Brett McCracken has a new book coming out called Hipster Christianity, Where Church and Cool Collide”.
I haven’t read it but I am not excited about what I have seen so far. I first heard about this book when I saw on Twitter a quiz to determine how hip of a Christian you are at the very interesting and funny website for the book. My anticipation was pretty high about this book until I read the above linked WSJ article. McCracken seems to capitalize on the self deprecating humor Jason Boyett, Jon Acuff, and Matthew Paul Turner have perfected; and he has merit. However when he moves past humor to actual church formation, I think he is flat off.
McCracken is trying to lay out a path to bring young people back to the local church. Not reading the book myself I am operating off the advance reviews of others. Also let me say McCracken is getting published with a lot of momentum behind him and I write a blog that only a handful of people read (Hi Mom!).
Tried, Tired, and Lacking
I’ve been in ministry for only 5 years but I know that the easy thing to do is try and change something superficial in order to reach people. Simply changing the wardrobe of the pastor or getting them an $80 haircut isn’t going to bring back the young people. Church leaders have always fallen into this trap. Sometimes this is done well, like when the Wesley brothers reworked popular pub songs to be church music. Other times we get crappy movies with Kirk Cameron. Skinny jeans aren’t going to be the thing that gets someone to start following Jesus.
Sex, Sex, and more Sex
As churches try and appear hip McCracken states that talking about sex is the standard “go-to”. He quotes books by Laura Winner and Rob Bell as proof of this misstep. First of all I don’t think either books are somehow misappropriating human sexuality for an emotional response, being familiar with both books I don’t think either one is anything but Biblical and appropriate. Secondly, shouldn’t church leaders talk about sex? Would you rather the cast of Jersey Shore or Lady Gage to instill values concerning sexuality to our culture?
Working with a Paint Roller
The most disappointing aspect of McCracken’s thesis is similar to what has bothered me the most about aspects of the emerging church movement; both have painted with too broad of a brush. When wide ranging critiques using the pronoun “they” are employed it comes across as another “angry young man” complaining about the church. Any merit within the argument is thus written off before it can even be discussed because all some will read is another diatribe against the church.
I hope I am wrong. I hope that McCracken’s book helps start healthy conversations. Heck I hope his sales are through the roof, but I think he has missed the boat. Either be a humorous mirror for the church or share some wisdom for church leaders, trying to do both has weakened the argument and the humor.
Brett McCracken or Bieber in 15 years
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You just reviewed a book while admitting you haven’t read it. This… um… could end with McCracken pleaing for a public apology.
Christians raise children to be sexually ignorant and this does not serve them well in dating or the early years of marriage.
Rob Bell – doesn’t he believe all faiths lead to the one True God? Saying things like “when Jesus said he was the way, truth, and life, no one gets to the father except through me” Jesus did not specify that person must know of Jesus directly? Certainly we are judged by what we know, but can a person believe and have faith in Jesus if they have never heard the story of the cross? j/a/thought
1. you are right that I did indeed just review a book I haven’t read, and I thought I was pretty clear about that. However I have read quite a few different reviews that are positive, negative, and neutral; and I am not impressed. Like I said though in my review the guy is my age and has written a book that is going to get him on the cover of Christianity Today, I hope he sells more books the Joel Osteen.
2. Easy on the blanket statements buddy. A lot of Christians do raise their children to be sexually ignorant (do you happen to watch Mad Men? specifically this past episode?) and it doesn’t serve them well. However I do think a healthier perspective on sexuality and faith is being integrated.
In fact I was reading something the other day by a pastor about how in Song of Solomon translates “navel” incorrectly, and it should be something a lot less PG.
3. I am not a Rob Bell expert, but I think I have read enough of his stuff and heard enough of his sermons to confidently say he is not an all faiths lead to God. However I have heard him repeatedly say that he affirms truth wherever it is found. Which I take to mean that God’s truth is active everywhere as He presents Himself to all people. To me that seems incredibly Biblical and in line with orthodox Christianity.
