down south
this weekend my family and i travelled to birmingham, alabama. it was definitely an experience. my sister goes to school at samford university and its a bubble. i say this not in critical manner (although, it could be said in that manner) , but rather from an observatory stance.
i graduated from taylor university in fort wayne. definitely conservative. definitely in a bubble. i know the effects of living a bubble. as much as our administration railed against this bubble, it was the case. very rarely, if ever, were we presented to viewpoints different than those that were considered the norm.
i remember once that it happened. my freshman year. a guy who came for our spiritual renewal week made a comment about divorce, and the campus was in an uproar. he said that in a divorce that there needed to be more concern shown for kids. that we couldn't forget how the children were affected by a divorce. everyone took it as his ringing endorsement of divorce. don't hold me to this. i slept through most of spiritual renewal week, so maybe i missed something.
back to my point.
these students at samford are not presented with different viewpoints, different perspectives, different lifestyles, UNLESS they seek them out. the same was true at Taylor. the biggest concern was what happened the night before to mike and jill and why they weren't together anymore and if the circle of friends would continue despite this monumental occurance.
as i am now out in the world, out from the conservative bubble that i was educated in, i am learning how much the world is different than where i had been for the past 4 years.
those who have ventured out from this bubble, worked with inner city kids every summer, travelled abroad, work in decidedly non-christian environments, i applaud you. way to go. engaging our culture is a paramount step in sharing the love of Christ to a world that needs it so badly.
i say all this, knowing that i could be, and am probably wrong. these are just my thoughts.
peace
i graduated from taylor university in fort wayne. definitely conservative. definitely in a bubble. i know the effects of living a bubble. as much as our administration railed against this bubble, it was the case. very rarely, if ever, were we presented to viewpoints different than those that were considered the norm.
i remember once that it happened. my freshman year. a guy who came for our spiritual renewal week made a comment about divorce, and the campus was in an uproar. he said that in a divorce that there needed to be more concern shown for kids. that we couldn't forget how the children were affected by a divorce. everyone took it as his ringing endorsement of divorce. don't hold me to this. i slept through most of spiritual renewal week, so maybe i missed something.
back to my point.
these students at samford are not presented with different viewpoints, different perspectives, different lifestyles, UNLESS they seek them out. the same was true at Taylor. the biggest concern was what happened the night before to mike and jill and why they weren't together anymore and if the circle of friends would continue despite this monumental occurance.
as i am now out in the world, out from the conservative bubble that i was educated in, i am learning how much the world is different than where i had been for the past 4 years.
those who have ventured out from this bubble, worked with inner city kids every summer, travelled abroad, work in decidedly non-christian environments, i applaud you. way to go. engaging our culture is a paramount step in sharing the love of Christ to a world that needs it so badly.
i say all this, knowing that i could be, and am probably wrong. these are just my thoughts.
peace
posted by marcelliott at 6:52 PM
3 Comments:
Marc, great thoughts in your first post.
People forget that when we socialize people in a controlled environment...emphasis on the concept of control...you create dependent people.
Dependent people band together in gathering spaces (read: churches) that help them preserve some sense of the "bubble" while they have to live in the big, bad, ugly, evil world.
Then these groups of dependent people send their children, and their money, to the bubbles and the cycle begins again.
The funny thing is that most of the people that gather in "bubble" churches, etc. have already fully invested in the system of the world--materialism, consumerism, pursuit of leisure, etc.--they just don't talk about it.
One of the hardest things in the world is to get church folk to be honest...
we have images to maintain and reputations to uphold...
those things are just little "bubbles" inside the bigger "bubble".
When you describe the social setting of the college where the primary social discourse is about dating conditions, is it any wonder Xians aren't really known for their intellectual engagement and depth?
At the end of the day...
aren't we really happy in our bubbles?...they are comforting.
just some ramblings...
its interesting how we feel like an outsider sometimes in the world when that is exactly how so many people may feel when step inside the doors of the church. but eileen, we should guard ourselves against being naive.
perhaps at some point we all need to be sheltered to some degree, but more and more i'm moving away from that idea. when we are protected like we DO become dependent on that security we find in one another, and while that may promote and develop personal growth, does it develop community growth? Hows does a bubble allow us to be missional, except for on spring break?
and jessie, i think you make an excellent point on how we basically take Christ's love for granted. Because this is the environment that we grew up in, we always knew it was there. So its easy for something that is meant to be revolutionary to turn into something that we use to pacify and justify our beliefs.
not that i haven't done it. i have. i try not to.
but we can't forget what it means to be ultimately accepted by Christ is not something everyone has experienced or experienced in a wrong way.
will we accept the responsibility to do our part to discontinue the cycle of bubble living?
will we be honest about our mistakes, not just personal (although important), but as well as those mistakes we have made as a community of believers?
but we do like our bubbles.
i hate that.
The problem with a "bubble" as a way of life is that it betrays the very root source of our identity as Xians. The very heart and essence of Xian living is to be "others focused".
The measure of our relationship with God IS our relationships with human beings. That's a big deal that most Xians haven't or don't want to unpack.
Other groups are exclusive...but those groups don't have at their root any claims about reality, God, human living, etc. that flow out of radical inclusion.
Jesus threatened people with radical acceptance.
Now.
When we talk about being able to focus on God, etc. YES. Solitude and directed times of "retreat" for lack of a better word are not only beneficial, but should be part of our arsenal of "spiritual disciplines". Those disciplines are rooted in shaping us into the image of Christ so that we can fully participate in the missio dei--the mission of God--in the human experience. It is not a shaping that is for our own benefit.
Are some bubbles really cocoons that let a person grow and be nurtured to prepare? Yes.
The problem is that it seems a ton of Xians would rather stay in the cocoon or at least fly around in a special Jesus cage with all the other pretty butterflys, because it's nicer than being released into the world to share your beauty, your witness of transformation that is seen by your very existence, but run the risk of being eaten by birds or caught in the hands of a child and have your wings damaged...
hmmmm...
I can say this...
Yes, God has a different direction/story for alot of his kids. But NONE of those stories can be divorced from mission and rooted in self-preservation.
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