As I look back at the reasons why I was away from the church for many years, one that comes to mind is the belief by many Christians to shield themselves from the world in which we live. I saw many live in a bubble (particularly one church we attended up until 5 years ago), and even saw some of that bubble while on vacation in Florida last month. Separately, I considered myself to be “Christian” during the years I was away from the church, yet did nothing in my life to distinguish my perceived faith from those who did not consider themselves to be Christian.
Sad to say, I could only see the Christian faith in one of those two viewpoints for a long time.
As I read the Bible and read other books in recent years, I have to realize that the Christian faith requires us to rise above the noise of this world, yet live in the noise. As followers of Christ, we should know how to live in the world that God created, yet live lives that exhibit how “different” we are. And we are not different because we vote a certain way or because we listen to certain kinds of music or watch only G-rated movies (the bubble) – we are different because we not only have learned to love Jesus, but because through our love for Him, we love others. We love others because we are the vehicles that Jesus uses to love them.
This is the topic of Kary Oberbrunner’s latest book, The Fine Line. Oberbrunner describes how the Christian faith in America today is broken into two primary sides: the Separatists and the Conformists. He writes towards the end of Chapter 2:
To the world, Separatists seem to be out of touch, opposed to everything for no good reason and motivated only by a desire to condemn others. Separatists are seen as quintessential judgers, narrow-minded, and intolerant.
In fact, Oberbrunner describes them even harsher earlier in the chapter.
The first camp separates itself from people, society, and culture in order to stay “unstained”. They turn God’s commands, plus hundreds of other rules and laws, into a heavy burden that supposedly grants personal holiness. They judge others in light of their self-made religion. they’re laced with fear: fear of sinning, fear of compromising, fear of enjoying anything.
I hate to admit…I’ve been there myself. I’ve seen first hand the damage that can be caused by folks with that mindset – and I’m sure many of you have as well.
Conformists, on the other hand, seem to be exactly the same as the world. The world fails to notice anything positive or spiritual about Conformists because it’s hidden beneath sinful, carnal lifestyle choices. Conformists are just one more splinter group in a materialistic, empty world.
Again, Oberbrunner picks apart this camp as well:
The second camp conforms itself to the ideals and philosophies of the world. They value what the world values and worship what it worships. They’re a cookie-cutter cutout of pop culture. Attempting to be all things to all people and to enjoy what God has created, they engage in ungodly activity. Flaunting their freedom, they condemn Separatists for their disciplined lifestyle.
But as followers of Christ, we are called to walk the fine line between these two different sides, as we learn to be in the world but not of it. We are to be Transformists, to use Oberbrunner’s term.
Transformists live on the fine line and battle to integrate their Christianity with their culture. This camp causes critics to freeze in their tracks and rethink the only stereotypes of Christians they know. Transformists cause the world to stop, stare, and shut up, exactly what God intends. “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.” 1 Peter 2:15 NASB.
The only way we can change stereotypes is to change ourselves. And the only way to change ourselves is to follow Jesus and allow him to change us.
This too is nothing new, but it is, nevertheless, our charge.
That last bit is ultimately what we must do if we are to learn to walk the fine line. We have to balance being disciplined without being legalistic. We have to live and connect to our society and its culture, but not allow ourselves to be corrupted by it. We have to live as disciples of Christ while connecting to the society and culture in which we live…we must be disciples of Christ who are relevant to our culture.
For the Gospel of Jesus is constant, though the culture may change. And that is why I am excited to read more of The Fine Line, having read the 1st three chapters thus far. Oberbrunner’s style engages the reader immediately with its conversational style, and breaks down some familiar texts in Genesis in Chapter 2 in a fresh new way that helps frame the two camps and the need to follow Jesus’ third way.
As I progress through the book I will be sharing more thoughts along the way. Suffice to say – this is a must read if you are a Christian, because it is too easy for all of us to swing back and forth between the two camps, crossing The Fine Line.
I shall try to pick this up and read it in my copious free time.
I certainly don’t disagree with the notion that there are Christians, and those purporting to be Christians, who demonstrate the behaviors and qualities he mentioned. Certainly there are. I do think, however, that most of us fall somewhere between those two extremes. To imply that our world is divided into two (three?) camps is overly simplistic, in my view.
I agree that we should be “transformists.” Being in, but not of, the world is sometimes difficult to wrap one’s mind around. The problem is, the world is always going to judge those who purport to be different. If I refuse to countenance certain behaviors because I believe them to be sin, regardless of how loving, concerned, or non-judgmental toward the perpetrator I am, I will be viewed as a Separatists. Where we must be careful falling into the trap where, in reaching out to the world, we began to take on more and more the world’s characteristics to the point where we become indistinguishable. At some point, being a “transformist” may require us to walk away.
Cheers.
Randall, it may be overly simplistic, based on that which I’ve shared, to view those who claim to be Christian in those two viewpoints, but I think we generally swing back and forth between the two – there are times where I think I’ve fallen too far into the rules (sans grace) and other times where I’ve too readily immersed myself in culture.
Where we need to be careful is to also realize that we are not called to judge those who are not Christians – Jesus made that clear in Matthew 7. This book is a call for those of us who are Christians to be aware of how to straddle the line…
On the one hand, I condemn those who do not do everything the Bible tells them to do. Clearly that’s the whole point of being Christian.
On the other hand… whatever. As long as we love one another, its all good.
You know, on the other other hand, maybe we should love everyone, despite their faults, but gently correct them when they conform too much to the world.