Sonlight has an "unabashedly biblical, evangelical Christian base" (see #19). And I, without trepidation, freely admit that I am a Christian to anyone who asks.
But, on the internet, I tend to not mention my faith in Christ as often. Is it because I am "ashamed of the Gospel"? (Romans 1:16)
No.
But sometimes this whole "Christian" label thing goes nuts.
Bananas.
Perhaps with some vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and cheery as well. The religious sundae, often proudly displayed on Sundays.
Why did we, as a subculture, feel the need to create GodTube, so we could change the tagline from "Broadcast Yourself™" to "Broadcast Him*"?
This kind of thing makes my skin itch.
Oh, I used to be there. I wore the all the cheap Christian knockoff shirts (that still cost a pretty penny). I was going to influence culture by demonstrating how "hip" I was, but with the extra-cool Christian twist.
HisSpace
But I was deceived. There is no way you can influence culture by merely repackaging it as "Christian." Not going to work. So, please, nobody start making "Strong Good" emails--unless you're trying to be purely farcical.
We Christians are an odd bunch of bananas, are we not? Add in the whole "homeschool" thing, and we can come across as really, really out there.
But this is what's odd: When I meet homeschoolers, chat with them, read their blogs, and discuss things, they really are very nice, "normal" people. They are no more out of whack than any of the public schooled atheists I know. Which, I think, is a good thing.
Are we really called to be "counter-cultural"? I don't think so. It was probably the biography of William Carey that first introduced me to this idea. He changed how he looked so he could better relate to the people around him. That whole "all things to all men" deal.
I think there's a phase in a Christian's life where the Christian fads are appealing. And that's okay. But at some point in time, I think that we should become more like Christ and hang out with the sinners where they are, rather than with the Sunday Sundae group.
I certainly have my own toppings that people may not want on their ice cream, but I do my best to enjoy it so much that others decide to give it a try. I think people seeing me enjoy my sundae will be more effective than merely proclaiming the superiority of my concoction.
How about you?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father
*It looks like they have since changed their tagline.
And, yes, I have an account.
