In preparation for Margins conference this summer in Toronto, I’ve been speaking with various people across the fellowship. The theme of learning to do ministry in a post-Christian culture is really striking a chord with our members. Maybe it’s the current political activity in America or maybe it’s the sense that the moral landscape is shifting, but people seem eager to discuss the topic. Our urban churches seem to be noticing the shift the most. John Shirk has been serving in Chicago for many years now and is on the cutting edge of learning how to represent Christ in an increasingly secular culture. I asked if he’d be willing to share some thoughts on the subject and he graciously agreed. — Bartley Sawatsky, executive director, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
I think the Old Testament stories of the exile are good examples of how to live in the margins. Daniel is my favorite. His people didn’t just lose a culture war, they were conquered by a foreign army. Doomed to life in the margins, exiled to a foreign land, they were faced with three options.
They could remain pure and continue fighting to the death. They could determine to continually combat and confront their enemies with truth and judgment, refusing compromise and insisting on death before dishonor. (The Rigid Fundamentalist Approach).
They could assimilate and lose their cultural identity in hopes of becoming acceptable to their conquerors. The world had changed radically, so the truth had to be radically reinterpreted. No one wants to be on the wrong side of history. (The Flexible, Adaptable Approach)
They could watch as their culture died and seek ways of serving God in a new one, applying eternal truth to the new context they found themselves in. They could determine to follow God in the margins. They could adapt their communication of eternal truth to their new reality. (Daniel’s Approach)
I’m sure Daniel caught arrows from all sides. We know his life was endangered more than once because he refused to compromise his belief in eternal truth and his obedience to the One True God. I suspect he was also accused of being a sell out and a heretic by the fundamentalists of his day. He was living surrounded by pagan magic, astrology, idolatry, and other forms of evil, yet he didn’t spend all his time confronting and condemning them. In Chapter 1, rather than get confrontational with his new masters, he asked permission to have his diet adjusted. He always spoke to those who ruled over him with respect, even when delivering a message of judgment. I think he honestly cared about the pagan kings that ruled over him. He was not working to undermine their authority and did not celebrate when they faced misfortune or even God’s judgment.
Jews who took the rigid, fundamentalist approach probably felt righteous when they faced persecution. As they continued to wage one losing battle after another they comforted themselves in the rightness of their cause.
Jews who were flexible adapters probably felt wise as serpents. They had lost everything and landed on their feet. They were on the right side of history, able to adjust as they moved forward into an uncertain future replacing yesterday’s tired and risky “truth” with a new “up-to-date truth” that was more acceptable to a hostile culture.
Daniel and the few Jews who took his approach probably felt totally dependent on God. They knew if God didn’t intervene they would be killed by the culture around them. They had to lean on God for understanding to navigate life in the margins with all the new challenges they faced. All their resources had been stripped away. They had nothing but God.
But this small minority impacted the world more than either the rigid fundamentalists or flexible adapters.
They were helpless weaklings who stood up to powerful kings. They influenced the cultures of entire empires, outlasting the fall of Babylon and continuing to speak eternal truth to the Medes and the Persians. They walked through flames and into lions’ den, only to emerge safely on the other side, neither burned nor bitten.
Because in the margins, when all you have is God. God is enough. — by John Shirk
Margins | 2016, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 22-25. Click here for more information and to register.
