Might as well face it...

“Jesus also heals our relationship with others. One day, there will be no more sin to separate people from God and each other.” ~ The Gospel Project

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” ~ Romans 7:18

During the 80’s MTV burst onto the scene and video truly did kill the radio star.  One of the iconic music videos of the era was Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” which featured five fashion models as his band.  The “band” all had pale skin, bright red lipstick and slicked back dark hair.  They were expressionless, robotic and obviously not musicians because none of them looked fluid or comfortable strumming a guitar or beating the drum.  If you watch the video you very quickly notice that these ladies were not hired for their rhythm.  There are many choreographical errors and the band is out of sync with one another and moving when there is no back beat.  The director of the video hired a musician to try to teach the models basic guitar fingering techniques but he gave up after an hour and left.   I guess you get tired and have a short attention span when your only means of meaningful sustenance is a steady diet of Altoids.

None of us like to think that we are addicted to something and there is the tendency to think less of or look down on those who struggle with addictions.  But the sobering reality (pun intended) is that the lyrics Robert Palmer sang can apply to us all; “you like to think you’re immune to this stuff, oh yeah…it’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough…you’re gonna have to face it you’re addicted to______.”  We think of addictions as the “big sins” e.g. drugs, porn, alcohol or sex.  In the drugs category do we include abuse of over the counter or prescribed drugs?  We need them to “cope”.   We wring our hands when a young adult is slamming down energy drinks but we have to put our third Venti down before we can…  We may begrudgingly admit that we can be addicted to food or eating, shopping, hoarding, hobbies, work, politics and even materialism but those tend to take a back seat to the more “grievous” addictions.  We are in denial if we think we have no addictions; “the lights are on, but you’re not home…your mind is not your own.”  The big question for us all; are we humble enough to ask ourselves the tough questions?  Are we open to letting the Holy Spirit reveal to us what are we addicted to?

One of the local ministry opportunities that I have had the pleasure to be involved with is a men’s alcohol and drug recovery center.  I have the privilege to serve in this ministry with a number of men from my church and it has been both a challenge and a blessing.  You go into it with the idea of being an encouragement to the residents and then you quickly realize how much they are blessing you.  Stories of redemption and God’s mercy and grace drive home the point that God is in the recovery business.  Week in and week out you see that no matter who you are or what you struggle with God can and will rescue you if you are willing to come to the end of yourself.  You learn very quickly that addictions cut across all age, socioeconomic and racial groups.  No one is immune and addictions touch everyone.  It can cause you to take a step back and examine yourself and ask God to reveal to you what are you addicted to?

In his book “Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave”, author Edward T. Welch provides some key insights on addictions and how we can find hope in the Gospel.  Welch points out that we entertain our desires and cravings to deal with a sense of emptiness and those that give into cravings do so in order “to indulge their own desires, whether those desires are pleasure, freedom from pain, alleviation of fear, forgetting, vengeance, or a host of others.”  He further states that with every one of us it is not so much that we don’t know what scripture says on a subject but that “we don’t want to believe the truth we already have.  Even when we know the truth, we don’t always want it to guide our lives.”  He goes on to say that “when our desires conflict with Scripture, human beings do not always live according to what we say we believe.  We can say we believe in one thing, but our lives betray other allegiances.”

 Both the laymen and the trained psychologist will agree that addictions start out as a craving and we like the feeling or experience it produces.  These cravings meet our needs, our desires and our agenda.  The craving makes us want to do it again and again which eventually leads to an addiction.  Our desires become cravings, and those cravings give way to fulfilling those desires which eventually become habits.  Habits then become addictions and the end result is that we peacefully coexist with sin.

I’m not a psychiatrist or physiologist…I just play one on the internet.  I am just an observer of the human condition, most notably my own sinful heart.  We all need to ask ourselves where or in what we find our satisfaction.  Welch states that we each need to; “Look for activities or substances that entice you, leaving you wanting to come back for more, even though “more” may not be wise, godly, or legal.  Look especially at the activities that provide you with a fairly rapid bodily experience.”    What do we crave or what are we addicted to within the body of Christ?  Welch points out that what unites all addictions is that these activities or substances is that, “they deliver a bodily experience.  With them we feel more alert, more calm, less shy, or more powerful.”  Welch reminds us that God’s Word doesn’t simply point to activities as addictions, but behaviors as well, and that these behaviors can be found in every human heart.  With that in mind we each need to ask the question what gives us a “high” or what do we find our identity in?

