When I was a kid, I loved this song. At the age of ten, I thought it was a great song. I sang it in the shower. I sang it in the woods. I sang it at the dinner table – where I was informed that singing at the dinner table was rude and unacceptable. Believe it or not, I thought Carmen was a great singer.
The Foolishness of Children
Now at the age of thirty-one, listing to Blind Pilot, drinking an IPA, and missing my days of smoking Nat Sherman cigarettes, I realize what a fool I was to enjoy such pedestrian music, and what a douchebag Carmen really is. I should know. I’m co-founder of the #db4jc hash tag on twitter (if you can’t figure out that 1+1=2, then you’re a #db4jc too).
You see, as a young child I was too innocent. I can’t believe I enjoyed such culturally irrelevant music that condemned the prevailing culture in no uncertain terms – all in a stout Jersey accent to boot. There are two things clearly wrong with Carmen’s music:
- It doesn’t utilize pop-culture, pseudo poetic metaphors. It’s all brute force.
- He doesn’t have tattoos. (OK that’s not really a problem with his music, but just a personal problem.)
Clearly, Carmen isn’t, and never was, used by God. In fact, he’s doing Christianity a disservice – and he should be mocked for doing so.
Who’s Carmen?
Most likely you’re asking, “Who’s the Carmen fellow?” And if so, I’ll admit you’re lucky. My point is that as emerging, emergents, neo-calivinists, young reformers, or whatever buzzword you can find, we’re quickly becoming the young and the mocking. From where I sit, convicted too often of my own participation, our greatest weakness (and the possible cause of our future fall from grace) is our arrogance. And it’s not even an arrogance that’s rooted in solid theology – I’m well-aware of the oxymoronic subtleties of that statement – but instead on our cultural relevance. And you know what? That’s just silly.
Admit it. You’re Angry.
I think it’s time to come to terms with the fact that we’re pissed about having to watch TBN and giving up our He-Man toys (by the power of Greyskull? I think not! We live by the power of Jesus!) when our mom came home from the pentecostal church “saved” and ready to live her life for Jesus! Oh, wait…was I projecting?
Let’s face it, you probably have some sort of similar horror story about “uncool” evangelical Christianity crimping your style. And that’s cool. The Bible is full of Lamentations. There’s even a book by that name. But they were complaining about losing their homeland and watching their loved ones run through by a sword. But I’m sure your having to give the Chronicles of Narnia (evil Christian apologists!) back to your aunt on Christmas because it had witches is a modern equivalent. Wait…was I projecting again?!
Yeah. I’m a hypocrite.
By now you’re probably forming your argument that goes something like this, “If you’re so against mockery, why is this whole damn blog post full of it?” Good question. I guess the only answer is that it’s mostly self-mockery, and I’m a hypocrite. But does that make it untrue?
And I guess that’s the rub. I probably could have skipped this whole diatribe and simply quoted our good friend, St. Paul:
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:25-32
I’m Not a Hippie
So, where do we go from here? What exactly am I advocating? I’ll admit, this post was inspired by @_stew_’s (whom I actually think is a great man of God and a very interesting follow on twitter) series of salty tweets earlier this week (see examples here, here, and here), but mostly it was inspired by my own spirit of mocking at the Christian sub-culture. I’m truly convicted by my mocking spirit towards my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, people whom I’m called to love and serve with every fiber of my being. People who, if I’m honest with myself (as in the case of Carmen) actually were used by God in my own life and many others – even to this day.
So here’s what I’m saying, and what someone astutely said in response to @_stew_, let’s focus on tearing down the strongholds of sin in our culture, not the “irrelevance” of Christian sub-culture, and we will do just fine. Because at the end of the day, is it our delivery or the power of the Gospel as illuminated by the Holy Spirit that is the power to save?
Let’s move beyond the young and the mocking.
Grace and peace.