Then you open up a whole can of worms with that last thought (very sneaky of you). I would say that Jesus does not expect us to only come to know Him through a singular avenue, i.e. on a Sunday morning responding to an alter call. You bring up the classic question of the situation of people who never heard of Jesus before they died, which has and will happen to people. I come back to Paul speaking of “righteousness being credited to them” in Romans and the ways in which Jesus has done and is doing everything possible to reach people.
Ultimately though I don’t have a nice neat answer to this one, all I have is tension.
1. My first statement was a joke. I thought that would be clear since at various points you mention you haven’t read the book (any courtesy haha’s?). *and I was referring to the blogger who called out a black woman as a racist w/o hearing the whole story.
2. You’re right, this was a huge generalization, but I also see it as the norm. It’s true our culture has progressed from the “NO’s and DON’TS” of our parents childhood, into a healthier balance of the “Sex isn’t bad, it’s just designed to be enjoyed within boundaries” mentality. However…>>>> if I may argue with myself, I would see this as a result of sex culture in the US invading Christian cultures – no matter how conservative these kids are they can find access (Pennsylvania has a large Amish community, and yes, they find it if they seek it). #myopinion
3. Fair.
To shorten the story: No, I don’t intend on reading this book. No love lost though since I wasn’t planning to before hand.
Ok since we are all talking about things we haven’t read, I thought I would inject my own thoughts on these issues.
First, there is nothing wrong with teaching about healthy biblically health sex…heck I am all for sex being tought to battle bad parenting and leagslistic ideals. But the issue is that we are teaching sex to be relevant and edgy…that is poor motivation.
It is a poor motivator if our goal is make the church more accessible to young people rather than actually figuring out their values and their needs. Chnaging the music and the wardrobe is not the answer. We can’t Lear who ” young ” poeple are by watching MTV or listening to the radio…we need to be in relationship with them.
And in them I don’t mean chrisitans that are young I mean lost people.
We don’t need to change our marketing we need to change our friends.
Guy…..be assured, you ARE wrong.
But I have to ask….Why would you waste you time and energy writing so much of which you personally know so little about? Are you just opinionated, and can’t help it? Just unemployed and have loads of time of your thumbs?
McCracken is not “emergent” [he actually gives a searing critique of the whole bit, which angers this brand of hipster]
In truth, his is a thoughtful critique gives a lot of us, ages 21-50, important concepts to consider when we think about how and why we [as Christians] do and act the way they do [or don't] within culture.
Is this a good dialogue to begin?
Yes. It always has been, and should be, for *each* generation of Christians who cares to make a difference in the world for the Kingdom of God.
HC is a focus on what this has meant. We need ask what it means -now- to “be in but not of the world”. It seems a question every mature Christian must wrestle with fully. Will we ride a ceaseless wave of trends, and stay “stylish” (which for the sub-culture of the Christian world is “6 to 18 months behind the secular trend….OR we we be a community of Christ that sets the bar far higher to effective penetrate our culture with the message of God’s reconciliation?
Perhaps, my interview with Brett will help you better understand the book you’re commenting on quite a bit when you haven’t yet read it. [You and even your mom, may click my name to get the blog main page]
PLUS! How’s this for cool….I’ll *give* you a copy of it free if you leave a post. [Then you won't have to only conjecture from a point of ignorance.]
Now, I realize you may not want to read it. Some of this might be your cultural influences. “I won’t read what I don’t like,” and “I don’t have more than a tweet-length attention span.”
So, I lay down a challenge.
Read. the. book.
Then, write an intelligent reflection or review.
You can’t really armchair quarterback with the tv off, right?
cheers.
L
Yeah I guess I am just that opinionated and I am employed, thanks for asking.
I was interested in the book (and still am) when I stumbled on his website and the cleverly designed quiz to determine your hipness as a Christian. The publicity behind this book is top notch and the website is really well designed. I recognized McCracken from his articles on Relevant and was interested in what he was going to do with this topic. It appeared that he was going down the Boyett, Acuff road where he would use humor to make a point and I saw potential. However when I read the CT and WSJ reviews I became skeptical, then listening to Doug Pagitt interview him on his radio show I developed an opinion and decided to share it.
I stand by my comments, for what they are worth. I am a hobby blogger and don’t pretend to make this something it isn’t.
Thanks for commenting, and thanks for posting the interview with the author.