Kate Galli writes a nice piece in Christianity Today regarding two narratives of so many disillusioned 20 somethings and how they do not feel "nurtured" by current ecclesial structures. From the perspective of one such author:
Cunningham cites various New Testament passages that deal with early Christian communities. She mentions Matthew 16 a few times—where Jesus appoints Peter to be the rock on which the church will be built—as the biblical grounds for her understanding of church. Ultimately, though, she shies away from any notion of the church as an institution (the closest she comes is saying that the church should be "a permanent fixture in society"). Jesus, she says, "did away with institutionalized religion and instead championed a real-life faith where he hung out with his followers in a way that was perhaps reminiscent of Eden."
As if Eden was all that successful. Primitivism is nothing new either. The door towards what "once was" will always swing around. The problem here is that "hanging out" with God is not a proper relationship to God at all. Yes, that includes the man Jesus. Galli rightly holds fast to the notion that the way that we organize ourselves is not something formed in a vacuum. As Galli says:
Yes, we're Americans. We multitask all day long. Efficiency is one of our top cultural values. I, too, am pragmatic. I'd like to use Sunday morning to worship God, to get a few pointers on how to improve my relationship with Jesus, and to reconnect with community. But every Sunday, the first words heard at my institutional church are, "Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." And I'm reminded that we gather weekly not to hear a practical talk on how to better live out our faith or to provide a venue to tell our friends about Jesus. We gather corporately to worship God, to celebrate the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, and to remember that our lives are not about us.
That preaches. It is not just about jettisoning the organizational structures of the church as much as reforming what is already there to respond to cultural needs. However, even when the church is effectively responsive to those needs it cannot be beholden to those needs as if the needs of humanity are constitutive of the community of faith.
What is missing with these "disillusioned" is a sense of sacred reality – that one common thread that holds every and all religions together. The sacred reality of God built the foundations of the church through a risen Lord, not the Jesus people walked with and rejected – including the apostles! What is missing in many churches is a profound sense that Christians are called to do something special in the world and mediate the goodness of God to all of creation. If you are a 20-something reading this, this goes way beyond "hanging out" with Jesus. Jesus is the resurrected Lord, not some chap at a poetry reading you meet over a nice scotch or a strong cup of coffee.
The image of Jesus as an "average Joe" is about as destructive as any influence in the church today. Worship is a sacred activity where humanity is related to God through Christ in a special and sacramental way. The Eastern Orthodox get that. They always have. Protestants are effectively killing the relationship between the sacred and the human because we don't want that profound distinction. Yet without it, the church ceases to be what it was founded to be.
I was deep in the movement in evangelicalism of "Buddy Christ" from college through seminary. What I learned over time is that this Jesus is not the one whom we worship in our creeds. He has nothing to do with that. Strangely, as my social perspectives and overall theological perspective became more liberal, I became more sensitive to the profound distinction between Jesus the risen Lord and the cosmos and all that is in it. Even though Jesus is "with us" until the end of the age, it seems that we too often confuse the phrase "with us" with "is us".
The Jesus we worship in the Church is the Pantokrator – and if he is not, he needs to be. It's not enough to capitalize "Him" when you are really just talking about your next door neighbor or drinking buddy, or would rather Jesus play that role. Protestant churches are bereft of images that remind them of the distinction between the sacred and profane – they are not nourished by that difference on a regular basis as when you walk into the nave of an Eastern Orthodox chapel. Protestants forget, or perhaps are not aware that they are to function as the very icons of God in the world and that this theological foundation for lack of these images. They are the image bearers and media for God to communicate not only his love and grace in Christ, but to communicate the sacred reality of who God really is.
But it seems that people do not want to bear that important responsibility whenever they recite the Apostles' Creed. That Creed begins, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth…" Or in God's speech to Job we can be reminded with these words, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,…" When we want Jesus to be "our nurturing friend" and that takes precedence over Jesus as Lord, we are not understanding – still! Why do people do that? It's safe. It's something that can be manipulated and controlled. It is something that can be ignored. It does not disrupt or challenge. That is the heart of what idolatry means and it is why the Garden of Eden was a profound failure for humankind.
