A creative reshuffling of Conservat
Jim Wallis
Thc Pas[-iimcrican is coinmitted to radi-
ciil disciplcship.” So bcgins a descriptivc st:itcment about ;i publication that seeks to sc‘rv~‘:IS i\ forum for iill <:merging conscioiisiicss. Its mcssagc is I)oth old ;ind ~icw-a radical understanding of 1)itlicnl filith and discipleship. TIE col1text of American po\vcr ;illcl glohil dorniiiancc lnilkcs tlic iioed for “1)ost-;iiiicrican” visioii prticulidp critical. Thc! pldic:itiori, first :IS :i taldoid and now 11s ;I monthly miigiiziiic, h;\s received wide s\lpport ;irno1ig people scckirig to rediscover thc meaiiing of tlic GospcI for tlicir livcs and tlicir tiincs, pcooplc Ixing drivcn to :I ncw rmdcrst;incling of tliemsc!lvos, thcir iiation and tlicir Cliristian rr!s~~onsibilitics. 1Iaiiy :1re coming to Iiclicvc thi~tthc: Gospel is a riidiciil prcrnisc: in its demand and cqxicity for pw”i1 ti;insf(~rrriatiori;in its social ethic tli:it clriws toward jristicc, p~iicciiild community; in its spiritiial illid intellectlliil powr tliiit g(:li(:ratesbclicf. Thc ~nll to discipl(diip, tlic call to follow Jcsus Christ, demildi il fdillncntill brciik with tho dominant \riillics illid conformist l>iltt(:rns of the majority cdture. That cdl is <?spc!ciiillyurgcnt for those of LIS in tlw richrst, rnost powcrful nation i11 the world.
Tliosc: of 11s wlio began piil~lisl~ingthc Post-Anicricm two ycm ago wcrc seinin:iry studcn ts wlio came togotlicr I)ccausc of our common rcjcction of tlic perrncating Amctric;in ethos iid a inutual belicf that tht iiltcr1iiiti\*cslap somewhcrc in r:idical o1)cdicncc to Chist :lnd his Gospcl. Some of us Ilild come to ii Chistkin comrnitniont in the initlst of iiiitiwilr and civil riglits strtlgglcs. Others cijlne to ill1 a~~rcness of tI1c ~e~n;inds of t~icirCi1rIicl. TiiitI~ commitments
JIM WALLIS is cditor of thc Post-Atiicricnri, il voicc in tlic r;ipidly growing rnovcmcnt of C1iristi:ui ev:iiigclicnls tlcvotcci to radical social cii:inge. ?‘his is orw in an ongoing scrics of iirticlcs in wtiicli wc ask leaclcrs of movemerits encl orgnnizatioiis to spcnk out on what thy are :lI)out. Hcadcrs intcrc‘stccl in more inforrnation ;JJout the Post-Atnctican md its vicwpoint ;ire invited to write to Post-Anic!ricon, P.O. Box 102, Dtcrlicld, Ill. 60015.
which cmiscd them to fccl alienated- from the churdics. Our o\~nsynthesis of faith came out of thc sliimd struggles of our group, whosc roots riinged from New Left to conservative evangelical 1):ickgrouncls ;ind tr;iditions. The Post-American was c~stabIiJicdto givc ;I voicc to new strcarns of Christian radicalism Iicing fed at many points and from tlivcrsc traditions: I<v:ingalicnl, Anabaptist, ncformc:d, Catholic, charismatic, refngcxs from rcligious lil)cr:iIisin, converts from the New Left.
Sincc thcn wc hnvc witiicssed thc growth of a II~Wgeneration of evangelical Christians that Iias cwmc of i11ic1 is rnaking itself lieard. A 100~dy coiiiiectd, cross-confc!ssion;11 consciousn(:ss is finding hasic contradictions between the demands of disciplcship :ind thc assumptions of heric:in wcnlth ;incl powr. This growing awarciiess poses a direct ehnllciigc! to the comfortiiblc rclationship of the c:hiircli with the politicd iind economic status quo. I’hc triiditiorial American civil religion, which blcsscs tho sociill order rathcr than calling it into question, is now iiiiclcr sttrious ;ittack. From miny cluarters this civil rcligion is Iieing Iiiirncd for what it is-mis1)l~~dallegiance which lIsL1iilly dcgent!riltes into outriglit idolatry. TIic power brokers of Church and State llii\t! actively participated in fostering the AlIlcrici1il Captivity of tlie Cllurch ;incl hive bcncfitcd from it. The \.er-y meaning of thc Gospcl had I~ocomc I)lurrcd, ow congrcgations wcrc oftcn unalh to in;ikc thc choicc betwt:en the Cross and the Flag, arid tlie Christian way of life was cquated with thc: hincricnii way of lifc: in direct opposition to ld>lical tcacliing. The transforming dynamic of tlic. Gosp:l \viis c!xcIiaiigcd for :I rnnteriulistic :ind nntionnlistic faith tlint enjciys thc! fruits of prospority aiirl poiwr. A11 this is lxing strongly challenged by ii IICR‘ ~t\~iii~gclicillinsurgency.