• “Righteous” indignation as a cover to be harsh, critical, cynical and spew invective
• Tradition for tradition’s sake – any and all change is bad or worldliness creeping in 
• Manipulation – shame others to make ourselves look spiritual (doing the Jesus Juke)
• Getting or having our own way – the tyranny of our own agenda
• Desiring to be served rather than to serve others – “Ask not what you can do for your church, but what can your church do for you?” ~ John F. Christian
• Pursuit of knowledge – but in the spiritual sense the failure to apply it…
• Anger, resentment, wrath & slander – Holding a grudge or impugning the character of a fellow believer in gossip or “expressing your concern”
• Jealousy & strife
• Innuendo
• Conspiracy theories – The world is out of control and some nefarious group is running amok
• Bitterness – walking into church w/ a chip on our shoulder
• Elijah Syndrome or a martyr complex – “I even, I only am left” (I Kings 19) – no one else is faithful and I am all alone.
• Entitlement – because of who you are, what you do or what you have endured, your fellow Christians owe you something or should grant you concessions in perpetuity.
• Distrust – people will eventually let you down so you build a wall and won’t allow them in
• Blame shifting – we are “drawn away of our OWN lusts” but we can always find a scapegoat
• Respect – demanded rather than earned
• Prestige – trotting out our “accomplishments” or material trinkets to get others to hold us in awe
• Power/Authority – need to have people listen to you or follow your lead
• Talking and not listening – it’s not about you, it’s about ME!
• Name dropping or being “in the know”
• Fear of man or a desire to please others
• Passive aggressive behavior – trying to make others insecure with cryptic, sarcastic and pointed but punishing “jest”
• Being “right” – my opinion or ideas about a topic are correct and all others are just plain wrong!
• Demanding concessions – e.g. “esteeming others” means you do it my way
• Weaker brotherhood as a means to control the behavior of others or make them conform to your will
• “Worship-tainment” – our ability to be “blessed” hinges on whether or not the presentation or performance is aesthetically pleasing…passive rather than active worship.
• Having the last word – on-line or in person you have to get in that final comment
• Trolling & Lurking – waiting to pounce when people “get out of line”
• Always thinking or seeing the worse in others rather looking for evidence of grace
• Arguing over non-essentials
• Correcting others but not willing to receive correction – drive-by accountability…
• Ambivalence – not my problem…it doesn’t affect me
• Crisis & Drama – if a crisis doesn’t exist we will create it
• Victim-hood – making everyone else look like the bad guy and you are the one being oppressed
• Need to be the center of attention; aka “attention hogs” that are jealous or angry if you aren’t
• Drawing attention to ourselves – how we dress or through loud or bombastic behavior
• Self promotion – on social media and in conversation
• Self deprecation or poor mouthing yourself to receive praise
• Exaggeration – need to embellish the story to gain sympathy or to make ourselves more heroic
• Me time – don’t bother me…Calgon take me away…lethargy masked as needing a break

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What is very sobering about this list is that oft times we are guilty of these very things we detest.   Preachers must preach to themselves before they can preach to others and we must all examine ourselves as well as those we wish to help.  We all tend to despise or find those things objectionable or offensive that we consciously or unconsciously do ourselves.  In physiological terms this is known as projection or projection bias.  It is a defense mechanism whereby we deny our own attributes, thoughts or emotions and ascribe them to the outside world and typically to other people.  We lie to ourselves about how the hearts of others are desperately wicked, (Jeremiah 17:9), but surely we don’t struggle with this problem.  Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Apostle John reminds us that if we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves, (I John  1:8), and sadly we all are accomplished liars to ourselves.  Addicts first need to admit they have a problem before they can break free of their addiction.  Are we quenching the Holy Spirit and putting up the defenses?  Welch points out that “the addict has an alternative system that preaches, “I can stop any time I want”; “I am in control”; “They are wrong, I am right.” This is one reason why it is so critical for each one of us to be accountable to others.”

