Hip Christianity has been around for a long time. In college, I used to walk past the hip evangelical Christian fellowship that met in the Student Union; they had the requisite praise band and pizza. I was part of the decidedly unhip ecumenical Christian gathering. Our budget didn't allow for pizza very often, and if a praise band showed up we would have probably asked if they knew How Great Thou Art. Our newsletter was (and I believe still is) prepared on a typewriter, pasted together, and published on whatever pastel paper was at the top of the heap. And not in an ironic way; the elderly secretary who'd been there for years simply preferred to do things the way she had since the 60s (save for the mimeograph; they did upgrade to a copier). We were also way, way smaller than the hipster groups.
It's a pattern I continue to encounter to this day. Yeah, there's more than enough unhip Joel Osteen type megachurches to go around, but there's also a ton of Generation X/Y ministries that are dripping with coolness. I finally got around to reading the NYT article about Mark Driscoll and his hipster version of Calvinism. A couple weeks ago I caught a piece called The Role of Design in Church Marketing, which is all about the preponderance of grungy elements in church branding. You know, to appeal to the cool kids. To show that being a a Jesus type doesn't mean being square.
I like good design. I respond to postmodern aesthetics. But I also cringe a bit when I encounter the hip church movement. I don't know if it's because I'm a cultural elephant when it comes to my church preferences, having grown up, trained, and served in churches that haven't changed much since the 60s. Or am I protective of the folks who aren't young and hip and keen on irony? Is adopting a hipster attitude and aesthetic the only way for a church to grow?
It makes me tired.
This makes me tired too. If you are an elephant, make room for me at the zoo.
ReplyDeletei have always gotten frustrated when the church lets what's considered culturally "cool" dictate who we are. isn't our message powerful enough? can't we be relavent without being indistinguishable from an alt. music concert or an abercrombie ad? is it really necessary for us to have a starbucks IN our sanctuary? (these things are more are often discussed at my church.)
ReplyDeletesigned,
a fellow elephant
oops, that was supposed to say "these things AND more..."
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the "hip church" movement doesn't owe part of its appeal to the fact that it is primarily church and therefore there is a message of belonging; anyone who chooses too join is (at least theoretically) welcome, but it is also hip. Ergo anyone who chooses to join can become hip. Rather appealing... (says the geeky seminarian)
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how it's possible to both be "hip" and preach the submission of women. I cannot put the pieces together on the Driscoll thing.
ReplyDeleteLove your line about "How Great Thou Art."
My wife calls them Happy Clappy Churches....
ReplyDeleteWe're going thru the Opening... Bible Study... She's leading it, so I need to be there... While I'm also comic relief it's incredible what I'm learning.
You should get a cover of Allison's So Much Grace that we covered at either offertory or prelude. It's an old recording, we recently covered it better, but it's still a blast. send me your email at Dave@theroseriverband.com
and I'll send you an mp3... Allison has approved this message and sharing. ;-)
Dave
1) hip. church.
ReplyDelete2) if you google the words "hip church" your blog is the first result. and though I really can't think of very many situations wherein one would google the words "hip church," I still think this is pretty cool.
♥zeus♥
I'm so with you on this Katherine. It's like they're afraid Jesus isn't cool enough for people. Which, perhaps, in their estimation, he isn't. He did "lose" after all. I'm guessing they're not very into that part. And I'm guessing he never wore hair gel. And then there's that "turning the other cheek" bit. Yeah, inasmuch as macho and cynical are what's hip, Jesus pretty much wasn't. And I bet he was nice to old people too!
ReplyDeleteWhen Christ talked to fishermen, he talked in fishing terms. He knew the people and he spoke in a way they could understand.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about being hip to be hip, it's about communicating in a way that people understand and engage in.
Bringing the gospel in a "hip" way doesn't make it any less holy, or mean the people bringing it love Jesus any less.
You jump to many conclusions and judge very quickly without engaging with them. I would encourage you to not fear a new way of doing church and instead explore it and see what you might learn from it. Keep your traditional churches, they're great and absolutely have their place...but there are other ways to show Christ.
i hear ya... elephat here too... i just learned that a young single mom who became very involved in the parish i served for the past six years, moderator of the reconstituted board of deacons, for example, (and a Presbyterian from chidhood) has "been called by God to..." a little church plant, non-denominational, very narrow-minded, but probably the closest thing to hip in that rural small town... i'm glad she feels called, glad she's happy, but... sad too.
ReplyDeleteelePHAT, that's funny. ha. you know what i mean.
ReplyDeletehey Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI'd hesitate to hold others you might think of as "hip churches" accountable to Marc Driscoll's Mars Hill example. It got some press, but there are def. critics of Driscoll's theological perspective. Don't know if you are acquainted with them or not, but I've been really impressed with such churches as Jacob's Well (KC), Solomon's Porch (Minneapolis), and Grand Rapids Mars Hill.
I think in those and other places you'll find real postmodernism behind the "postmodernism."
On the subject of Driscoll. This video sums up him: his tired old rigid dogmatism in a "hip" tshirt, and much comes through in his characterization of other "emergent streams." "We don't need to run them off the road." C'mon!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58fgkfS6E-0
Hip Church...
ReplyDeleteI am fairly certain that Mark, Doug, and Rob who are being categorized as "hip" would probably protest such thoughts. It sounds like Player Hating to me.
Here are my thoughts.
1.) Mark Driscoll...85% of him I ignore...15% of him is dead on. For me the dead on is this, he has a method of church engaging culture that works for me.
2.) Hip what is hip. Hip is a method. Is Latin and turning one's back to the laity hip? Why are not using KJV? The church changes its methods and message thorugh time to reach people for Jesus.
3.) Ultimately, my task is not to be hip in faith, but to be authtentic and true in faith. In my conversations with Driscoll, Pagitt, and Bell I sense they know that.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete