Step One: Admittance
Christena Cleveland begins chapter five by examining her personal
ingroup of Christians, and then asks us to take an honest look at our own as
she continues to expound on the dangers of the divisions in the church. She
analyzes these divisions from a variety of angles, personal and cultural,
before suggesting that such groups are contradictory to the scriptures and the
core of the gospel itself.
When I turn to my own ingroup of Christians, I am convicted
by how easy it is to identify them and separate them from the “other”
Christians. Mine is the collection of Christians who sit on the razor’s edge
between liberal and conservative: they care about the immigrant and the poor
and the sick and they are vocal about it in their political beliefs and giving
practices. They are not afraid to cuss when they feel the need to, they are
fairly indifferent to tattoos and mind-altering substances (in the proper
doses). They do not confirm
homosexuality, but they treat it no worse than any other sin. They are vocal
about their own struggles, they condemn prosperity gospel and
works-righteousness, all while attending a church that uses a blend of contemporary
and traditional worship songs, a pastor with “hip” ways of approaching the
gospel, and a large congregation that utilizes “small groups” to attempt to
reconcile with the idea of a fellowship-based church.
It is also startlingly easy to identify my outgroup of
Christians, and it is similarly easy to describe them in ways that condemn
them: they are extremists. They are fundamentalists or universalists, tied too
strongly to beliefs so radical and polarizing that they are blinded to any
insight offered by someone outside of their opinion. On one end, they
discriminated against the refugee and the prisoner, the poor and the weak. They
are staunchly conservative and they slam their self-righteous, hypocritical
gavels down on the sins of others without pausing to think on Jesus’ words when
he said: “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. On the opposite
side, they are abandoning the words of Christ for the words of the world. They suggest
that other religions may hold some truth, that the most important thing is that
God loves us, not that he demands that we turn from sin. They deny the power of
judgement; they refuse to attempt any form of discipline. Theirs is the gospel
of the hippie: what if we all just held hands and never admitted our sins and
just accepted that Jesus (or Allah, or Buddha, or whoever you want) loves us
and that hell doesn’t exist and we will all end up in heaven someday?
It scares me how easy it is to define those two groups. My
stomach churns knowing how easy it was for me to find the words to describe
both of those groups.
God does not call me to have an ingroup and an outgroup.
He calls me to far greater things: He calls me to reach out
to those who are different than me, to extend a hand to those I disagree with.
Jesus calls all of us to reconciliation. Not to ignore our differences or to
brush them aside, but to acknowledge them, overcome them, and press past them
in the task He has given us: to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Beautifully written, Aidan. I believe we occupy strikingly similar in-groups--I identify almost exactly with the descriptions you've provided above. Humans are constantly, whether consciously or not, making assumptions about those they perceive to be different or "wrong". Our ability to do so is, yes, quite terrifying. Upon reflection, however, I've found that the derogatory remarks I make about others often clearly expose insecurities about myself. It feels good to ascribe oneself to a heightened status, to perceive one's value as above that of others. But is it biblical? Is it respectful or in conjunction with God's Word and plan for His people? No. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI can relate so much to your post! I too fall into the "group" of Christians who sit on the edge of conservatism and liberalism. So often I find myself dissociating with other Christians who go too far one way or the other, according to my standards. So often I put other Christians/Churches down because they are too conservative or too liberal. I think this is something that everyone struggles with, and something we will always struggle with until the day of Jesus' return. We naturally want to build ourselves up, so we will, in one way or another. Yet, this does not mean we should not strive to be better. We should always strive to be better, to be more like Jesus and to the greater things you mentioned in your post.
ReplyDeleteI feel like my circumstance is incredibly similar to yours- I also realize how easy it is for me to judge other Christians who don't sit directly in my same stance on major issues like the ones you listed above. I could never think of the word to describe my feeling when I thought about the ease of segregating others, but you nailed it: the word is scary. We can't reach every tribe and nation if it's that easy, and you're right that we need to learn to overcome and accept our differences.
ReplyDelete:) Great post here Aiden. Great self reflection, self awareness, and maturity in reflecting on how groups are equally as guilty of outing one another. It's so difficult not to align ourselves (or separate ourselves) from certain groups for fear that we don't belong. Then, once we feel belonging, it seems we put up our prideful walls and take our stance. Thank you for your vulnerability and writing. You may have a future as a blogger :)
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