 We attempt to justify or rationalize away these things and couch them in spirituality by calling it discernment, concern, contending for the faith, wisdom or prudence.  Or that we have earned the right to do these things. Welch rightly points out that “the basic theology for addictions is that the root problem goes deeper than our genetic makeup.  Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship.  Will we worship ourselves and our own desires or will we worship the true God?”  All of these things I have listed have one root cause; we are addicted to ourselves rather than addicted to God.  The glorification of self is ultimately the sin beneath the sin.  We act as if the chief end of man is to glorify us and enjoy ourselves forever.  We’re gonna have to face it we are addicted to self.  God broke into this world and gracefully and lovingly gave us the Gospel and His Word so that through Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit He could stage an intervention from our biggest addiction of all; our addiction to ourselves.  Psalm 46:10 commands us to be still and know He is God.  Where the rubber meets the road for each and every one of us; will we be addicted to self or “stuff” or will we be addicted to God?

Welch provides this definition through the lens of the Gospel; “Addiction is bondage to the rule of a substance, activity, or state of mind, which becomes the center of life, defending itself from truth so that even bad consequences don’t bring repentance, and leading to further estrangement from God.”  So the key question for us all; are we willing and open to the Holy Spirit revealing to us what are we addicted to?

“If sin is not our core problem, the Gospel itself—the thing of first importance—is marginalized.” ~ Edward T. Welch

“Bound as I was, not with another man’s irons, but by my own iron will.  My will the enemy held, and thence had made a chain for me, and bound me.  For of a forward will, was lust made; and a lust served, became custom; and custom not registered became necessity.  By which links, as it were, joined together (whence it a chain) a hard bondage held me enthralled.”  ~ Augustine, (Confessions, Book 8)

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” ~ Romans 7:24-25

The Culture Club (part 2)

“No matter what anyone says, the greatest need of the 21^st century is the Gospel.” ~Hershael York

“To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all.” ~ Queen Elizabeth II

In my previous post I started to provide some background on what has led me to shy away from the moniker of fundamentalist Christian.  As I previously stated my focus is not on theological fundamentalism but the 20^th century phenomenon I am classifying as cultural fundamentalism.  This exercise came out of a small group discussion which included the discussion of the book “Four Views on The Spectrum of Evangelicalism” edited by Andrew Naselli and Collin Hansen.

Something that was very startling to me when I first entered cultural fundamentalist was that being mean spirited, harsh, and derogatory or employing character assassination seemed to be perfectly acceptable.  What's worse is that you start thinking we're right and everyone else is wrong.  This harsh rhetoric that was directed at other Christian leaders and non-believers is viewed as “discernment” or “righteous indignation.”  Innuendo and gossip about a church, pastor, leader or group is considered an acceptable practice, but it must be nipped in the bud if it is about anything or anyone in the fundamentalist camp.  I struggle reconciling this with passages like James 3:1-18.  A public apology from a cultural fundamentalist is like a gryphon, a mythical creature you only read about in story books.  Apologies, like humility seem to be an admission of weakness and you need to understand that they were not wrong, but were simply misquoted, misunderstood, maligned or misinformed.  But that’s okay because they are just contending for the faith, so spooling up the base with misinformation serves the greater good.

My experience within IFB churches has been hit and miss exegesis at the expense of proof texting and the tendency to have forced esegesis.  So-called “whole Bible Christians” seem to be more focused on the part and not the whole of the Canon of scripture and nowhere is that more evident in being loud where the Bible is silent and silent where the Bible is loud.  The primary examples are being loud about music, entertainment or alcohol consumption but silent on misogyny, doing justice and gluttony.  If an individual had the right haircut, associations, clothing, music and entertainment standards then they were part of the club.  If a child or teen was compliant to the standards of cultural fundamentalism they were welcomed into the fellowship.  If the externals are not "correct" then  there is little patience or grace is extended.

