Two Types of Christians

It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict. God’s job to judge, and my job to love. – Billy Graham

Christianity, at least in America, has a narrow and many times even singular expression or representation to the general public about its own identity.

Conservative Evangelicalism is arguably the most popular expression of Christianity in the United States today.

It has been for a long time and especially during the rise of the Moral Majority in the 1970s which led to a resurgence of conservatism, namely in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. The SBC is still the largest protestant denomination in Christianity today.

While it is true that mainline and progressive denominations have a fractional percentage of regular attenders or active members compared to non-denominational, evangelical and/or charismatic denominations; these two very different expressions of Christian faith have these important distinctions and emphases that drive their mission and purpose:

Conservative, Non-Denominational, Evangelical, Charismatic can be defined as “Rule Keepers”,

while…

Mainline and Progressive Denominations can be defined as “Love Seekers”.

Let me break it down.

Rule Keepers

I define the conservative, non-denominational, evangelical, charismatic (henceforth “conservative”) expressions of Christian faith as “rule keepers” because their emphasis when it comes to evangelism, discipleship, missions, etc. is driven by a “rule keeping” mentality. I witnessed this throughout my childhood, adolescence, and into many years of adulthood. There was a “performance” like attitude toward spiritual growth that made it one where the “more good” you did, the more you “pleased God”; and the more you “pleased God”, the more obedient and therefore rewarded you would be (whether in this life or the next). A rigid approach to faith was paramount: spiritual discipline was a must. Literal interpretations of the bible will lend itself to a more “rule keeping” approach to faith and therefore will spill over into other areas of one’s belief system. Conservatism lends itself to loyalty, obedience, and discipline. While these are not bad traits on their own, combined together in a religious belief system can be toxic overtime: for example, with power dynamics shifting toward one gender, with political allegiances leaning toward one party, with nationalism mixing in with kingdom identity and promise. Also, a “rule keeping” approach to faith does not lend much grace to those who are not of the Christian fold. While sharing faith is in and of itself an innocent (and important) practice that many Christians take part in, incessant (almost militant) evangelism is a massive turn off and for many who have been traumatized by past negative religious experiences, can be harmful and damaging. If one chooses to express their own faith by seeking to “keep the rules'“ to earn favor, that’s ok as long as it stays with you because it’s your decision. Yet, when you insist that this expression of faith is the only correct expression of faith and everyone has to ascribe to it, that’s when there is a problem. Because, this is not the only expression of faith and it is my assertion that there is a better one.

Love Seekers

I define the mainline and progressive (henceforth “liberal”) expressions of Christian faith as “love seekers”, because the mission and vision of these kinds of denominations and their congregations are driven by a “love wins” approach to societal impact. The “agenda” to do good and make an impact on communities is not the “bait and switch” agenda of conservatives “meeting needs” followed immediately by an uncomfortable gospel presentation with the awkward pause of whether someone will accept Jesus right there and then. With “liberals”, there is an “incarnational” approach to mission and evangelism. One mainline denomination calls this type of approach “accompaniment”. The belief is that by God taking on human flesh and being with people and by societal good being done through the power of radical love, the world changed and experienced divine love and grace. Liberals believe this to be true, they don’t have to have the proverbial megaphone; shouting an “A, B, C” or “Four Spiritual Laws” canned gospel message, but instead they can truly live out the gospel through their bodies and trust that the Holy Spirit, by their work, will do its job of transforming the hearts of those who don’t know God (even though it is my belief almost everyone knows God already).

So in my many years of spiritual deconstruction, my movement from “rule keeping” to “love seeking” allowed my faith/spirituality to grow significantly. By taking off the weights of legalism and allowing myself to be open to whatever my spirit/soul/body intuited was right and good; I broke every box I had about my previous expression of faith and in the process grew, learned, and listened to those who were not like me and allowed their wisdom to take root and flourish in my own identity. The example of Jesus draws me deeper into this movement and my heart is that everyone, Christian or not, can be motivated by an ethic of “love” rather than one of “keeping score”.