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Okay Drew… I love you but I think this post is BS. I belong to this generation, and the notion that "hanging out with Jesus" is less sacred makes me feel as though you have failed to truly explore what is motivating people from my generation. It isn't that we don't see the world and our relationship with God as sacred; rather, it is that we feel that the sacred pervades EVERYTHING, even and especially simply being in the presence of God and Christ. Christ isn't just some otherworldy God, remember…. Christ was TRULY and FULLY human, someone you COULD hang out with, someone who lived most of his life "hanging out" with all sorts of people.
Please don't write us off just because our language of relating to God is less "highlyg theological"…. hanging out is a sacred act, dude.
Okay Drew… I love you but I think this post is BS. I belong to this generation, and the notion that "hanging out with Jesus" is less sacred makes me feel as though you have failed to truly explore what is motivating people from my generation. It isn't that we don't see the world and our relationship with God as sacred; rather, it is that we feel that the sacred pervades EVERYTHING, even and especially simply being in the presence of God and Christ. Christ isn't just some otherworldy God, remember…. Christ was TRULY and FULLY human, someone you COULD hang out with, someone who lived most of his life "hanging out" with all sorts of people.
Please don't write us off just because our language of relating to God is less "highlyg theological"…. hanging out is a sacred act, dude.
Well, Drew. I mostly agree with you. It's not so much the hanging out with Jesus that bothers me. And it's not the 20 somethings I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about people my age who've never grown past dragging Jesus down to the level of their needs. And in protestant churches, transcendence has left the building.
Well, Drew. I mostly agree with you. It's not so much the hanging out with Jesus that bothers me. And it's not the 20 somethings I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about people my age who've never grown past dragging Jesus down to the level of their needs. And in protestant churches, transcendence has left the building.
I don't turn 30 til next month so technically I'm still a 20-something. Count me as disillusioned. Mostly it is because the Christians around me don't seem to take their beliefs seriously. They are nice and friendly, but everything is shallow. I die a little inside when I start talking about something I read in the Bible and their eyes glaze over.
I think this is also partly why I'm not into hunting, NASCAR, sports, or any of the other things that people talk about all the time besides their faith in action. Ugh, I need to stop; all too depressing.
I don't turn 30 til next month so technically I'm still a 20-something. Count me as disillusioned. Mostly it is because the Christians around me don't seem to take their beliefs seriously. They are nice and friendly, but everything is shallow. I die a little inside when I start talking about something I read in the Bible and their eyes glaze over.
I think this is also partly why I'm not into hunting, NASCAR, sports, or any of the other things that people talk about all the time besides their faith in action. Ugh, I need to stop; all too depressing.
Just to echo Kathy's comment a bit in order to clarify my point here. The point was not to write off the experiences of a generation. I am a full-blown Gen-Xer and qualify with many late 20 somethings in the same social category, generally speaking.
The problem is something that goes back to the 70's and was generated with the I'm OK, You're OK ethos of the lion's share of baby boomers. This became part and parcel of what the National Study of Youth and Religion has determined to be "moralistic therapeutic deism". The basic idea is that God wants us 1) to be good and get along with minimal disruption (live and let live); 2) God helps smooth out the rough places in our lives by being there when we need Him and only when we have a need for God; and 3) God is not a habitual presence that comes to us as a distinct reality, but comes to us when we have a problem that needs to be solved.
Does the image of the man Jesus who was flesh and blood offer balance to a Jesus that for centuries was unaccessible? Yes. But I think what we are seeing among the youth of a lot of later boomer parents is this sense that Jesus is a guy to chill out with over a hot cup of coffee when it befits our pleasure to do so. That's the image of Jesus that I think can be a subtle and destructive force in the church. It's the image I am calling into question, and not the generation. The image of the Pantokrator is, I think, a desirable corrective to this view.
Just to echo Kathy's comment a bit in order to clarify my point here. The point was not to write off the experiences of a generation. I am a full-blown Gen-Xer and qualify with many late 20 somethings in the same social category, generally speaking.
The problem is something that goes back to the 70's and was generated with the I'm OK, You're OK ethos of the lion's share of baby boomers. This became part and parcel of what the National Study of Youth and Religion has determined to be "moralistic therapeutic deism". The basic idea is that God wants us 1) to be good and get along with minimal disruption (live and let live); 2) God helps smooth out the rough places in our lives by being there when we need Him and only when we have a need for God; and 3) God is not a habitual presence that comes to us as a distinct reality, but comes to us when we have a problem that needs to be solved.
