me at various times with my students and friends. It is something I have spoke against for different reasons and I thought I would get some of those thoughts down...on here...the blog. So here we go.
One of the main points that 'Hipster Christianity' misses is the Christian life. The Scriptures teach and communicate a fully orbed Christian life. All members of the Body of Christ have their role and contribute to the Kingdom. Thus, the Bible teaches and has clear instructions for me on how to be a son, a husband, a father, a friend and an employee. The same is true for my wife, my children and my employer. However, modern 'Hip' Christianity does not present or teach much on these areas. Why? Because they are thought (by Christians) to be offensive and outdated to non-believers, especially the uber-cool 20 somethings that the 'Hipster Church' is trying to appeal to. Teachings such as the husband as the head of the household, the submission of wives, the obedience of children or employees are placed on the back self in order to not offend members or visitors. The full council of God becomes the censored and feel good council of humanity.
The problem is that people crave the fullness that the Scriptures teach. After all, God created man and then gave man a manual on how to live. It is safe to conclude then that He created Christians with desires that are fulfilled in the Bible. Nothing, save becoming Christians, has been more beneficial to my marriage than Melissa and I assuming the created order that is given to us in the Scriptures. Our union has flourished as I have assumed headship. It has given us order and direction. We did not find such instruction in the various 'Hipster Churches' that we have been a part of in the past. Those churches have long ago made nice with worldly lies such as feminism and have largely dismissed the teachings of the Bible.
The result of this for these churches is that members are left lacking. Their desires are not fulfilled. Order is not being brought to them and they are not finding things to be different in their church as they would find in the world. Often times the things(music, social atmosphere, etc) that they find in their church are nothing more than a cheap knock-off or imitation of what the world has to offer. Sooner or later on people realize that there is no reason to settle for the imitation when the real thing is waiting for them. Thus, out the church doors they tread.
Pray for pastors that would courageously preach the full council of God. In doing so, the Christian Church will flourish and grow because God's blessing will rest fully upon it.
2 comments:
This is a tricky one and has been on the oven for debate for some time now. Consider this, what if someone eats something that is very nutritional for them but it tastes bad? You see, the problem a lot of times is that people have a hard time dividing christianity from "religion". Christianity is God made and religion is man made. Everything that man has added onto what God accomplished through His son Jesus Christ is just religious. True christianity is "Christ-in", the spiritual side of what God has done to redeem man. Religion tends to trap people in a box sometimes which can ultimately hinder spiritual growth. The greek word in the new testament for "Church" is "Eklesia" which means any type of called out group of people. It doesn't mean a building or somewhere that has walls with pipes and organs. I think people in general get bored of buildings and religious repetition. If the Word of God is being taught and taught well then people will either stay or go depending on the accuracy of how the Word is taught as the Word of God does not come back void. But what about Paul? Did Paul go to church? Was Paul baptized with water? Believers in the first century "church" met in small groups within "homes" and/or on the rooftops. But they always met and studied the bible together in the home. The reason for this is that it was easier to meet the needs of the believers when they were a small group. When people go to church sometimes they feel too small and/or there are so many people at the church that the person doesn't have a time to talk about a certain "need" that they may have. What if the person needs to be prayed for but is too shy in such a big church to ask? You see God meets needs, people need healed today and their needs met. A lot of people are left lacking in part because their needs aren't being met and/or they have a health issue and need prayed for and nothing happens. Sure, they still need the fullness of the scriptures taught but what about the human aspect of being able to pray for one another as the word teaches, and being able to share of the "agape" love for one another as corinthians states. A lot of this is lost in the church now and needs to be revived. As the word states "the rain falls on the just and the unjust" lets keep open arms to people that hunger for the rightly divided word and keep the social aspect to that of healing and praying for one another. I agree with not having the social as a copy of what goes on in the world but as long as it lines up with the Word of God then there shouldn't be a problem. Remember, the bible isn't some aid to devotion....its LIFE! Keep religion out and God in!
btw.. the term "rain" in the rain falls on the just and the unjust (Mathew 5:45) is used as a term in the bible meaning a "soft rain", a rain that is good for gardens to grow meaning that God is good ALWAYS to everyone. Consider Luke 6:35-36
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