A NEW STARTING POINT FOR THE GOSPEL: A RESPONSE TO CHELSEN VICARI

Many are concerned about the situation the Church finds itself in today expressing concern over the fact that many are leaving the church in droves, especially millenials. One recent example of this concern is found in an article by Chelsen Vicari titled “Here’s How the Christian Left Is Twisting the Gospel.”

In the article Vicari laid the blame for the state of the Church primarily on our broader culture and - most importantly - Church leaders who have capitulated to culture. She contends that in an attempt to be “relevant” to our prevailing culture, the Church has lowered her standards to be accepted by the world in which we live. Vicari suggests Church leaders are increasingly going “soft” on sin. Her proposed solution?

The Church must reclaim and return to upholding high moral standards, acknowledging the authority of Scripture, call others to repent and name sin for what it is. If we can do this we just might recover from this situation in time to redeem another generation (read full article here).

I don’t often (I’m not sure I have ever) offer a rebuttal to an article. However, her argument suggests one of the central reasons pastors like me have chosen to proclaim a different message is largely based on popularity and acceptance. Please know, I like other people to like me and accept me, but that is not what I preach the way I do. My reasoning (and the reasoning of many others) is rooted in something far more substantive than merely wanting others to think we are cool or hip.

One thing we can learn from her article is a common error we humans make when something breaks down and stops working.

Here is why I say that.

When something stops working, breaks down and is no longer effective, we humans often make two misguided assumptions.

First, we assume the problem lies outside of what we do not because of what we do.

When was the last time something went wrong on your computer? What was your reaction? If you are anything like me you said to yourself, “What is wrong with this thing?” That statement assumes the problem is with the computer and not the user. While I may want it to be computer error, I must confess it is often my fault. And it is no different with the Church.

I grew up in a Church culture very close to what Vicari seems to long for in her article. I heard sermons about the evils of sin and the importance of morality. There were calls to confess, instruction on God’s exacting rules, overt condemnation of sin, and reminders to fear God’s wrath. And I am not alone in my experience. Nearly every week I meet someone who grew up in similar circumstances.

Simmering just below the surface in these worship services was a swelling pride that our congregation was not like our culture and stood apart from the sinful masses. My being immersed in this culture did nothing to create an intimate relationship with God. Rather, it fostered a cautious standoff with an angry deity.

When I messed up, the last thing I did was admit it. I hid it, buried it and never talked about it, because I was afraid of the condemnation, judgment and rejection that followed those who broke God’s moral decrees. Over time the shame, anxiety and burden of this culture wore thin.

I have learned it is precisely this kind of Church culture that drives many away from the Church. Which means the message the Church has preached, and many things the Church has done over the last several decades is no longer working.

Vicari does not seem to acknowledge this reality at all. In fact, she believes that this kind of Church culture is the kind of thing that does work. My question is, “Who, exactly, is this working for?” Often the ones who seem so intent on returning to this way of thinking are those who are deeply rooted in the Church and Christianity. Those who level accusation at those who think, act or speak differently.

What Vicari and others who think like her miss is the fact that every system is perfectly tailored to achieve the results it is getting. And the results are obvious: people are leaving.

This is the first common error we make. Vicari concludes the reason people are leaving exists outside the system she is within, and most certainly not within her own system.

The second common error we make when something breaks down is we continue to do what we have always done and expect different results.

As Vicari illustrates, we assume if we tweak our practices and do them better intention, greater accuracy and more intensity than before, they will continue to work. And this is exactly what Vicari suggests we do; even going so far as to lament the fading influence of the Religious Right. We cannot forget digging our heels in is always a bad way to move forward. Yet, this is what Vicari seems to do. She fails to see that doing and saying the same thing we have always said with a few tweaks does not work and will not work.

Why?

Because our world today is not what our world was twenty years ago or even ten years ago. Life conditions have changed and are changing at warp speed. People are asking new questions that demand new answers. It’s not necessarily that all of the old answers were wrong, but they no longer answer today’s pressing questions.

We must reconsider what we have done, recognize what does not work and create new ways of sharing the love of Jesus. We must humbly own what we have done wrong, and have the courage to look at our practices that have driven many away. But we cannot stop there.

Which means we need to rethink not just how we preach, but also what we preach. This is far more than just changing the medium; we need to overhaul the message. The shift we have seen in our culture demands we rethink where we start with relation to sharing the good news of Jesus with others.

It is not the “Christian Left Twisting” the Gospel as Vicari claims. Rather, it is many faithful men and women understanding the questions have changed therefore the starting point for entering the massive, cosmic, story of Jesus and his good news has moved.

Surely this will upset some, and that it to be expected. Not everyone is fond of change – especially when it comes to our Christian faith. This is nothing new.

The religious elite did not like Jesus or his message. But the hookers, “sinners”, tax collectors, the poor, the sick and those oppressed by a religious system ran to Jesus. We would be remiss not to learn from this.

Jesus did not, mind you, set out to anger the religious. But his radical message of God’s grace, love and availability rendered the religious leader’s insistent condemnatory message obsolete.

Make no mistake; Jesus was not soft on sin. But he saved his strong language for the religious who used strong language on the “sinners.” When Jesus spoke to “sinners” his message was one of invitation, hope, mercy, compassion, grace, non-condemnation and freedom. It’s no wonder when people on the religious fringes encountered him they discovered forgiveness, experienced transformation, were made whole and often repented.

Because when they saw the life, love, compassion and mercy of Jesus they finally discovered the grace to change.

Those who have chosen to turn toward Jesus – including me – were not changed because we were told how sinful we were or how important morality is. All the sermons we heard growing up did little more than scare the hell out of us, and make us scared of God. It was not until we silenced those voices that we were found by a God who embraced us right where we were and loved us without condition.

Upon discovering the acceptance of Jesus we finally found the courage to be honest about our failures, shame, fear, sin, wounds, brokenness and shortcomings. And each time we opened up we were met with more compassion and grace.

As for me – I discovered the glorious, painful, beautiful and messy process called transformation– that brings about wholeness, peace and healing.

If we are to preach this kind of message we must relinquish control to the Spirit of God to move in the lives of men and women, and trust the Spirit to lead others along in Her own good time. It challenges us to stop caring first about sin and morality and to care first for men and women made in the image of the Almighty who are crushed beneath the indignity of sin.

To be sure – Vicari seems to mistake this message as going soft on sin - that’s fine. Because a message that focuses on sin, morals and repentance has been tried and found wanting. More than that, in my experience the best way to lead others toward the wholeness of Jesus is not by pointing a finger, but by opening our arms to all people and embracing the whole person.

I can only hope that at the end of all things it is said of me not that I was so hip that I was accepted in Hollywood. Not at all. My hope is that a few might simply say, “He loved sinners.”

My hope is that any love I share will not cause people to leave the Church or return to it – rather that it would lead them toward the unimaginable grace and wild mercy of Jesus. The one who loves all of us – broken, fearful, bent, shameful, bruised, sinful – exactly as we are and far too much to ever let us stay that way.