A New Kind of Old Christian
Not everyone should head for the hills of innovation. But some should.
Brian McLaren
January 1, 2005
I should have known I was asking for trouble when I titled my fourth book A New Kind of Christian (Jossey-Bass, 2001). It was a straight line for critic-comedians: "What we need isn't a new kind of Christian; we need an old kind of Christian." One critic reinforced his point by praising C. S. Lewis and Soren Kierkegaard for their virtuous unoriginality, contrasting them with "postmodern reformers" like me who, he suggested, seek newness and innovation for their own sake. On one thing we were agreed: nobody seems happy with the status quo Christian. But will a better alternative be found back or ahead? Or both? I sympathize with my critical friend's distaste for the latest new thing. The latest, greatest innovation always promises more than it delivers, and the cost of repeatedly raised-then-disappointed expectations isn't cheap, leading to cynicism, disillusionment, discouragement. The "burned over district" phenomenon, where yesterday's sites of revival become today's regions of persistent spiritual hardness, shows that hype's short-term shallow gains leave deep losses long-term. Our whole nation may someday be such a district. Another critical friend recently quoted the "old kind of Christian" line to me, and feeling spunky, I replied, "Which old kind of Christian are you recommending? A.D. 33 Judean? Fourth century Greek? Sixteenth century German? Seventeenth century Dutch?" His fascinating response was that he felt the Celts, St. Francis, and William Wilberforce exemplified the old kind of Christians he hoped for. "I've never heard anyone put those three examples together in the same sentence before," I replied, "but I quite like the image of a Celtic, Franciscan Wilberforce. It strikes me that an old kind of Christian ...
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