COURAGEOUS CONSERVATIVE?…3/07/08
by SteveThe most courageous conservative I know is Brian McLaren. He has risked his standing in the conservative evangelical movement by insisting that the problem with the church is not cosmetic…not about worship styles, musical preferences, or other ways of getting more groovy. Instead, he says the problem is that “the Christian religion appears to be a failed religion. Failed because it has specialized in dealing with ‘spiritual needs’ to the exclusion of physical and social needs. It has specialized in people’s destination in the afterlife, but has failed to address significant social injustices in this life. It has focused on ‘me’ and ‘my soul’ and ‘my spiritual life’ and ‘my eternal destiny,’ but it has failed to address the dominant societal and global realities of their lifetime: systemic injustice, systemic poverty, ecological crisis, and systemic dysfunctions of many kinds.” (from Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren, Thomas Nelson Press, p. 33).
Brian’s stand has cost him dearly in the evangelical community. Many who formerly clamored for a place near him on the podiums now avoid him as they would a bubonic rat. Brian, however, is undeterred, though I know from my own personal experience how painful the abandonment by former friends can be, so I know he is hurt by it. Nevertheless, he is sticking by his guns, and his articulate arguments are having a tremendous impact.
He cites statistics detailing the evaporating Christian faith, especially in Europe and now in the U.S., especially among the young. The problem, he says, is occurring because young adults have lost confidence in the ability of the”old” version of Christianity to address the needs of this generation. McLaren’s most startling comment, to me, is this: “A message purporting to be the best news in the world should be doing better than this.” (op. cit., p.34).
It will come as no surprise to most of you that I agree completely with Brian. I’ve been saying the same things for the last 20 years, and my stand on this has cost me friends and church members as well. Fresh winds of change are now sweeping through the church. One church historian says that this kind of thing happens about once every 500 years, when the church rethinks its message and role in the world.
Those of us on the front edge of this reformation often find ourselves misunderstood and sometimes reviled, but because we believe this approach, which is actually more faithful to the message and intent of Jesus and Scripture, holds the key to the continued and future relevance of the church, we’re willing to pay the price. It’s always dangerous to be on the front lines of any struggle, but this is one to which I have dedicated my life, and for which I would gladly give it.
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How can we, as the congregation, be on the front line?
What an excellent question! And my assumption is that you are ready to volunteer? McLaren says that moving into the new paradigm is like “evolving from a burrowing creature into one that stands upright or flys.” In other words, this is not a patch on an old wineskin, but a brand new one.
I say, new, yet ancient, because I believe the new paradigm goes back to Jesus himself. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus message was not about himself. It was about the inbreaking of the kingdom of God and his call to us to participate in it. That means becoming disciples… “learning to practice, live, and walk in this new way.” Many of our people are doing this through their participation in groups like Disciple and Sunday School classes. Others get this only through the worship service, but many are getting it, although not on the level that a small group offers.
Linda Shaver is interested in starting a spiritual formation/accountability group that would meet regularly to learn how to put meat on our bones. I’m encouraging her, and you should hear more about it soon.
Coming together to share out insights, coming up with ways to implement them, and helping each other to actually live them out is what will do it. Someone said, “We must be the change we seek.” That’s how. sk