in culture shock: is America and the church in America in culture shock?

Hubby and I are currently preparing to make a geographical shift for our family.  So we are studying some things, taking classes on some new things, talking about things. One of the articles I had to read this morning, included this diagram:

This diagram shows the stages of passing through culture shock when you move to a new country.  At first, you love it! Everything about it: The food, the smells, the music... and you want to stay forever! 

A little later, you hate it all: Why do these people have to smell so weird? Why do they eat these gross things? And good Lord, why do they play their music so loud on holidays???? ... and you just want to go home. 

Eventually, you learn to love both: I still miss pizza on Friday nights, but man do i love these kebabs. 

As I thought more about this diagram, I wondered if I could apply it to Christian life and/or American culture as a way to help explain the division going on right now. If Culture Shock, by definition, is the disorientation of discovering that all the cultural patterns you have learned are now meaningless, then we got a whole lot of people going through a whole lot of culture shock. 

Okay, Boomer

Imagine you were born in the 1940s or 1950s or even the 1960s...  You didn't have cell phones... or computers... or internet... or maybe not even a TV and you had a very specific way of thinking about our country. Now, all of a sudden, people don't write letters anymore. Nobody wants to use cursive. What the hell is common core? and why do we have to be so "politically correct all the time!" CULTURE SHOCK. 

All the cultural patterns that Boomers thought they knew, are no longer relevant. So if an "old person" around you is "stuck in the good old days" and complains that "we didn't have to think so much about insulting people," they are stuck in the "trough of culture shock." (see diagram above) They are uncomfortable, nothing is familiar, and they just want to go home. 

Maskers vs. Anti-Maskers

You know that friend who is like, "Freedom! I'm not wearing a mask." or that friend who is like, "I don't care if the numbers are down, I'm protecting me and mine."? I'm wondering if maybe they're both in culture shock. 

The "Anti-maskers" are remembering the days before the pandemic. They remember how they didn't have to wear masks in schools. They're remembering when they could go where they wanted and have unrestricted access to most things. They want to "get back to normal"... when America was "better and stronger" than the rest of the world and independence and "personal freedoms" were the highest values.  It's super hard to move through this culture shock and into the realization that expectations of your community matter and America is just as vulnerable as every other country in the world. 

And those of us who are "Maskers," well, right now we're terrified because we adjusted to this "new normal" and now people are telling us it's okay to try something new again. We see the waves and we think," no, I'll just stay home where it's safe and wait until something else comes next." We are trying to keep ourselves safe from the coming culture shock of what a "post-epidemic" society will look like. 

Christianity

So here's the things about Christianity... to be a Christian is to be "bicultural." Jesus said this himself in John 17:11-15. (the often quoted "in the world but not of the world" passage.) So to be a Christian is to live in a world where there will always be something within the culture that "just doesn't sit right with you." There will always be things that make you think "Oh, Jesus, please come back soon" or "what everybody needs is the gospel." [Side note: if you can't think of anything within your current cultural context that doesn't evoke this kind of reaction, then maybe you should take a little time to talk to the Holy Spirit about that.] However, I think that being "in the world but not of it" means that we have reached the "adjusted bicultural person" peak from the above chart. If all we do all day is sit around in our culture shock and talk about Heaven, then we're not obeying Jesus. If our answer to everything is "people just need the gospel," then we're not obeying Jesus. [Yes, life in Jesus is the best and most abundant life. But even that life looks different in different cultures. So you need to be an "adjusted bicultural person" so people can see how Jesus is culturally relevant.] 

Grace.  I guess my conclusion here, is grace. We need to give space for grace. 

When that "Boomer" starts going on and on about how great things used to be, let's show grace and figure out how we can give them space to grieve the "cultural home" they miss, listen to their stories and help them figure out how to adjust to this new culture. 

When that "anti-masker" starts talking about freedom or that "masker" starts giving you data, let's show a little grace and give them space to talk about their fears and worries. And let's help each other move to this "new space" where the pandemic is, in fact, a real thing that happened to our country, a healthcare problem became a political fight, we have brilliant scientists and health care professionals, democracy wins, a lot of people (on both sides of the aisle) put too much trust in politicians and not enough in themselves... and we've discovered that we're just as vulnerable as every other country in the world to teeny, tiny microbes.  