One of the criticisms of other evangelicals that you typically hear within cultural fundamentalist circles is that their soul-winning crusades and outreaches are doomed to failure because poor follow up and weak discipleship.  This charge has been repeatedly leveled at those outside the camp however one could make the argument that fundamentalists are equally as weak on this front.  I can back this up based on personal experience.  I mentioned earlier that because I doubted my salvation and wanted to be sure, I went forward to accept Christ while during my first year of Christian college after attending an evening service at a local church.  I personally received no follow up or discipleship after making my profession of faith.  This is just a personal observation and not meant as a criticism, but just to point out that people that live in glass houses need to drop their stones.   The emphasis on discipleship tends to be more focused on quietism and pietism rather than the Gospel as the means and motivation for sanctification and holy living.  This has started to change in the past few years and for that we can all acknowledge and applaud.  Discipleship is best done in the local church and through experienced and mentored disciplers.  But it is important to remember that this is only a recent development and I am recounting my experience to provide historical perspective.

I find it more than a little comical and disingenuous that when it comes to matters of preference many cultural fundamentalists like to quote Philippians 2:3 about “esteeming others better than yourself” or trot out the “weaker brother” argument when it comes to an area of Christian liberty.  These verses are wielded like a club to get you to comply and it is typically a one way street rather than a reciprocal command for all believers.  There is also never discussion whether or not it is scriptural for a “professional” weaker brother to remain in that state indefinitely.  When non-essentials become a matter of fellowship and you try to impose your standards and bind the conscious of others with your preferences and applications you have started the slide into cultural fundamentalism.  If you think that people just need to be taught the “right way” or the way of “excellence” in areas where good believers can disagree, you are on the path of cultural fundamentalism.

In the mid to early 20^th Century the fundamentalist movement seemed to lose its way.  Founded as a means to combat liberalism that had crept into the church they failed to realize that battle, like the Cold War was largely over.   It became less about a passion for the fundamentals and more driven by personalities and preferences.   A caste system of holiness seemed to take hold of it and it created its own “ghettos”, lingo and hierarchy.  The enemy was at the gate so they retreated to the keep for safety.  My experience in the fundamentalist subculture was that early church history did not date back to the age of the Reformers but seemed to start in the 1930’s and that the Christian leaders from that point forward are the ones we should study and emulate.  Sadly it was not through the tutelage of  cultural fundamentalism that I came to appreciate the Reformers, Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Wilberforce, Lloyd-Jones, Wesley, Tozer, Augustine, the writings of the Puritans and so many more.   If you spend any length of time in the movement you will quickly come to realize that the “golden age” of Christianity seems to be the 1950’s and it peaked when Ronald Reagan was in office and it’s been all downhill since.  I am only being slightly facetious when I say that.  A friend who happens to be a pastor wisely states that cultural fundamentalism fails to recognize that it is still chasing the ghosts of liberal theology and continues to use Cold War tactics long after that war was won.

And finally I don’t think we fully grasp that the unholy marriage of partisan politics with cultural fundamentalism is a major stumbling block to the lost.  This is not unique to cultural fundamentalist and is also the norm within conservative evangelical circles as well.  Pragmatism is sin, except when it comes to political candidates that support “family values”, lower taxes and less government.  And it always seems that Romans 13:1-3 is conveniently ignored if our party is not in power.  Demonizing the right is decried if our candidate is being savaged in the media, but it is wholeheartedly and enthusiastically embraced and employed on the opposition.   I unabashedly agree that every believer is called to be politically informed and active, but party politics should have no place in the pulpit.   If the Holy Spirit is at work in the life of a believer and the Gospel changes everything it can and will inform the political decisions of the believer.  They give an account to God and not to the subculture at the exit polls or on social media.

