Between Christian GEEKS and Christian CHIC

Pendulums tend to swing from one extreme to another. We see this in the life of the American church. In particular I have observed the tendency of many to go to one extreme or another in their personal walk with Christ. On the one hand you have what I would call the Christian Geeks. These are the folks who truly love Jesus and generally love people, sometimes lost people. Some characteristics:
–They are thankfully very loyal to their local church or parachurch group and know every mantra related to them
–They do not understand why Chris Tomlin is not your most played artist on your ipod
–They have a Christian tee shirt for every occasion
–They have all the Sunday School answers down from how to be saved to how to make moral decisions to how to find the will of God for your life, and they will tell you
–They have learned the Christian subcultural lifestyle is the one for them
Now I am not saying folks like that are all bad. I happen to like several of Chris Tomlin’s songs and have been encouraged by them. I have a closet full of Christian tees. I have been to Sunday school all my life and know most of the big answers. The problem I have is this:
We use the term “geek” to refer to someone who does not fit in. I am not endorsing the term but I am recognizing its use. I fear too many believers, including many young people raised in church, act like Christian geeks when around people not like us. They find it hard to understand or even to care for hardcore lost people. It is much easier to pass judgment than to become involved in someone’s life, after all.
But the pendulum swings yet another way. On the other extreme we have the Christian CHIC, those who are:
–so cool they amaze themselves at their cultural awareness
–more comfortable talking about pop music or pop culture or displaying their piercings than boldly proclaiming the great news of the gospel
–genuinely interested in communicating with the culture of today, but swing so far in that direction that they, intentionally or unintentionally, tend to forget to talk about the wonder of a God who would call us to die to ourselves to be His slave. In other words, they would rather display their cultural savvy than speak of their Savior
–quick to celebrate their freedom, but not so quick to affirm standards (“rules” tends to be a naughty word). They forget freedom in Christ means not freedom to do anything, but to do the right thing.
By the way I am not anti-piercings. A guy in the band who travels with me has them. Not a problem. But he also knows he goes to some places where wearing them at some churches would be a distraction, so he removes them without a problem.
If you are on the Geek extreme you expect people to be like you, and that tends toward the sin of the Pharisees. The ironic thing is that the Chic on the other side suffer from the same problem. If you are not as cool as they are you are missing out. Uh, no.
I don’t have to dress like a teenager to talk to them. I actually do better when I am who I am, a minister of the gospel and a father. On the other hand, it actually helps to realize that one can find good art in music not necessarily playing on KLove, and good literature beyond so called “Christian fiction” in our Christian bookstores. By the way have you read some church signs lately? Geekism on parade.
One can be a thoughtful Christ follower and be both committed to the best of one’s heritage and be culturally aware at the same time. I am sure I fail more than I am successful. But I will try to walk with Jesus and be a disciple not a clone. I will avoid as best I can being a Christian Geek who gives pithy little church answers to people who just don’t get us, reinforcing their confusion. And I will try to avoid the temptation to be Christian Chic, jumping on every new bandwagon that comes along in the name of being relevant. I would actually rather be significant than relevant.
Jesus was full of grace and truth. To avoid these extremes, so should we.