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| Dr. Jared Champion |
A few years ago, I had the privilege of sharing a
post-funeral dinner with a small group of truly remarkable and uniquely
fascinating people. Our overlapping backgrounds intersected more acutely than could
be explained by our tangential relationships to the same small handful of lives
(a handful recently diminished by a count of one). As we commemorated and
commiserated, I recognized other mutual influences as well. Around that life
which we celebrated and mourned, some exceptionally meaningful events in my
life had been centered. Perhaps that heightened the impact of those
conversations, the stories told, and the bonds I felt, some renewed and others
newly established. But I have cherished the memory of that evening, and the
privilege of being included in it, ever since.
Most of these whom I admire so greatly are scattered
inconveniently throughout the northern half of California, and the most
academically-focused of them is even less accessible, serving as an assistant
professor near the far diagonal corner of these United States. Few of them even
post as regularly to Facebook as I’d like. When they do, though, it is a treat.
As one who finds that being a theologically-conservative Evangelical requires
what many consider to be socially, politically, and especially economically
liberal positions, when the academic in question chooses to post, I find it both
thoughtful and thought-provoking and thus especially welcome.
And now he has a blog.
As a way of introducing you to it, and engaging in the “constructive
discourse” Jared Champion invites in his first post, I’ll start with a quick
commentary on the twelve recommendations he makes for correcting the image
problem we face in “mainstream Christianity” (by which he means Evangelicalism,
not “mainline” denominations). He offers them to us as a way to “clean up their
image without sacrificing their core beliefs.” I hope that in taking issue with
some of his points, the bulge between my bicuspids will be evident. (Impressed
by my own cleverness, I’m leaving that last phrase in. But for the sake of
clarity: “Please take the following ‘corrections’ of Dr. Champion’s
recommendations as being ‘tongue in cheek.’”)
Dr. Champion begins by suggesting that we in mainstream
Christianity “Stop focusing on rules, start focusing on joy.” I could not
disagree more. But rather than focusing on any number of rules that we presume
to apply to others, there are rules we would find exceptionally helpful if we
understood that they undergird anything remotely resembling the joy of knowing that
we are in the process of finding, fulfilling, and finding our fulfillment as we
are restored toward the image and likeness of a holy God (Genesis 1:27;
Ephesians 2:10). There are, in Jesus’ words, two parts to the single great
commandment (In Matthew 22:36-40, when Jesus says the second is “like” the
first, it is not a comparison of similar statements, but a statement of the same
character and substance as the first). To love the Lord our God with all our
heart, mind, soul and strength cannot but include loving our neighbor, every
neighbor, as we love ourselves. Even the most arcane regulations of scripture,
dismissed as being anachronistic at best, serve to bring about the fulfillment
on which joy depends—if our joy is anything like that of Jesus.
The second recommendation, “Abandon the victim-narrative,”
is already practiced ubiquitously among Evangelicals. Not that Dr. Champion is
mistaken about the simpering whine that emanates from those for whom the joy of
the Lord should be their strength. But most Evangelicals are immersed in not
only their religious privilege but white privilege, militarized privilege, and
socio-economic privilege as well. The result is that anytime we encounter the
narratives of victims, those oppressed, exploited, dehumanized and destroyed by
our avaricious luxury, we abandon the conversation, the community, and any
individual person in need. “They deserve their fate,” some claim. Other believe
“it’s all about the drug abuse” or “the promiscuity” or “laziness” or “fast
food” or “public schools,” etc. And so we allow the prevailing fantasy to
continue: “They can stop being poor anytime they choose.”
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| Thankful for the opportunity to do more "theology in community." |
I would enjoy pursuing the other ten recommendations with
similar ironies and absurdities. And I believe it could be done entertainingly
enough to warrant reading an extra thousand words or so. But I want to be sure
my point is not lost in the process. So, here it is: Dr. Champion comes to many
of the same conclusions I do. But how can that be? In confronting the “message
of anger, intolerance, and fear” evident in mainstream Christianity, he
identifies himself with the “progressive Christians” who show “patient grace,
unwavering love, and critical engagement.” I identify myself (frequently with
reluctance, I admit) as a theologically-conservative Evangelical and as one, I
must admit, I do frequently express “anger, intolerance, and fear,” and am impatient, ungracious, and inconsistent in my love for those with whom I
critically engage.
Why? Well, that deserves its own post. Tune in to part two
for more, and be sure to check out Dr. Champion’s blog in the meantime! You can
find it here.
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