I have jokingly told friends and acquaintances within the cultural fundamentalist movement that we are hiking in the same woods but that we have chosen different campsites to pitch our tents.  The difference is that I have packed lighter and we have more fun around my camp fire.  The Gospel, like a hiker, does not need to over pack and be burdened with mandatory preferences and extra-biblical applications otherwise you will quickly get fatigued, not enjoy the scenery around you and eventually give up and call it a day.  I have actually gained a great appreciation and motivation for sanctification, doctrine, theology and holiness outside the fundamentalist camp and that was because the Gospel stripped away the heavy load and opened up a joy and a zeal that a man-made movement never could produce.  My sojourn through cultural fundamentalism that left me weary, frustrated and ready to throw in the towel, and it has only made the refreshment that came through the Gospel that much sweeter.

Some might accuse me of violating my mother’s reminder of the sage wisdom of Thumper’s mother.  I have strived to not mention specifically by name any church, pastor, leader or institution and I hope I have avoided any grossly unfair characterizations or derogatory statements.   Loyalists to the cause will likely dismiss some of this as what they perceive as unfair criticism.  You have that right, just as I have the right to share my observations.  The challenge for baby boomer generation of cultural fundamentalists is the need to address these issues they completely lose the next generation of believers.  Generation X, the Millennials and those that follow are not going to sit back quietly when they see these inconsistencies, and if they are shouted down or ignored they will simply walk away.  Cultural fundamentalist have the tendency to blame the parents of the younger generation for their lack of “respect” for the movement, but they conveniently forget that those parents were educated at Christian colleges which served as unsuspecting incubators for cultural fundamentalism in the first place.  My hope and prayer is that this loyalty to the subculture is not based solely on fear or because your livelihood would be jeopardized if you agreed with any of my comments.

Some are thinking why re-hash the past and what good can become of it?  The only way any of us can change for the better is if we are totally honest and have the humility to acknowledge our mistakes and make the necessary changes for the sake of the Gospel.  If your only take away from this essay is that I hate fundamentalism or fundamentalists or that I think it is completely devoid of any positive aspects then you have completely missed the point.  I continue to fellowship, worship and mingle with people who still embrace the label.   I can honestly tell you that I am NOT clamoring for the demise of fundamentalism or looking to separate from separatists.  Many who identify with the movement are my friends, neighbors and co-laborers for Christ.  All of these are people whom I love and appreciate and we can join together to cheer its progress and pray for its prosperity as it conforms to the image of Christ.  I will continue to pray for its pastors, leaders and para-church organizations.  But if the cost of allegiance to the subculture is silence rather than mutual accountability then we are in violation of scripture (I Thess. 5:21) and not showing love or discernment.

I share all of this to say that my discomfort with cultural fundamentalism stems from many things and not simply a difference of opinion of personal preferences and biblical application in the area of standards.  While I know that I share many if not all of these sins with the leaders and the constituency that makes up the fundamentalist subculture, it seems that there is a public denial that any of these issues exist or that they create barriers to the Gospel.  Worse yet, the appearance is that the movement itself doesn’t need to change but simply recycle the glory days of yesteryear while ignoring the bodies left in the wake.  As a matter of fact, cultural fundamentalists tend to make an idol of the past and long for those halcyon days.  In clinging or living in the past they fail to be totally effective ministering in the present.  Turnover in churches and consolidation into ministries of “like-minded” believers over preferences creates an even greater divide in the body of Christ and effectively weakens Christendom itself.   There seems to be a failure to recognize that these actions have been and continue to push people away from the Gospel they hold so dear.  It took a work of the Holy Spirit for me to have a Philippians 1:18 view of cultural fundamentalism, and to paraphrase Paul; whether it is preached in pretense, strife or in truth, I am just thankful that the movement proclaims Christ and in that I can and will rejoice.

But even though I can respect and rejoice, I cannot pledge my allegiance or align myself with a cultural fundamentalism that demands unquestioning agreement on non-theological issues or matters of personal liberty.  I am nearing the half century mark and I have the benefit of time to process my past and see how God used it all, both good and not so good for my personal and spiritual benefit.  Only in recent years has the movement begrudgingly acknowledged that it needs people like me, and seeks my support, my money and my time.  But it still only wants me on its own terms and that includes my silent acquiescence, and that is a price that the Gospel does not demand.  The label itself simply carries with it too much baggage, creates confusion and conjures up too many misconceptions about life in Christ.   I came to realize that fundamentalism needs me more than I need it.  I am not disenfranchised but simply disinterested in being taken captive again to empty deceit and human tradition, and that statement is not intended to sound arrogant or spiteful, but more of an epiphany in light of the Gospel.  It is a realization that the Gospel alone is sufficient to draw me toward life and godliness and I don’t need the label or the association with it to do that.  It is acknowledging and embracing that my true identity and joy is not found in a label, subculture or a movement, but in Christ alone.

