Editorial: ‘Under side’ ministry may redeem Christianity’s reputation

American culture has turned upside down. What an ironically invigorating development.

Validation of cultural upside-downness arrived from unexpected quarters—the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s recent conference on homosexuality and the future of marriage. (Read about it here, here and here.) 

Editor Marv KnoxAnd a grizzled culture warrior delivered the message.

For more than two decades, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler has railed against societal shift. He’s criticized liberal Christians, humanists, atheists and mostly Democratic politicians—all of whom, he believes, have tugged the nation to the left.

But at the SBC’s homosexuality/marriage conference, Mohler took a counter-intuitive turn. He castigated heterosexuals, not gays and lesbians, for the current crisis revolving around the definition of marriage.

Rampant divorce “has done far more harm to marriage than same-sex marriage will ever do,” he said. Heterosexuals demonstrated “how to destroy marriage by making it a tentative, hypothetical union for so long as it may last.”

Moral minority

And with traditional values under revision and the “moral revolution” over, the church now is “a moral minority” in the nation, Mohler conceded.

“We are accustomed to ministry from the top side in the culture, not from the under side,” he announced. “We are accustomed to speaking from a position of strength and respect and credibility. And now we are going to be facing the reality that we are already, in much of America, speaking from a position of loss of credibility.”

Now, maybe we can make a difference.

For generations, conservative Christians enjoyed cultural dominance, particularly in the South and the Southwest. If the churches opposed, it didn’t happen; and if the churches wanted it, it got done. Then, with the rise of the Religious Right in the 1980s, Southern Christians turned to political means to extend their authority across the nation. Their leaders got their pictures on the covers of newsmagazines and demanded audiences with elite politicians.

Hypocrisy led to loss of influence

However, as Mohler intimated, hypocrisy began to erode all that power. For example, with evangelicals divorcing at the same rate as everybody else, they lost authority to address the declining reverence for marriage.

Of course, they didn’t notice the change shifting under their pulpits. When their favored politicians held office, they got invited to important meetings at statehouses and the White House. And when their adversaries held sway, they got invited to go on TV and pontificate on the perils of oppositional politics.

Problem is, others noticed. In many parts of the country, all kinds of people—churched and unchurched alike—identified denominational labels with political parties. People sensed if their political and/or social perspectives did not align with the local religious establishment’s, their worship would not be welcomed.

One of the most poignant aspects of editing the Baptist Standard the past few years has been receiving emails and phone calls from nonconformists who felt cast out of their congregations. Some are homosexuals; others are straight people who made mistakes. Some simply voted the “wrong” way and mentioned it at church. Some felt judged because they expressed sympathy for people who apparently do not deserve sympathy.

Reclaiming the hurting

The harsh treatment these people received at the hands of Bible-toting, Scripture-quoting Christians hardened their hearts. Some are softening, seeking a way back. Many, if not most, protect their broken selves and resolve not to be harmed again.

Jesus did not hurt these people. Christians did. But it’s hard for them to recognize the difference. And when I read and hear their stories, it’s hard to blame them.

So, ministering to our nation from “the under side” of culture may be just what God wants and the church needs. As a cultural force, triumphalistic Christians failed to recognize their power and often abused their privilege. Majoritarian Christians hurt people, undermined their own credibility and damaged Jesus’ reputation.

It’s time for our society to see humble Christianity. Coercion and condemnation failed. Gentleness and love must prevail.

If my people…

Christians often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 with a condemning spirit: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” We say it expecting the rest of society to repent.

But God promised forgiveness and healing “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves ….” God requires our humility, prayer and seeking, not the world’s.

We live on the “under side” of culture. Good. Let America witness the winsome, transforming power of humility, love, respect and kindness.