Changing of the Guard by Brady

One of my favorite TV shows and movies growing up was Dennis the Menace. The movie with Walter Matthau and Christopher Lloyd was based on the 1950s comic strip and TV sitcom about a rambunctious, blonde-headed boy who was always getting in trouble. I related to this show on several different levels to say the least. But if you watch movies like this or sitcoms from the early years in television, you’ll see a drastic difference between the 1950s and now. I know the obvious thing to point out as a Christian minister is the sex and violence, and yes there is more of that on TV today, but I’m talking about something different. Have you ever noticed how much Dennis is allowed to run around alone with no parental guidance anywhere in sight? This is the same way with Timmy from Lassie and Tom in Tom Sawyer.

I am not an expert on Post Modernism (or Post Modernity for the scholars out there) and its culture, but I do know that our culture’s social norms have shifted drastically in the last 40 years. It would seem that the rebels from the 1960’s are now largely in control of most of the major universities, and there is this idea that our society is much more free and tolerant than the 1950’s. But have we really become more tolerant, or are we just exchanging one set of norms for another? For instance, one of the quickest ways to ostracize yourself academically is to suggest a woman should be more like June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver. Have we replaced one train of thought with a new set of beliefs? Has merely a changing of the guard taken place as opposed to true “progress” culturally?

David Brooks hits on this idea beautifully in a book called Bobos in Paradise. He says, “We feel we are less strict with our children, but in fact we intervene in their lives far more than did parents in the 1950s. In Tom Sawyer, for example, Aunt Polly may have tried to civilize Tom with beatings and strict table etiquette, but she also allowed him hours of unsupervised time to wander and adventure. Today we don’t adhere to that etiquette, but we don’t allow much wandering, either. Instead, we shepherd kids from one adult-organized activity to another.” (pg. 197) What a valuable insight!

No wonder youth ministries were almost non-existent in the 50s but are essential in today’s culture. Kids today may be allowed to pass gas (I couldn’t think of a better way to say that?) at the table, but they are also not allowed to go anywhere without supervision or at least a cell phone. Brooks also points out other ways this plays out in our culture. For example, we can now tolerate sexual jokes in our culture, but ethnic jokes will cause you to come under fire in a heartbeat. It is not culturally acceptable to make fun of homosexuals, but Christians are fair game to blast (see the Kathy Griffin at the Emmy Awards or read this article http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/oct/07101004.html). We can actually talk about sex in any venue today while we are as strict as possible on anything that could be deemed sexual harassment. Tattoos and body piercings are allowed and expected on college campuses today, but fraternal rituals and parties which would have been deemed modest in the 50s are now not tolerated. So why does the “old way” seem so stuffy to us enlightened Post Moderns?
The truth is that the code is changing and has now changed when it comes to permissible and impermissible behaviors. Freedom is a concept that I believe haunts every American. I think this is because we see everywhere phrases such as “Land of the Free” and believe we are unchained individuals. This is the reason I drive an SUV by myself most of the time. I’m free, unattached, and feel that I am accountable only to a few individuals. This is not true though.
Obviously you cannot murder someone and hold onto your freedom. Same goes with social structures in our culture. We aren’t going to throw out rules and social order EVER, no matter how many hippies say we already have.

The problem comes for me in the fact that it has begun to affect the Church as well. As always, we are the “quick ones” who react 30 years later, but it has begun to change in Christian circles everywhere. In the 90s abortion and homosexuality were the fights worth sacrificing for. This is still the case for many today, but the shifting or emerging culture would deem these groups as archaic people with a sort of “radio-orthodoxy” (see Brian McLaren’s work). So the question is: If our emerging church culture is not fighting abortion and homosexuality, what are we fighting? Things like the environment, poverty, and Africa (the ONE campaign or Invisible Children are HUGE right now) have become the new mantra of this culture. These issues are decidedly less divisive and are obviously worthy of any Christian’s attention.

For the record, I recycle at home and started a program at my church, Becca and I have a Compassion child, our youth do service projects frequently, and I am very interested in what’s going on in Africa. But instead of making these issues the new boundary to gauge if you are truly worth listening to, or even worse, if you are truly “Christian”, is no different than the groups emerging leaders disdain. If you dismiss someone because they are a Republican and fight against abortion, you’re not much different than the very people you disagree with, nor are you more inclusive. Creating a new code of entrance qualifications is no more Christian than saying a homosexual joke. Creating a new set of boundaries based on global warming or Africa is no different than basing it on abortion or other issues. Wiping out norms and social etiquette is also not possible either. Maybe the best solution lies in less debate over red and blue issues, and unifying the Body to fight vehemently for kingdom issues. You say that it is impossible to be a kingdom citizen and not involve yourself in government affairs like abortion rights or global warming? Maybe that is so. But it appears that Jesus lived in a time period that had “hot button” political issues, and he cleverly answered these questions while keeping a kingdom focused agenda (see Matthew 22:15-22). We are arguing as family members, and hopefully no one else is listening.