 To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy.  Some will take umbrage with me for sharing these observations however Winston Churchill wisely said “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  Through the Gospel I can forgive but I don’t believe it is prudent to forget and act like these life experiences never happened.  Thankfully God can, has and will use this in my life to find my own blind spots and avoid some of the same pitfalls.  Can the Gospel survive without cultural fundamentalism?  Most assuredly, but cultural fundamentalism will not survive without the Gospel.  Until the subculture of the movement steps back and re-evaluates what is truly wheat and what is chaff, it will continue to bleed like Caesar on the floor of the Forum.  But rather than bleeding out from an attack by a bitter Brutus it will sadly suffer from its own self inflicted wounds.  If theological fundamentalists refuse to confront and hold cultural fundamentalists accountable the bleeding will continue.  It is my hope and prayer that its members will be resituated by the Great Physician with a new lease on life to being only about the fundamentals once again.

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." ~ Colossians 2:6-10

The Culture Club (part 1)

“Be patient till the last.  Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine honor, that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any in this  assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: --Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honor for his valor; and death for his ambition. Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.” ~ William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 2)

Right out of the gate I want to give previous visitors to my blog a heads up that the next two posts are not necessarily going to be devotional in nature.  I am deviating from the norm to discuss a topic that I have previous made fleeting comments about and that is the phenomenon I call cultural fundamentalism.  Recently I was asked to read “Four Views on The Spectrum of Evangelicalism” edited by Andrew Naselli and Collin Hansen which as title suggest defines and critiques four movements or labels within evangelical circles.  Admittedly I am not a fan of labels or categorization because I believe it serves to divide like minded believers more than unite, so I will state at the onset that my enthusiasm for discussing this is tempered by the fact that battle lines are quickly drawn when people think their camp is under attack.  It seems too much emotional capital is invested in the movement rather than the Gospel itself, and that gives me pause to even venture into these deep waters.   From my youth my parents and spiritual mentors never placed an emphasis on anything more than biblical truth and our adherence and obedience to it as the ultimate line of demarcation.   So I have never felt the need to carry the colors of a movement since I believe the Bible clearly teaches that my ultimate allegiance is to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  But since reading this book was going to require a small group discussion I felt the need to explain myself when pressed for an answer on where I stand on what I believe is a man-made spectrum, (the cultural aspect) that seems to really do more harm than good for the cause of Christ.

 It is difficult to approach any life experience without a jaded perspective, and we have to be careful about remembering only the good or bad.  It is our human nature to indefinitely hold a grudge or conveniently overlook the shortcoming of things we either despise or love.  So let me first start by saying I am not here to bury Caesar but to praise him.  If I am truly honest I have to admit I have personally benefited from my interaction and exposure to the best of fundamentalism.  But out of the gate the very term “fundamentalist” conjures up a different connotation for every one and there is no universal agreement on who is or isn’t one.  Because there is no universal agreement on what actually defines a fundamentalist, (e.g. in the Four Views book there are sixteen qualifiers), I have to limit this to only a sliver of the movement and also acknowledge this is based on the small cross section I have personally experienced while living in the southeast.    And I also want to clearly and unequivocally state that my personal experiences and observations do not define EVERY fundamentalist individually.

