Emergents & Holiness
He held a Bible in his hand, this man, this teacher, this father of two. It was clutched between the church bulletin and a stack of pencil drawings. Standing there in the church hall that way, his head shorn like a new recruit, his arms crossed over his barrel chest, Jake told me how much he loved Donald Miller’s new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.
He said what he loves about Miller is, “He’s so real. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know many Christians who are like that.”
I thought about it for a minute and then I told Jake that actually I knew a lot of Believers like that.
Jake seemed surprised. Then, for some reason, maybe it’s because I’m old enough to be his mother, Jake felt the need to unpack his thoughts for me. (Unpack is the buzz word among hipsters. When you get older you don’t need buzz words. You’re just glad when you can remember what word it is you do need.)
Anyway, Jake told me that he had been out with a friend the night before, and, I suppose because Jake knows of my work with military families, he told me his friend had completed a tour in Iraq, as if that would help explain what he was about to tell me.
“I had a few brews and he had even more,” Jake said.“We’re good friends. He drops the F-bomb like I do. I use the F-bomb as a noun, as a verb, as an adjective.” Then, Jake laughed, nervously.
I guess Jake assumes that I probably don’t use the F-bomb much. It’s true. I don’t. It shames me that I’ve used it at all. A writer, of all people, ought to do better than that. But more importantly, it would shame my kinfolk.
I grew up in a generation when shame was a teaching tool, used to deter inappropriate behavior. People like Jake might not understand it, but there was a time when using the F-bomb was akin to taking God’s name in vain.
Jake went on to say that he was sure Miller was the kind of Christian his buddy could relate to, if only he could get him to read one of Miller’s books.
“I keep telling him to just give it a try,” Jake said. Then he asked if I had read Miller’s new book yet and I told him, truthfully, that my daughter had just given me a copy and I was going to start on it that very afternoon.
“The cool thing about his book is that he talks about drinking and smoking in it,” Jake said. “He’s just so real. He gives people hope.”
I thought about that for a minute. Then I said, “Jake, hope is a good thing. But there is plenty of hope to be found in the world beyond Christ. There are all kinds of people out there who are working with AIDS victims and the homeless and refugees who don’t do it in the name of Christ. Yet, they are bringing hope to many.”
Jake cocked his head and looked quizzically at me, the way my dog Poe does when he’s trying to figure out if I’m coming or going.
“Hope is a great thing,” I added. “But it’s like Pastor said this morning, the thing Christ offers us that we can’t find anywhere else is transformation.”
Jake shook his head in agreement but I could tell he was thinking, “F–k this. This woman doesn’t have a clue what I’m talking about.”
And I went away thinking to myself, does this emergent generation have a clue about holiness?
__________
I sent a note about the encounter to my friend Scot McKnight. McKnight, a popular author, speaker and blogger on all things Jesus, is a professor at North Park University. But like me, McKnight grew up in a generation where holiness wasn’t something to be shunned but something to strive toward.
McKnight is working on a new book with themes that address some of these issues. So he’s been thinking about all this, too.
“As one who works with emerging adults, the whole age group is shaped by “possibilities” in life, so hope is important for that generation,” McKnight said. “They have to look forward to what life can bring; we were known for idealism, etc., which is about hope. So a very important touchstone is hope, but it’s got to find its way to the cross, at least as a life of self-denial and struggle etc.”
I started reading Miller’s book that afternoon. I was worried, initially, that it was going to glamorize a loosey-goosey lifestyle. A lifestyle that my generation was taught was shameful.
It doesn’t do that at all.
Yes. Miller talks about drinking. Bourbon. Wine.
Yes. Miller talks about smoking. Cigarettes. Pipes.
I’m a tequila gal, myself, but I steer clear of smoking. I grew up with a mother who is addicted to tobacco sticks. When you spend your entire childhood in a haze of blue smoke, you grow to hate the stench of it. I wouldn’t smoke if I weren’t a Christian.
It not only unholy, it’s unhealthy.
I’m not sure Jake paid attention, but Miller’s book talks about more than just smoking and drinking. It speaks to living a transformed life. Here’s what Miller says: “People love to have lived a great story but few people like the work it takes to make it happen.”
That’s not the same as saying we ought to transformed by the love of Christ, the way Pastor said it, but I think the gist of it is the same.
Back in the days of bell-bottoms and hip-huggers, when Sonny and Cher had each other and that was enough, Believers used to talk a lot about being careful to not be stumbling blocks to others.