Does the image of the man Jesus who was flesh and blood offer balance to a Jesus that for centuries was unaccessible? Yes. But I think what we are seeing among the youth of a lot of later boomer parents is this sense that Jesus is a guy to chill out with over a hot cup of coffee when it befits our pleasure to do so. That's the image of Jesus that I think can be a subtle and destructive force in the church. It's the image I am calling into question, and not the generation. The image of the Pantokrator is, I think, a desirable corrective to this view.
Drew,
I do agree that too often, Jesus the Christ, the Divine, is left out of the picture. All too often, there is a tendency for Christian entities to want to focus only on the "feel good" messages of salvation without focusing on the hard stuff of sin and evil (in a more realistic way than the evangelical right loves to portray). Being Christian should not be percieved as being "easy." That said, your post seems to diminish Jesus the man too much. One only has to go back to the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to see very clearly Jesus the man, Jesus the Prophet and Jesus the Divine. All three entities must be kept in balance to even begin to contemplate the awesome gift that we were given in Christ and the awesome nature of God the Almighty. And it is from this perspective, I believe, that we can then begin to truly look to what our message as Disciples should be.
One other point, while I too see a tendency to water down religion in younger folks, it is by no means limited to this demographic. One only need to go to the Christian Inspiration or Self Help section of your local book store to see how great the need seems to be for something that feels good to feed the soul with. We need to continue to find more relevent ways to communicate the Good News that fills that need without overlooking our Christian Responsibility.
Drew,
I do agree that too often, Jesus the Christ, the Divine, is left out of the picture. All too often, there is a tendency for Christian entities to want to focus only on the "feel good" messages of salvation without focusing on the hard stuff of sin and evil (in a more realistic way than the evangelical right loves to portray). Being Christian should not be percieved as being "easy." That said, your post seems to diminish Jesus the man too much. One only has to go back to the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to see very clearly Jesus the man, Jesus the Prophet and Jesus the Divine. All three entities must be kept in balance to even begin to contemplate the awesome gift that we were given in Christ and the awesome nature of God the Almighty. And it is from this perspective, I believe, that we can then begin to truly look to what our message as Disciples should be.
One other point, while I too see a tendency to water down religion in younger folks, it is by no means limited to this demographic. One only need to go to the Christian Inspiration or Self Help section of your local book store to see how great the need seems to be for something that feels good to feed the soul with. We need to continue to find more relevent ways to communicate the Good News that fills that need without overlooking our Christian Responsibility.
I agree with the balance between the man and the Lord. That's really the point of the post. The problem is that I see a tendency in many strands of tradition that are too focused on the man in the bible and not the living Lord we worship and commune with – that is, the sacred reality of Christ. The two images of Jesus have to be held in tension and that is, by necessity, uncomfortable since we cannot resolve it. I see a pattern of people resolving that tension by focusing on "buddy Christ" (the image I used was part of the point) and forgetting who this "buddy" is. The problem raised here is at the end where I say "When we want Jesus to be “our nurturing friend” and that takes precedence over Jesus as Lord". If we throw all our eggs into either basket it is a big problem.
On a more crass note, if you read the Gospels and read Paul's letters, I am not sure I would really want to be drinkin' buddies with these guys. That would be exhausting to hold up I would think.
I was just perusing the Christian inspiration section the other day. Blech. So much Myers and Osteen…just so much of it.
I agree with the balance between the man and the Lord. That's really the point of the post. The problem is that I see a tendency in many strands of tradition that are too focused on the man in the bible and not the living Lord we worship and commune with – that is, the sacred reality of Christ. The two images of Jesus have to be held in tension and that is, by necessity, uncomfortable since we cannot resolve it. I see a pattern of people resolving that tension by focusing on "buddy Christ" (the image I used was part of the point) and forgetting who this "buddy" is. The problem raised here is at the end where I say "When we want Jesus to be “our nurturing friend” and that takes precedence over Jesus as Lord". If we throw all our eggs into either basket it is a big problem.
On a more crass note, if you read the Gospels and read Paul's letters, I am not sure I would really want to be drinkin' buddies with these guys. That would be exhausting to hold up I would think.
I was just perusing the Christian inspiration section the other day. Blech. So much Myers and Osteen…just so much of it.
[...] as having no culture or no class or no sense of theology. These bloggers call us the "Dissillusioned Generation," or accuse us lacking any unique culture " or of whining too much, or finally of [...]