While living in the de factor ground zero of the movement and attending a local church, I did come to recognize my deplorable state and my need to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I can praise theological fundamentalism for the value it places on God honoring worship and godly living, as well as its desire to teach future generations to zealously hold to biblical truth.  And after living in the subculture for over two decades I can freely admit that it has been a positive influence in my life and that of my family.  It has served as a restraint in areas where I might otherwise have taken license and possibly become shipwrecked.  I respect and uphold its core doctrines and early roots as a necessary means to combat doctrinal error at a time when it was unfashionable to stand for anything.  The fundamentals are non-negotiable and because of the movement’s tireless and unyielding allegiance to those truths I will forever love, rejoice and honor it for its valor.  So let me reiterate that I hold theological fundamentalism in high esteem, but cultural fundamentalism is primarily what I want to address.  The truth of the matter is that it is not that I love fundamentalism less, but that I love the Gospel MORE!  And with that in mind I hope you will indulge me on why I do not find myself able to rally around the label or the movement.

Growing up in a first generation Christian home my family had a limited Christian heritage, and the traditions and preferences that we established were not passed down from a long line of saints in our family tree.  My grandparents and parents first heard the Gospel in an Independent Baptist church and my entire Christian life has been spent worshiping in Baptist churches.  Based on this background both the preferences and practical applications associated with fundamentalism were not totally foreign to me.  I never heard the word “Fundamentalism” or actually knew what it was until I attended college.  Growing up in the northeast I was only casually aware of it in the form of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC), but none of the churches I attended were paying members of the organization.  The churches I attended would share the GARBC literature and periodicals with their membership, but because we were not affiliated with the GARBC we did not “fellowship” with any of their constituency.  No one ever really explained to me why they would not play church softball in our league, attend our youth rallies or join us in county-wide soul-winning crusades.  I only vaguely remember comments about “separation” over issues of dress for women, but it was never really a hot topic of discussion.  We ignored them and they ignored us, and as a youth I was blissfully ignorant as to why.

My parents and my spiritual mentors were all true to the fundamentals.  We were taught biblical modesty and purity, and there was an emphasis on living a life that was honoring and pleasing to God.  We loved and sang the great hymns of the faith and our worship services were orderly and traditional in every sense of the word.  Bible study and memorization was encouraged and emphasized, and the churches supported the Christian school and camp movement.  I was the only main-line Protestant in my neighborhood and there was never any question that our family was unique or “set apart” among those in our community.  But we were not necessarily unique in the area of morality and family values since these types of issues were also very important to my Catholic, Methodist and Greek Orthodox friends and neighbors.  I knew the difference between our faiths and was taught that the Gospel was the only way of salvation, but these people were still our friends whom we loved and respected.  Many of these families still remain as life-long friends to both my parents and I.  We went to the movies together, had sleepovers, went camping and picnicked together.  There was never any call or demand to separate from them, but simply the encouragement to be respectful and to be salt and light.

My Christian upbringing was not saddled with what I would term excessive baggage, and for that I owe my parents a huge debt.  We went to the movies (G, PG, and PG-13), played sports on Sunday afternoons between church services,  our youth group activities included girls and guys swimming together, we played with face cards (Pinochle, Hearts, Canasta, etc.), listened to pop/rock on the radio and we went on un-chaperoned dates with fellow Christians.  The hair length of men or facial hair was not a major bone of contention to the vast majority, coats and ties in church were at your discretion and pants on women was not the norm, but also not taboo.  As a matter of fact, other than issues of modesty, I cannot ever once remember my parents or spiritual mentors complaining about how someone was dressed.  They were just happy they were in God’s house to worship with them.

 The Contemporary Christian Music or Jesus music started during my youth and it was viewed with raised eyebrows but with very little angst of being the ruination of Christendom.  After all country music, southern gospel and light pop was the norm so the vast majority looked at CCM as a take-it-or leave-it genre.  If you liked that style of music the general feeling was; good for you.  If not, it was no big deal.    All of this was normal for our Christian subculture but no one ever questioned if this was not in-line with conservative biblical standards.  Some people held to stronger convictions or even more conservative personal standards, but it was pretty much a live and let live type of mindset.  Typically no one ever questioned your spiritual cachet in any of these preferences and your standing with the community at large did not rise or fall on these applications or preferences.  People were not shunned or ostracized if they didn’t agree with you in any or all of these preferences, and these were not reasons people typically left a church to worship elsewhere.

