The Christian Celebrity
I am reading a book about “ordinary radicals.”[i] Though just a bit dated, it is well written,
engaging, and still quite relevant. The
author Shane Claiborne advocates for Christians living ‘in community.’ Most of us live in some kind of
community. It may be a community where
we don’t really know our neighbors at all.
It may be void of meaningful relationships. But, most people who read this do not live on
farms or in the wilderness, out of eyesight of other humans. We live in communities however tight knit or internally
disconnected those communities may be.
However Claiborne insists on communal
living; couples, families, and singles all in the same house (or sharing row
houses or in the same apartment building).
He would say community is not just living in proximity, but sharing
life. I think he’s basically right. But, implicit in his passionately shared
story is the insistence that true Christianity is in the city, where people are
gathered densely together.
I heard another “famous” Christian,
Erwin McManus (author of The Barbarian
Way), say in an interview that truly radical, ‘barbarian’ Christianity will
not be lived out by pastors or people who live in middle class suburbs or small
town. His implication was that those
pastors retreated to the safety of the ‘burbs because they did not possess the
fiber or robust Christianity rugged city living requires. They (we) weren’t up to it. I say ‘we’ acknowledging I am a pastor in an
affluent small town/suburban community.
According
McManus, pastors like me are too soft for the tough (read more Jesus-like) faith he writes about and lives. According to Claiborne, pastors like me are
too isolated for the shared (read more
Jesus-like) faith he lives. My
backside hurts from being kicked by these fine authors.
And
they are indeed, fine authors. I don’t
say that with any irony or sarcasm.
Erwin McManus, Shane Claiborne, Rick Warren, David Platt, Andy Stanley –
these famous Christians could not pick me out of a lineup. They don’t know me and have not criticized
me. When they write, they take to task a
straw man: the middle-class small town pastor; the inert, affluent, insulated
Christian; the suburban, safe, churchgoer whose faith involves zero risks and
zero sacrifice. The works of these
authors are helpful. I think every
American Christian would benefit from reading Barbarian Way, The
Irresistible Revolution, and Radical (Platt),
to name a few. It is important to read
these and other works prayerfully and personally, but it is equally important
not to take them personally.
This
is a mistake I tend to make. I was
reading Irresistible Revolution and I
was thinking “O gosh, he’s right. My
faith is too safe, too suburban, and not communal enough.” By the way, where was I read this book? I was in a bus – a joining together of 21
Christians in intense community, together for 10 days in Ethiopia. I had to step out of the book and remind
myself that I could be blessed by Claiborne’s good observations and at the same
time I did not need to defend myself.
I
had traveled across the world to extend community (from North Carolina to
Kombolcha, Ethiopia). I had entered into
community with people I had previously known.
I had given myself to the work of God as I thought God wanted me to do
so. My middle class life and how I and
my wife choose to live it makes trips like that possible. We believe we are doing our best to live in
obedience to God. We know we make
mistakes and are not perfect. But God is
our standard. Not Shane Claiborne.
He
would agree. He might want me to sell my
house and discover the wonders of community he has found, but not for the sake
of conforming to him. Shane Claiborne is
not attacking me. Neither was McManus in
the interview. He stated his view and
did it in a very cocky fashion. But that’s
Erwin McManus. These authors may
arrogantly see their discoveries as the
way Americans are supposed to follow Jesus.
I know that’s not right. I know
there are many manifestations of the Jesus-life. The arrogance some authors project is
something God will confront. God has not
appointed me to do this.
Books
by good Christian authors are a gift, especially critical books. They must be read critically and prayerfully
and, as I said, personally. It is OK for
me (or you) as a reader to be confronted.
God may have put that book in my hand so God could confront me through
it. The important thing is I am being
confronted by God (not McManus or Stanley or Claiborne). Those authors are as I am – humans in the
service of Jesus. Jesus is supposed to
get the glory and honor.
My
conclusion? I will continue to read and
read a lot. I will thank God for books
and pray that my heart and mind will be open to learning and growing every time
I read. I will (try) not to get
defensive or frustrated with an author.
If I disagree with what I read, I will try to think critically and with
sophistication so that my dissenting views make sense Biblically and
logically.
And
as a pastor, I urge you, my readers, to read good Christian writing, but always
read critically. There is no Gospel
according to Rick Warren or according to Billy Graham. Famous Christians are people through whom God
speaks, but it is God that we worship.
Anyone else can be questioned and argued against. Anyone else can be someone God uses to teach
us. Appreciate good writing. Save the adoration for God.
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