Bubble Theology
May 8th, 2008 by Sam
I once took a class where a well-known pastor lectured for one of the sessions. He was a ‘rising star’ amongst Evangelicals and was even listed in Christianity Today as one of the upcoming influential voices of the 21st century. His dress and demeanor was generally non-descript. He wore shorts (it was a summer session) and t-shirt. He was generally a hip, cool, young pastor. He began the class with a devotion…from the Buddhist Scriptures. His logic behind it was that even though this piece of literature was not Christian, in our reflections on God, He could use it to make us think of Him. Following the devotion, he began to share his deep longing for more of the church to ‘get it,’ especially when it came to reaching the lost. This was also the time when the first Matrix movie came out and of course, he made plenty of references to Neo. There was no doubt that he was sincere and authentic in his desire to care for the lost. Tears flooded his eyes when he shared how much God was moving him to care for ‘unreached’ Christians in his neighborhood.
In a later personal conversation I had with him, I asked him about the doctrinal convictions he once held (he had graduated from a conservative seminary). He explained to me that while those were important, what was more important was caring about the lost, and so those doctrinal convictions would take a lesser priority. Today, he leads a ‘successful’ church where their perspective on worship and culture has truly merged together in various ways. Many people attend for all sorts of reasons. When I talk with different members of his church, one couple noted that though their worship does not suit their taste (they’re not as hip as the church is), they go because of the children’s ministry. They are not involved in anything at the church. Another family I know that goes to that church continually languishes over the church’s lack of doctrinal concern, and yet they stay because it’s close to their home and convenient.
It strikes me that though the church and its community strive to be cool, hip, and culturally relevant, so many people who attend the church still have the same hang-ups as those who go to more ‘stodgy’, stiff, and culturally irrelevant churches.
These thoughts come time mind as I read Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s book Why I Am Not Emergent. In referring to emergent speaker/thinker Tony Jones, Kluck says:
Tony Jones doesn’t look as ‘emergent-y’ as I might have expected, if what I might have expected might have been frosted tips, hipster glasses, and torn Levis. He has a good deal of charisma, once he gets going, and I counted one reference to Saturday Night Live, one reference to Desperate Housewives, the obligatory Matrix shout-out, two references to 24, and several references to Moby during the first hour of the class. (p. 226)
His description of Tony Jones seemed strangely familiar. But it was this phrase that had a haunting ring to it:
And he even apologizes for the next statement before he makes it, admitting the fact that what he is about to say could come off as a little cliché: ‘Truth is not a destination,’ he says, ‘Truth is actually a journey.’…Jones adds: “I find most theology boring. I want to do my own theology…I don’t want to be an acolyte for somebody else’s theology. I’m interested in reading French sociology, postmodern deconstruction, things like that. And then have a theology that bubbles out of that.” (p. 227)
A theology that bubbles out of French sociology and postmodern deconstructionism? I wonder what theology that leads to? This is what the church is facing today. How will the church respond to? Will we respond with bubble theology?
