Hipster Jesus

Today as I was driving home from dropping off the kids, a hipster walked by as I was stopped at a light. And as I saw him in his slightly oversized, thickly black rimmed glasses, skinny jeans, plaid shirt, and those hipstery sort of shoes (ok, I couldn't actually see his shoes, but you know the ones, with his monstrous beard  and what I can only assume is a style of walking I've never heard of, I began to grow more and more angry. As one does when one encounters such a sight.

But then I began to wonder why. Why is this man, who I've never met and probably never will, making me so enraged? Why the fury over this person's physical appearance? And I was reminded of a quote, the speaker of which I can't quite remember and am too lazy to look up, that said that geeks (or more specifically people in fandoms) and hipsters are different because geeks want everyone to know about the things they love, simply because they love them and want more people to so that they will gain popularity and more will get made. Hipsters use the things they like (and probably sincerely enjoy) to stay exclusive or gain status.

And, as a geek and a member of many fandoms, that is why the hipster mindset drives me nuts. Not the people, because they're just people and are free to think about and like things any way they will. But that mindset. That too-good-for-things-because-the-majority-likes-them,-so-they-can't-be-that-great feeling. That I-liked-this-before-it-was-cool-which-inherently-makes-me-better-than-you vibe. That you've-probably-never-heard-of-them-(and-I'm-not-going-to-tell-you-because-then-it-will-be-popular(?)) attitude.

Then there's the fact that they've effectively stolen half the things I like. Wolves? Seriously? You don't get to claim whole sweeps of forest fauna because they're endangered, or badass, or whatever. You just don't. To make matters worse, wearing things that are now mainstream hipster (because yes, now even being hipster is a thing you can be a hipster about) gets me called one. And as a firm believer that sharing the things I think are cool will bring more people joy and not effect my social standing in anyway that is something I cannot abide.

So the rest of my drive home I thought on these things, and the more I thought on them the more I thought on other labels that I'm not a huge fan of, 'young adult', 'not a sports person', 'Christian'. I'm not a fan of these labels (or any that I don't claim for myself) because they limit me. They define who and what I am by parameters that I'm not comfortable with. Which, in the case of my identity as a Christian is problematic. Because I do claim Christ, as both someone I follow and someone I love and cherish as a friend. I'm not too thrilled with the tag right now.

Why you ask? Because just like being called a hipster, being called a Christian in today's world is not something I agree necessarily agree with. I know, it's a much wider tag than 'hipster' and it can encompass a lot of things, but until the entirety of the church is ready to admit that (or even acknowledge that it hasn't stopped being a thing) we're not going to convince anyone outside the church that it's true. And as someone who wants to work in reconciliation both in and outside the church, I can't abide a name that means one who follows a loving God on one hand, and someone who is holding so tightly to their core beliefs about x, that that that love has no room to shine through

Because let's face it people, we've become elite. We're a club. One you have to take classes to become a member of just so we can make sure you agree with us on all the 'really essential' point. We're too good for other churches, other denominations, other religions (and if you don't agree I suggest you take a look at the doctrine of more mainstream churches). We've rounded up those that we deem good and essential and left everyone else out in the cold all the while whining about how no one new will come to church.

And why? Because we feel the need to 'defend' the Gospel from those that would use it...what? Wrong? To embrace people and make them feel loved? To show the world that we follow a God that loves and accepts them no matter where they're at in their life? Yup, definitely need to keep those people out, what kind of gospel do they think their sharing anyway?

Or maybe it's just because we like the idea that we're right. That whoever 'we' is, there's a group out there that we know we can win an argument with. The illustrious 'them' lurking somewhere in the shadows just waiting for an innocent 'us' to walk by so that they can share ideas and opinions with them. But don't worry little 'us' you have the traditional (or nontraditional, or loudest) view point, and according to your interpretation of Scripture that makes you right. All you have to do is walk up to that dirty, ignorant, over zealous, bleeding heart, conservative, liberal, left, right, up, down, completely unwilling to compromise or change their point of view 'them' and yell at them until they see that you actually know all of who God is and thus your viewpoint is the only valid one.

And so we've become complacent in our hipstertude. We argue about issues that may or may not actually involve us directly because arguing about the stuff that does would make us have to own it. And we're a little too ironic for that. We search desperately for that new big thing, hoping to be the first ones to find the secret to getting more people in the pews toeing that good old Christian line. Especially if they're our kind of people.

Those other people though? The ones that don't fit our version of what Christians look like, who say or do the wrong things, who talk the wrong way, or too much, or too little, who call to much attention, or not enough, to themselves during worship or while they preach, who talk about God with different words or not at all, who pray differently, or live differently, or have different values systems? Those people we don't want. Because they're too mainstream, too much a part of the culture, or they were cool but then everyone started doing it, or they wore the wrong clothes, or said the wrong thing, or they embraced the stuff they liked too much.

But you know what Jesus really wants? (Because I totally know all about him, people, so this is basically gospel) What he was hoping for in the great commission? A Fandom. He wants fanart, and fanfiction (Song of Solomon, all I'm saying), and fans going crazy when they talk about God and the Bible and all of it. He wants us to run around like crazy people and ask everyone we know if they've read this sweet book. "It's got adventure, and romance, and the characters are so well developed and there's this whole section of songs in the middle that you just have to listen to cause they're so good and there's this part where this guy almost gets eaten by a lion but he doesn't and then all this other stuff happens andeventuallyyourmeetthemaincharacterthatthey'vebeenalludingtoliketheWHOLEbookandohmygoshhe'ssocoolandItotallywanttojusthangoutwithhimallthetimecausehe'ssoamazingOMG." (Because let's face it, that's how we talk when we fan)

 I mean let's face it, God's narrative with us is basically one big choose your own adventure story. It's the sweetest of interactive media. Cut scenes where you wish you could skip the overly dramatic terrible thing that just happened. Boss fights that are impossible to beat without a cheat code. Those ridiculously long side quests where you spend tens of hours running around on pointless missions from people you either don't know or don't like and all you get at the end is like three rupees and chicken. And of course the thrill of a giant quest to save the world. Because that's what we're on, people, a giant world saving quest. We're saving the world from an eternity of not knowing the coolest person who ever walked it (and family).

Not because EVERYONE IS GOING TO HELL OTHERWISE, or because WE'RE GOING TO HELL IF WE DON'T. It has nothing to do with hell, or heaven really, or even being sent on a quest. It's because the person who sent us on it is the coolest person ever, and we should want the world to know about it JUST BECAUSE HE/THEY'RE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So geek out about God, people. Tell your friends, get them playing, start whole campaigns for it, have LAN parties. But remember to be nice to the noobs, don't feed the trolls, and let the hipsters play every once in a while. They might even like it.