And when that Christian brother or sister starts talking about "this is the way the church has always done it" or "God is love" or "Deconstruction"... let's give grace. It's rough trying to figure out how to love Jesus and be culturally relevant in a way that other people see Jesus, too. The Bible doesn't talk about TVs or cell phones or the internet or pandemics. It says "love your neighbor" but there weren't ~8 billion "neighbors" in the world. And, let's be real, unless you're living in an ancient society, reading the Bible in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic, then it was translated by people who are trying to figure out how to relate culturally specific ancient ideas to modern metaphors. Let's give grace and help each other navigate that CULTURE SHOCK curve as we try to figure out how to be "adjusted bicultural people" who love Jesus so we can help other people fall in love with Jesus. 

(graph taken from Cultural Anthropology by Paul Hiebert... https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/points.htm)

(image taken from https://ois.usc.edu/culture-shock-shakes-things-up-for-new-students/)

in a "Christian" store

 I had a panic attack at Hobby Lobby the other day. Worship music playing over the loud speakers... FOUR aisles of Easter stuff... eggs and bunnies mixed in with crosses and crucifixes... and a healthy dose of "God Bless America" mixed right in... and suddenly it was hard to breathe and I wanted to curl into a ball and cry. 

It could have been the fact that I was shopping an over-whelming store with a three year old... "Don't touch that... Please stay with me... Yes, you have to hold my hand... Please don't shout at me..." Or it could have been a visceral reaction to the cancer of consumerism that has been infecting American Christianity for decades.  

If something is labeled "Christian" or has the phrase "I love Jesus" somehow attached to it, we consume it with ferocity. Rarely do we take the time to discern if it's actually worthy of consumption or healthy to be consumed. We accept it because it claims to be "one of us" and we feel grateful that we can consume it without fear that our souls will be tainted by it. We are elated that we can shop without thought, support without discernment, consume with abandon. 

But this in not how God made us! He gave us brains to think, souls to discern and bodies with limits. Are we still being "meek as sheep and wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16)" if we support and consume without first asking God if we should? 

God has shown us what is good... to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). Have I taken the time to research Hobby Lobby's supply lines to find out if their factories treat their workers justly and with mercy? 

I have not.

I did with Wal-mart... which is why I tend to shop more at Target.  

But I didn't with Hobby Lobby. I just made assumptions based on the worship music over the loud speakers and the "CLOSED on Sunday" sign on the door. If I dig a little deeper will I find that this store is still worth supporting? 

At the same time, I'm NOT saying that the reverse is true.. that just because it's "Christian" means it's bad. I AM saying that we need to use our brains to think and our souls to discern. if something is good based on its quality and character, then let's call it GOOD. But if something is bad based on its quality and character, then let's call it BAD and not pretend that it's good just because it's "Christian." LET'S JUST BE HONEST ABOUT THINGS. 

Honest: I would like to support Chick-fil-a because they are a Christian company, but I don't eat there because I don't like their chicken. 

Dishonest:What? You don't like the chicken? Then go get french fries! We have to do everything we can to support this business because it's Christian and they observe the sabbath. 

 

Honest: The film production quality is still really rough BUT I support their vision so I'm going to see the movie and support the company so they can improve. 

Dishonest: Let's sell out this theatre because it's a Christian movie! 

 

God gave us brains to think, souls to discern and bodies with limits. Let's honor Him by making wise decisions about what we consume, how we consume it and when we've had enough. 

Is there anything that you have, without thought, called "good" because it's "Christian"? is there anything that you have called "bad" because it's not?  

in America: Why I am Grateful for this Country but can no longer say the pledge of allegiance

So here it is, Memorial Day. We're at the beach and Husband has the boys in the sand and the Toddler is taking a nap here in the condo so I'm taking a minute to write down some thoughts about my Passport country and why I can't say the Pledge of Allegiance anymore.

I know, I know. I should just post a picture of the flag and say how grateful I am for the troops and Go America! and all that. But I've been thinking a lot about this lately and I figured now is the time to process out loud. or something.

Here's my picture... And I am grateful for the troops... But I'll get to that later.