Nobody talks about that anymore. I’m not sure why, really, but perhaps it’s because to do so would be to suggest that we might in some way be obliged to clean up our act. Quit using the F-bomb as a direct object. Drink in moderation. Quit exploiting others sexually, or otherwise. Generally speaking, we might need to become, well, not holier than thou, but certainly more holy.
There are those in the faith who claim that the reason holiness has lost its favor with today’s hipster generation is because they are seeking to distance themselves from the legalism of fundamentalism.
There’s a lot of talk about wanting an authentic relationship with Christ. But I sometimes wonder if these same people are simply looking for an excuse to be as bad as they wanna be. Could it be that “Keeping it real” is nothing more than Christian code for being self-indulgent, or worse, for being crass, unruly and undisciplined?
Christians parade hope around like POWs returned. We cheer. We cry. We shout. We dance in its presence.
But we dance right past the truth of the Gospel. Hope without transformation is like having a boat without steering. It will get us off the island but we are directionless and doomed without it.
Miller gets that. He says for a story to be great it’s necessary to sacrifice, everything.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, book review, Donald Miller, Emergents, Holiness, hope, Scot McKnight, transformation
The work of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification and regeneration may get lost in the race to be relevant to be sure yet Jesus is building His Church and ain’t nothing going to stop that.
I have been interested in Jesus for 10 years and only last week I truly grasped that the Holy Spirit was God. I mean really got it in the way you get it when God grants you a revelation got it kind of way. Know what I mean?
That happened listening to Louie Giglio. This week I have been soaking in some of Mark Driscoll’s podcasts and I am blown away by his solid bible teaching – he seems to be a conduit that God is using to continue the revelation in me.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
I was praising God this morning that in this day of the internet I can sit under preaching 24/7 and still go to church on Sunday – He said – Deb, you got my book 24/7, you could be reading it as well. Touche! God is so wise
Thanks for your reflections, Karen. I guess I don’t know many emergents though what little contact I’ve had suggests to me there may be a number of them who are seeking, and really don’t seem to have their feet on the ground when it comes to any solid, substantial faith. But again my contact is limited.
I’m glad Miller reaches out and really makes some contact with the younger generation. I want to as well in any way I can. Of course in the end as you (and Scot) say here, it has to lead to the cross, to transformation, to a new life of living in Jesus.
Ted: Yes. Miller has a ministry that moves beyond all sorts of boundaries. I think the troubling thing, not with Miller’s ministry by any means, but with many ministries out there is that so many, in an effort to distance themselves from fundamentalism, have mistakenly shunned the fundamentals of faith. Hope is only one aspect of it. Hope is a June Bug’s shell. What really matters is the transformation that occurs within.
Debbie: While I appreciate good teaching I still feel the urge to read the Word myself. I don’t always want an interpreter. Sometimes I want to hear directly from Him. Kindles and iPods and Podcasts aside, I’m still old-fashioned enough to want a big ole book in my lap and a pen nearby.
I thought both you and Scot had some wonderful thoughts on this. I would say that generally people my age might be more concerned with “being real” than “being holy.” And we definitely should be exhorted for it if that is the case. Thanks.
That is pretty much what God said to me Karen.
Plus – ‘Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself’ – do what it says. Just do it.
Tyler:
I’ve no problem with being real as opposed to being self-righteous. The problem, as I see it, is that it has become the buzz phrase for people who simply wanna do what they wanna do without truly making the sacrifices required to follow Christ. Emergents are good about quoting James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion before God is to look after the widows and children…” and pretty good about doing just that. But they are quick to ignore the rest of that verse: “To keep oneself unpolluted by the world.”
I’m as guilty of this as anyone.
I think it’s dangerous generalizing emergents within one viewpoint, just as it’s dangerous to do so with traditionalists. I think it’s more important to focus on what the basis of much of the emergent belief is: That a relationship with Christ doesn’t have to be stuck in a religious atmosphere. It can come in a REAL context, where it feels good to not only believe, but to LIVE. Too many Christians fall into this realm of living for eternity and not embracing who and where we are now and the world that God has granted us here. I’ve been really in to Rob Bell’s books and videos lately and he paints a wonderful picture of an emergent faith that doesn’t rely on being stuck in that box. It’s incredible to experience Christianity in that way for me.
Brandon:
I’ve been watching the same Rob Bell videos,and I appreciate Bell. But I wonder if there isn’t a tendency on behalf of emergents (generalizing again here) to suggest that they have captured something “REAL” that previous Christians missed?