 I share all this just as a backdrop to foreshadow my eventual surprise and confusion that many of these things became a matter of orthodoxy once I came under the sphere of influence of the fundamentalist subculture.  It is a culture that has the tendency to take “being my brother’s keeper” to an unhealthy, and at times, unbiblical extreme.    A culture that promotes the mindset that if you did not agree that these cultural applications were salient to determining ones wisdom and discernment then your spiritual birth certificate must be a forgery.  I wish I could say that in my experience this was the exception, but sadly it tended to be the rule.  Even worse yet, if your pastors, parents or spiritual mentors were soft on these areas then they were derelict in their duty and the inference was they couldn’t be trusted.  Imagine how perplexing it would be to a young adult to think that for their entire life they had been led astray by these trusted elders.  Imagine the difficulty that would arise when you went back home and alienated those who were once your friends and fellow parishioners because you were now “enlightened” about holy living and the proper means of sanctification.

You may be thinking that I am pointing to a discomfort with hyper-fundamentalism, and in some cases that is true.  However, the subculture as a whole seems to blur the Gospel and even at times consciously or unconsciously attempt to add to it.  But these things alone don’t fully capture my uneasiness with the movement.  I want to be fair so again, I want to reiterate that I am recounting my personal experience just as a point of reference.  I think it is also important to note that some of the things I mention are not unique to cultural fundamentalism or fundamentalist, and the movement has not cornered the market on these challenges.  But it is very telling when I discuss these things with fellow believers in other regions of the country they also express both surprise and sadness about what cultural fundamentalism deems so important that they devote precious time, energy and money “contending” for or worse yet, break fellowship with fellow Christians over.

Growing up my parents drilled into my head biblical truth combined with respect for my fellow image bearers (Imago Dei).  Racial slurs were not used in my home and ethnic stereo-types were not tolerated.  People were not denigrated based on their economic, social, religious, political or educational heritage.  I was reminded frequently of the advice given by Thumper’s mother in the movie Bambi; “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”  So people where not belittled if they smoked, drank or had tattoos.  We were simply told that as followers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we did not do these things because we felt it was our way to honor the temple of the Holy Spirit.  No morality or lack of spirituality was tied to these choices, they were simply that; a personal choice by each individual.  If we didn’t agree with a Christian leader in faith or practice it was discussed in private and they were not vilified from the pulpit or in the court of public opinion.  When someone in our church or family got out of line, it didn’t matter what their leadership position or standing, they got called on the carpet for it.

I have not found this to be the case when I entered the fundamentalist subculture.  It has been my experience that the leaders said or did what they wanted with impunity and no one confronted them.  What sticks out the most is the tendency to hold everyone outside the camp accountable, but no policing those within the camp for egregious statements or positions.  People have been bullied, cajoled and shamed into silence and are either too scared or too disinterested in tackling the problem, hence the flight of good brothers and sisters from the subculture.  The fruits of the Spirit seem to be shelved when fundamentalist pastors and leaders want to vent their spleen about people or groups that don’t match up with the subculture morally or politically.  If you do try to point out that a fundamentalist individual or organization is not acting in a Spirit-filled or Spirit-controlled manner than you are accused of being bitter, disrespectful, contentious, backslidden, or you have unconfessed sin in your life.  No doubt the problem is with you.  This dismissive attitude has its roots in pride and it is both callous and unloving.  It displays an unwillingness to accept any culpability, and is in fact not a biblical response.  I am willing to readily admit that some of the movements harshest and most strident critics can be saddled with some of these labels and in some cases it is true, but when this becomes the talking points for any and all who ask questions you quickly lose any spiritual or moral high ground.  They tell people who have been hurt or wronged that they just need to show some grace and forgive.  Rub some dirt on it…walk it off.  The movement conveniently forgets that that humanly speaking that is only half of the equation.  Trust has been lost and cannot be restored by simply forgiving and forgetting.  It needs to be earned and not demanded, and this process takes time.

Tomorrow I will continue to flesh out what led me to no longer identify with the cultural fundamentalist movement or embrace the label.

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." ~ Philippians 3:8-9