Bob's Blog

Never heard of this term before? A little strange putting these two words together. Kind of like combining "Cubs" and "winning" as one. That seems even more of an oxymoron. Well, no need to look for it in Webster or Google the term, you can just buy the book by Brett McCraken called hipster christianity. Brett is a self described hipster who happens to be a Christian. Hipster is a term pretty close to "cool" but is better understood in the context of a subculture. According to Brett's definition, hipster is seen as "fashionable, young, independent-minded, contrarian." It is a growing subculture among mostly white, middle/upper class, educated young Christians, that doctrinally sways from Reformed to Emergent, and congregate around Christian colleges in urban centers.

What's important to know about this group is the impact they are having on new and younger urban churches. Some of our fastest growing and largest churches in America would be consider hipster churches (RockHarbor, Mosaic, both Mars Hill churches, and others in this vain). Culturally, hipster Christians are no different then others who run in this group. They are passionate about the arts, love fashion (think "skinny" jeans), indulge in drinking and taking the occasional drag from a cigarette, indie music (Jars of Clay is playing in my office as I write this), and somewhat active concerning social issues. Add Jesus to the mix and you have Christian Hipsters.

The book begins by taking us through a history of "hip" that at times leaves you to wonder where he is going, but eventually he zeroes in on his point. And what exactly is that point? The question of whether or not Christians could be or should be hip? The book centers around the Church's crisis of defining who we are (identity) and of how much should we as Christians be relevant to the culture we live in. McCraken, with a keen and thoughtful insight into a world of young culturally sensitive Christians (he is in his twenties), hashes out the problems and struggles of a modern Church trying to connect to a generation who lives in relevancy. You might be surprised in the direction he takes you as he evaluates his generation, church culture (both modern and postmodern), our search (the Church) for significance in the 21st century, and his answers to the questions he raises.

A great read for those of us who are interested in His Church. It's nearly 250 pages but I read it in three days, and that's including taking breaks listening to Over the Rhine and Bob Dylan. In a time when our country is going through so much upheaval, we as His Body and Bride can be pointing to a Hope that will never fade. Or as Brett would put it,"True relevance...does not fear unpopularity. Because it clings to eternal truths, relevant Christianity doesn't hurt when people don't smile and nod affirmingly at everything it says. It doesn't flinch when accused of being "out of the loop" or "behind the times." Accusing something eternal of being behind the times is, of course, laughable." And that makes me smile.