Eviirigcfical Chistiails Iiitve tditio1i:illy
iiflhmed thc Lordship of Christ and tli(1 ;iu tliority of Scripture over their livcs. The are
tlica I)nitalitics of \WI~ and global C~olTlil~ilIlc~, ;I 11~1torialistic profit culturc, iilstitutionally structured injiisticc iild govcriimcnt by doccit and manipu1:ition. Lmcrgiiigs of il Iiolistic ;lppronch hold the promise 01 r;iising tlicological ilrid spiritual consciousncss.
injusticc, to iintic the knots of the yoke, to snq>every yokc and set frcc those who have been crushed? Is it not to sliare your food with the hungry, taking the ho~nclcsspoor into your Iiouse, clothing thc naked whcn you Incct them, and ncvci evading a duty to your kinsfolk?” ( Isilia11 5836-7).
We fault a narrow orthodoxy that speaks of salvation but is disolmlicnt to tlic clear teachings of Scripturc that faith divorced from an activc commitrncnt to social justice is a mockcry. We also fault n naivc and iixidequa tc libcriilism that ncglects the iiced of iridividual transformation illid rcdircction, is casily intirniduted by secular assumptions, and Mks at the historic confcssion, “Jesus Is Lyl.” Coiiscrvative or libcral, tlic Christian witness in thc 11i1ti011 has becri hollow arid incomplctc, captive to tlic forces of. weiiltli, nationalism and poiver. Our cliiirches need to lie dcoriented from the miljority cultilrc, niid chi111g~d1)iblic:rlly. The biblicnl Gospel is wlicrc persoiid transformation and thc struggle for jiisticc find tlicir his and motivating power. The mcssngc of Christ pronounces the judgmcnt of God 11~10n thc! Im!sont orclar of injustice and holds tlic prornise of a IICW ordcr and a new pcoplc.
The nilile suggests :.in ctliically rootccl politics that has 110 binding dleginnce to 11i~ty:inti conventionnl politicit1 forms. It is a politics that is most respoiisivc to concrcte 1ium:in nceds and seeks to build commuriity. hlorality and politics nrt: indivisiblc in the I~iblicalview, ethics and public policy inscpara1)lc. Tho ccntrnl life comrnitrrieiit ’for a Christian is to the Lorclsliip of Jesus Christ. To proclaim Christ: i1s 1,ord is i1 profoundly political act.
Thr: lessons of biblical f:ii tli arc being Icarnctd at ;i crucial time. ?‘hc movements of the sixtics have siiffcrcd hlrl cx)olit:ition iiiid intcrnal inconsistency. They h:ivc becm iinal>le to gcneratc li1stirig spiritual resoiirces or to provide nlternativc vision. With thc clwlinc: of thosc moveinerits, it is highly pro1)able that thc! strongc?st thrusts toward prophetic witness :id sooiid justice 1nily comc from tho~\VIIOSC faith is Christ-ccntercd ilnd who hold a clear biblicnl conirriitmc:nt. JMc If7. I3rown, formcr rnoderntor of the Churcli of the hAhrcn, writcs: “Thc story of the sctventics mily \vel1 IX t1i:it tlic truly r:idicill social witness arid vision may wcll spring from cvangclical rootag(! ililcl rnovernents with un;ipologetic Chlistiilil fnitli. ‘I’his is thrilling to contemplatc.”
l’hc iictid for :i (lisloyal opposition is great. We i1rc coritciicliiig, ilt the P~st-A~ncri~~n, for :I Christian filith thnt resists thc conformity of the chnrcli to the vdlics of Amcricaii pi~rillid dominiltion. Our fiiitli is tlius post-nmctrican. Our vision is n growing rrioveinciit of p~t~plc\vho coI1f.css JCSUS ;IS Lord illld iirc 1IrCIPnreCl to live 1)s tlieir profession. TO Iionor tlic cliiiins of our discipleship will pit 11s at otltls with tl~:dorniiiant villiies of the miljority culturr:. \VC will Iiilvc! to recover agilill tlic meaning of bcing cxilcs i111d;iliciis in. a strniigc Imd.