So the Pledge of Allegiance. First of all, let me say I'm sorry to my friend, L, who, years and years ago, stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance. And I was all like, "Ack! Are you serious? Where's your patriotism?" But she was right. God doesn't call us to be patriots or nationalists. He calls us to be Citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20) and to live peacefully with the people around us so that we will be a blessing to them (Zechariah). Like the story of Naaman and the Servant Girl. (1 Kings 5) Like the story of Joseph in Egypt (Gen 39 and 41). But the Bible is also filled with stories of people who were NOT good citizens... who blatently ignored the laws of the Land: like Daniel (Daniel 6) ; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3); Rahab (Joshua 2). In our current view, it's easy to see them as Heros of the Faith who stood up for God and refused to compromise on their beliefs. But, in reality, they were criminals. They broke the law, they defied decrees, they lied to the King. In fact, the wise men who were setting up Daniel knew that the only way they could catch him out was to put conflict between the law of the land and the Law of God (Daniel 6:5). So that's why I can't say the Pledge of Allegiance... I can't "pledge allegiance to the flag and the United States of America." Because I've already pledged allegiance to GOD (Father, Son and Holy Spirit.) And when the Law of God comes into conflict with the Laws of the United States of America, then I will be a criminal and a law breaker.

Within the history of the United States, Christianity, as a religion, has enjoyed certain perks. There has been prayer in schools, "See You at the Pole" events, an opening prayer for a Congressional session...  For goodness sake, even some of our Presidents use a Bible while taking the Oath of Office! (Not all of them, though... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_office_of_the_President_of_the_United_States#Use_of_Bibles ) But, we are NOT a Christian nation. Our Constitution doesn't make Christianity the official religion. We are, in fact, a pluralist nation. It's the First Amendment!! (Believe it or not, Freedom of Religion comes before Freedom of Speech, in fact.) But I will not take this privilege for granted. I will not use it to pretend that this is a Christian nation. I want to remain keenly aware that I am a sojourner here... and as such, it is my responsibility to use what privilege I have to bring blessing, be a peace maker (Not a peace keeper, mind you), to use my voice to support those with less privilege, and to support others who are also sojourners in this land.

But I refuse to take this privileged position for granted. So I cannot pledge allegiance. But I am grateful.
Grateful for this nation where, as a woman, I still had the opportunity to pursue education.
Grateful that I can openly celebrate Christmas and Easter without fear of retribution or imprisonment.
Grateful that I can travel wherever I want, whenever I want.
Grateful that I can march, protest, write a letter to a lawmaker, have a voice in politics. (Although, as a moderate, it's a quiet voice in a sea of extreme noise, but that's another post for another time.)
Grateful that this nation still maintains a deep sense of Justice. (I believe every culture shows some aspect of the Kingdom of God... and I believe this is America's.)

*Side note: I know, Justice is a hard word for us right now... when racism is still so prevalent, especially within the Judicial system; when the gap between the rich and the poor is wide and uncrossable; when people are dying from easily medicated diseases because they can't afford the prescription. But if we didn't believe in Justice, then we wouldn't care. We wouldn't have a riot when another black life is lost to a "routine police investigation." We wouldn't fight to overturn court decisions... we wouldn't even appeal! We wouldn't throw up our hands and say, "WTF?" when a city poisons half its population with contaminated drinking water. In all these cases, if we didn't care about Justice, we would say, "Meh. Stuff happens."*

and I'm grateful to the men and woman who are willing to stand in the gap and serve in the military. I've had the privilege to know and have conversations with some Army Chaplains. One I recently had with the Chaplain at our local veteran's center, concerned how he spends most of his time. He said there was always the weekly church service, but most of his time was spent counseling the men and women who were serving. Giving them a place to talk about, vent, and examine the choices that they were making: how serving in the military and obeying the commandment "Thou Shalt not Kill" seemed impossible.  (This American Life also had a similar interview on their show "10 Commandments".) After this conversation, I realized, it has been fairly easy for me to obey that commandment. I have never experienced anything that has put me in the position of needing to defend myself to the death. I have needed to physically defend myself, to verbally defend myself, and to intellectually defend myself. But I haven't experienced anything that required me to kill someone else to keep myself or my family safe. But there are people who have. And I know that there is a pacifist conversation going on right now.  (And before you roll your eyes, even pacifists had a role during WWII: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Public_Service) And I support that conversation. But the bottom-line is, somebody had to stop Hitler. He rolled right over most of Europe until a tiny, little island in the middle of the Atlantic stood up and said, "No more. No further." And they fought with everything they had. And when the US military joined the fight, it took a spectacular loss of life to stop the tragic extermination that was occurring. Someone had to stand up, hold a weapon, and say stop. Someone had to weigh the brutality of the concentration camps against the life of the soldier in front of him. Someone had to stand in that gap between "Thou Shalt not Kill" and "Rescue those being lead away to death (Proverbs 24:11)."  And I want to say Thank You. Thank you for standing in that gap. To my cousins, my grandfathers, my friends, my former students: Thank you.