Leadership Journal

How radical do I have to be?" the suburban mom asked. She had been reading Christian books decrying the self-centered, consumeristic nature of the American church. As a remedy, each of the books called readers to live a counter-cultural life of "radical sacrifice and mission." The books, while inspiring, left this woman feeling exhausted.

"I agree with their assessment," she explained. "We are too self-centered. But how radical is enough? Should I sell my house and car? Is it wrong for my kids to attend a private school? Do I need to move overseas and work with orphans? I want to live a real Christian life, but now I wonder if that's even possible here in the suburbs." She was looking for my pastoral advice. What I told her is not what I would have said five years ago.

I agreed that consumer culture has impacted the way many Christians view faith. Sociologist Christian Smith notes that many Americans view God as a combination of divine butler and cosmic therapist. Church is seen as the dispenser of religious goods and services for the enjoyment of those who put money in the offering plate.

So what's the response to consumer Christians? The one I hear most often, one I have given in the past, is to transform them from consumer Christians into active Christians. The exact direction of the activism depends on one's theological orientation. For traditional evangelicals, it's toward evangelism: sharing the faith and giving to overseas missions. For others, it focuses on compassion and justice: digging wells and alleviating poverty. What both approaches agree on is that we are to live our lives for God by accomplishing his mission, however we may define it.

But after years of hearing, and echoing, this call to radical activism, I've seen that activist Christianity can be just as detrimental as consumer Christianity. We tend to make our activism the center of our faith rather than Christ. As Tim Keller says, idols are "good things turned into ultimate things."

When presented this way, it can lead to the kind of exhaustion expressed by the suburban mom, and it robs people of their joy.

I'm reminded of the Prodigal Son parable. Jesus shows that the older, obedient son is just as lost as his wayward brother. His service for his father, his tireless activism, results in an equally estranged heart. Are our calls to radical activism simply making younger sons into older sons?

What we communicate, at least implicitly, by the call to activism is that the fullness of the Christian life depends upon one's efforts. Sure, a man working on an assembly line for 50 years can be a faithful Christian, but he's not going to experience the same sense of fulfillment and significance as the one who cashes in his 401k and relocates to Madagascar to rescue orphans.

What I had neglected for too long was Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 7. Believers in Corinth wanted to know what kind of life most honored God. Was it best to be married or unmarried? Circumcised or uncircumcised?

Paul's ...