Observations from a Midwesterner Living in the Bible Belt:
Bible Belt: an informal term for an area of the Southern United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is extremely high.
Christians talk often of their desire for Christianity to have more of a presence in their life and acceptance in their culture. We want this because we want comfort and if our norm is THE norm, then we will be comfortable.
I live in a town now where I can listen to David Crowder* Band while I sit and eat at Taco Bell. K-Love is played over the speakers at other hot spots like Wal-Mart, gas stations, and clothing stores. No one around here feels disrespected by the lyrics or the fact that it is being played in a public setting. On a more significant scale, there is a much greater level of openness to discussing faith and God by children, youth, and adults alike. It is not awkward or unusual...at all. It is also the norm to attend church; it seems that everyone does it. Restaurants after noon on Sunday are filled with slacks-wearing men and skirt-wearing women. Christianity, it seems, has such an influence down here. It's like a Biblical utopia. But maybe not, I'm not quite sure.
That's why I'm writing this post. I've been chewing on these thoughts for a few weeks and been working on the wording of this post for over a week; then, today at church, the man leading our Sunday School class shared the conviction he was under after returning from a week long mission trip to Montana. And I found my observations affirmed and solidified. The small group he was with went to Montana with the rationale that "their[the people of Montana] faith is not as far along up there as ours is, and we need to help them." There definitely is an attitude that prevalence of religion is equal to depth of spirituality. Anyway, his rationale was blown out of the water with the life stories of the pastors and churchmen with whom he spent that week. Their lives brought his life under conviction, leaving him with the questions: What story am I telling with my life? What do I want people to say about me at the end of my life? Because the people in Montana survived by prayer. And the people in Montana were radical about their faith and reaching those around them. And our Sunday School teacher today was convicted because he lived a quiet, comfortable life where his greatest concern was the comfort and safety of his own family.
It didn't take me long after arriving to notice the differences in the culture here. There is not only more of an openness to discuss God and faith and spiritual things, but there is an expectation that all believe in God. Like even our rough & tough, look-at-what-life-has-thrown-at-me girl talks openly of her belief in God and His greater plan for her life. It makes some things easier, that is for sure. And it certainly is encouraging at times. But there is another side to this coin. You see, with every ounce of commonality that accompanies faith, I feel like we lose an ounce of motivation to be radical, to be transformational, to be different. And I dare say possibly an ounce of reality. When everyone is a Christian, I am afraid the definiton becomes so blurry it loses its power. There are also less distinctives. Christian is just one of the many labels you carry here, afterall, most people are. So, you can carry it along with a variety of other labels and behaviors without feeling the tension there within.
In other words, perhaps, when Christianity is THE culture (so much of what many Christians talk about striving for or desiring), it loses its cultural influence. And it blends in. And it doesn't make as much of a difference. When we don't have to be counter-cultural to survive, we aren't gasping for breath. And when we aren't gasping for breath, it is easy to take life for granted. And when we take life for granted, it is so simple to become nominal.
I am only attempting to describe to you the tension I see between the two, and the observations I have made through our transition. God knows when we have lived within a culture void of His presence or talk of His love, it is incredibly difficult and stirs in us a desire to be understood...familiar...comfortable...but hopefully drives us to be counter-cultural expressions of His love. And He also knows that when we live in a culture where His presence is spoken of in normal conversation and His love is blasted over the radio, it can also be incredibly difficult to shine brightly when a bunch of 20watt bulbs are dimly lit all over town...but hopefully we can use the acceptance of faith as a springboard to truly see transformation in the lives around us.
Bible Belt: an informal term for an area of the Southern United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is extremely high.
Christians talk often of their desire for Christianity to have more of a presence in their life and acceptance in their culture. We want this because we want comfort and if our norm is THE norm, then we will be comfortable.
I live in a town now where I can listen to David Crowder* Band while I sit and eat at Taco Bell. K-Love is played over the speakers at other hot spots like Wal-Mart, gas stations, and clothing stores. No one around here feels disrespected by the lyrics or the fact that it is being played in a public setting. On a more significant scale, there is a much greater level of openness to discussing faith and God by children, youth, and adults alike. It is not awkward or unusual...at all. It is also the norm to attend church; it seems that everyone does it. Restaurants after noon on Sunday are filled with slacks-wearing men and skirt-wearing women. Christianity, it seems, has such an influence down here. It's like a Biblical utopia. But maybe not, I'm not quite sure.
That's why I'm writing this post. I've been chewing on these thoughts for a few weeks and been working on the wording of this post for over a week; then, today at church, the man leading our Sunday School class shared the conviction he was under after returning from a week long mission trip to Montana. And I found my observations affirmed and solidified. The small group he was with went to Montana with the rationale that "their[the people of Montana] faith is not as far along up there as ours is, and we need to help them." There definitely is an attitude that prevalence of religion is equal to depth of spirituality. Anyway, his rationale was blown out of the water with the life stories of the pastors and churchmen with whom he spent that week. Their lives brought his life under conviction, leaving him with the questions: What story am I telling with my life? What do I want people to say about me at the end of my life? Because the people in Montana survived by prayer. And the people in Montana were radical about their faith and reaching those around them. And our Sunday School teacher today was convicted because he lived a quiet, comfortable life where his greatest concern was the comfort and safety of his own family.
It didn't take me long after arriving to notice the differences in the culture here. There is not only more of an openness to discuss God and faith and spiritual things, but there is an expectation that all believe in God. Like even our rough & tough, look-at-what-life-has-thrown-at-me girl talks openly of her belief in God and His greater plan for her life. It makes some things easier, that is for sure. And it certainly is encouraging at times. But there is another side to this coin. You see, with every ounce of commonality that accompanies faith, I feel like we lose an ounce of motivation to be radical, to be transformational, to be different. And I dare say possibly an ounce of reality. When everyone is a Christian, I am afraid the definiton becomes so blurry it loses its power. There are also less distinctives. Christian is just one of the many labels you carry here, afterall, most people are. So, you can carry it along with a variety of other labels and behaviors without feeling the tension there within.
In other words, perhaps, when Christianity is THE culture (so much of what many Christians talk about striving for or desiring), it loses its cultural influence. And it blends in. And it doesn't make as much of a difference. When we don't have to be counter-cultural to survive, we aren't gasping for breath. And when we aren't gasping for breath, it is easy to take life for granted. And when we take life for granted, it is so simple to become nominal.
I am only attempting to describe to you the tension I see between the two, and the observations I have made through our transition. God knows when we have lived within a culture void of His presence or talk of His love, it is incredibly difficult and stirs in us a desire to be understood...familiar...comfortable...but hopefully drives us to be counter-cultural expressions of His love. And He also knows that when we live in a culture where His presence is spoken of in normal conversation and His love is blasted over the radio, it can also be incredibly difficult to shine brightly when a bunch of 20watt bulbs are dimly lit all over town...but hopefully we can use the acceptance of faith as a springboard to truly see transformation in the lives around us.
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