In our search to be authentic, to break away from “fundamentalism”
Can’t a person be stuck in a box in their own notion of what authentic means?
I wonder, also, if we aren’t also trading away that other part of James 1: 27 — the part that suggests we not only care for the widows and the orphans but also keep ourselves unpolluted from the world.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by karenzach: Does the Emergent Generation have a clue about holiness? http://bit.ly/1a31Hr…
Karen,
I have to say that this was a good post. Great reflections on the emergent generation and particularly on the thing about holiness. I’m consider myself some sort of ‘emergent/emerging’ because I think it’s because of my age and questions i have models the emergent generation but I’m Asian (Malaysian to be exact)and treading ground on questioning faith is a ‘no no.’
I was attracted to emergent because of having a crisis of faith a few years back and the emergents ‘zeal’ as i may put it to be willing to ask deep questions and have a gusto in exploring the complexities of belief regained a renewed zeal in embracing back Christianity.
But what I struggle with emergent was (ok Im generalizing here)their unwillingness to embrace some sort of fundamental belief system, which for an Asian guy like me is important. This is my sort of parody with emergent. Somehow I have lost my excitement over it maybe due to the fact of what you reflected on above
And thanks for noting catch phrases like ‘being real’ which makes its way alot for my generation. I tend to use it myself. I’ll have to reflect more in how to understand it the next time i use it.
Again, I really enjoyed this post!
[...] wrote a great post on how the emergent generation is abandoning holiness. I think she pretty much nailed this [...]
Jon:
Thanks for sharing your own faith journey with us. I absolutely agree with you about the gusto for exploring the complexities. Absolutely. What I also appreciate about emergents, generally speaking, is the willingness to be the hands and feet of Christ. A living out of faith through social justice and social responsibility. Taking that Mother Teresa model to heart.
But you are also right in your observations that too often emergents/emerging lack a fundamental belief system. This isn’t, however, limited to emergents. This is an insidious problem that has affected more than one generation. I maintain that it is because of this that the Prayer of Jabez was such a huge hit during the late 1990s. (My son got like five copies of that book when he graduated). When you rely upon others to do the translating for you, instead of learning the language yourself, you have no idea if what you are being told is actually what is being said. And that, I fear, is how many of us (myself included here) approach our faith. We no longer know the Word. We are dependent upon others to tell us what it says. And, sadly, sometimes those doing the telling have their own selfish ambitions at heart. But I digress.
Scot McKnight had a great post yesterday: OMG & Taking the Name of God in Vain, that explains better than I can why holiness matters. Check it out:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/10/omg-and-taking-the-name-of-the_comments.html
I actually agree that holiness is an issue that should be paid more attention to by emergents, of which I am one. However, the case in point that you give Karen is not fair. First off, this guy you had the conversation with was not so much emergent as he was “immaturant”. He would find another label to cling to if not this one. And, ironically, Donald Miller, who you use as a reference here, does NOT even consider himself emergent. So we’re mixing categories left, right, and center here.
Secondly, what I didn’t hear you address was any of the legalism young people have encountered in the church that led them to licentiousness. Neither “L” perspective is good. We want something in between. And yes, we want holiness. But setting up straw men (even if they are real, f-bomb dropping, smoking, drinking) individuals, is not a fair way to approach the issue.
The piece sounded more like a vent than a thoughtful desire to move young people towards the pursuit of holiness.
Darren,
Not to say you don’t have a point, indeed people have been understandably put off by churches who seem more dedicated to keeping rules, then loving people in and because of the name of Jesus.
But I think Karen sounds a needed note here, one that did me good. We hear all the time about the need to help the poor and that’s so important. But we don’t hear, or at least I don’t hear enough talk about the need to keep ourselves unstained by the world among those of us who want to live out our faith differently. Of course we need to heed that if we’re to truly live out the light we are in the Lord in the darkness of this world.
If you were to describe to someone how to pursue holiness and keeping oneself from the stain of the world what would you say?
That is a question I ask all and anyone can respond.
This has truly been a great thought provoking post Karen and the replies have been thought provoking to.
I’m a little split on this one. I come out of an emerging tradition since the 1990s, so the whole emerging as buzz word doesn’t do much for me. The fact is, however, that there’s certainly a coarseness about emerging folks. Especially in some of the newly emerging. A lot of emerging church behavior is like 18 year olds at college, first time away from their parents, freed from all the house rules for the first time.
However, at the same time I’m not as willing to say there’s no interest in the broader picture of holiness. Those emerging folks who don’t have a problem with getting drunk on occasion and cussing are often a lot more attuned to community issues–and not just neighborhood causes–also helping out friends and family and “being there” in a way that old school legalism never thought about. There’s a shift in moral emphasis, not a net loss of moral behavior.
Legalism has done holiness a great harm, but inflicting on it ideas of separation, alienation, rules, “don’ts”, without providing a fuller picture of Scriptural holiness that is wholeness, relationship, participation with God. The emerging church in exploring these latter (dare I say more important) have reacted against the former, even as there are some pretty clear moral boundaries that should not be crossed.
Holiness that is positive, pointing us towards being whole and full in participation with the God who is holy by definition, has to be recovered for all sides of the church. Indeed, I’m an emerging guy who thinks the topic of holiness is a great, great area of continuing study. Did a major research paper on it, and posted an adapted series on my blog.
The key is we cannot just use the word holiness and assume a common or even accurate meaning. We have to recover what it means to be holy not as the church has used it but as Scripture defines it.
Patrick: Thoughtful response, thank you. I wonder if one of the elements we ought to be discussing then is what part holiness plays in transformation. Or does transformation automatically ensure that one will also be socially conscious? Wouldn’t transformation by its very nature make a person other-minded?
Diane asks a good question about what holiness ought to look like. You state that there are clear moral boundaries that should not be crossed. I’m not so sure those moral boundaries are clear. What do you see as the clear ones?
And, yes, I think you are right — we cannot use the word holiness and assume a common or even accurate meaning.
So that leads us back to Diane’s question — what should holiness look like?
Karen, excellent questions indeed, taking us past the theoretical. What does holiness mean for actual lived life?
This is where I think the trouble lies. Understanding holiness in the traditional sense, there can be competing lists. Holiness for some means not drinking, dancing, smoking or dating girls/guys who do. It is separation–set apartness. Holiness for emerging folks (implicitly) is rejecting this as God’s priorities and pointing to racial openness, gender equality, social action, etc. And in forming this last ‘list’ they add an exclamation point to what can be done while getting the whole message of Christ across.
One key problem for me is that while Scripture points to some lists (the Law, certain parts of Paul’s letter, the Sermon on the Mount, etc.) these aren’t even always that clear. Is it wrong to lie? Yes. Except if you’re Rahab, or David, or maybe Jesus all of whom lied in some way and were included by God.
In my mind, and what I’m exploring as an “emerging” approach to holiness goes a different direction. I think the church has separated the idea of the holy from the idea of God. Holiness is its own subject that relates to our life with God, but has it’s own lists and categories. But we are told God is holy. Holiness, then, is Godness. It has to do with being in tune with God. The Holy Spirit tunes us to participation with God, in community with others.
The Holy Spirit isn’t separated or aloof. Not at all. The Spirit of Holiness sent Christ into the world, sent Peter into the streets, gathered the disciples together in sharing, in praying, in open community that grew daily. Growing in holiness means we are growing in how much we are in tune with the Triune God in all respects. God shapes us into our true selves, with our whole identity finding freedom and peace as we find our identity increasingly with him and so are no longer demanding others give us an identity. We can be free with others because of our increasing freedom in God.
As we participate with God we align ourselves with his values, his perspective, his mission. Not in separate pieces, but in a holistic growth that encompasses our whole existence. Holiness is wholeness in God, who defines holy. And since God is love, our holiness is entirely connected to our love. To be holy, is to be whole in love–loving God and loving our neighbor.
Our morality then comes from finding a fluid interaction with God and others that isn’t limited by our ego, or our search for domination, but rather reaches out to others, draws others into the sphere we participate in. This holiness has aspects of morality, but it can’t be defined by a list, because our relationships can’t be limited to do’s and don’ts. They are fluid, and always unique.
[...] me that conclusivenss is seldom the point of this journey, that clarity seldom births character, hope and transformation. I’ll try to remind you of this as [...]
That was a good read Patrick O. I get that.
I was reading today about perservering in the scriptures from 2 Peter I think. And the other day Jesus saying man cannot live on bread alone. I think feeding on the scriptures is one way I get to know Jesus and grow in Love and knowledge and that fruit will bear itself out by the Holy Spirit in my life.
Jesus is Holiness and for me chasing after godliness is what I do when I pray and I read and then I know I have the power within to live the life God has called me to – obedience as a response to Love.
And it is a lifelong romance.