{"id":701,"date":"2012-12-08T20:53:33","date_gmt":"2012-12-08T16:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kimberlyknight\/?p=701"},"modified":"2017-10-30T15:53:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T11:53:39","slug":"not-that-kind-of-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kimberlyknight\/2012\/12\/not-that-kind-of-christian\/","title":{"rendered":"Not that kind of Christian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>In case you\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0sure, I\u2019m a Christian. \u00a0But wait, I\u2019m not that kind<\/em> of Christian. I\u2019ve felt it and said it dozens of times. Have you? You know, when someone finds out you are a Christian and you feel like you must clarify, or worse, apologize? We see the pictures on Facebook. We read the stories on HuffPost. We watch the videos on YouTube. We hear the stories of people hurt deeply. We read the posts from friends and family right on our own timelines and many of us carry the wounds deep inside of us. We are bombarded with the pulsating sights and sounds of \u201cChristians\u201d who are the very reason you don\u2019t want anything to do with Christians. Millions have been hurt or totally turned off by Christians such as Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, Mark Driscoll, Creflo Dollar, Debi Pearl \u2026 local pastors, aunts, uncles, moms and dads. Unfortunately I don\u2019t have to belabor this point too long \u2013 these stories permeate our culture.<\/p>\n

This is hard for me, but I guess before I go on I need to claim a couple words that are hard for me.<\/p>\n

One \u2013 judgmental \u2013 yes, I guess I am. I am afraid there are those out there who claim the name Christian who I would, though not my right, I would classify as, well less than stellar examples of living gospel life (maybe I would even, in very special cases go so far as to say they are in fact not Christian at all). Who? Well, those who use the bible as a weapon, those to choose ignorance and fear over holy questions and loving compassion, those who actively work to exclude people from God\u2019s table, those who put Mammon before God and those who worship the flag right along side the cross.<\/p>\n

Two \u2013 Evangelist (I know, right?) I just feel it is high time we who walk this path of radical hospitaltiy tell the story and claim the name lest we leave it for all time to another sect.<\/p>\n

Sure, we know the ways folks who claim that name have really f\u2019d up<\/a>\u00a0but there is so much more to our story. There have been and still are amazingly faithful people out there who are loving, justice seeking, hungry feeding, chasm closing Christians whose stories just don\u2019t seem to make the news. When we fail to tell the story we are allowing others to define Christianity and thus continue to drive the \u201crise of the nones\u201d (Google the phrase, way too many links from which to choose).<\/p>\n

So, in case you are so called to reclaim the story, here are just a few names of people you can lift up (or paste in) the next time you read a comment claiming that all Christians have been and still are \u201cbackward-ass haters.\u201d I\u2019m not saying the folks on this list are perfect, nor is this list ANYWHERE CLOSE to comprehensive (nor in any order than stream of randomness) but when I asked friends on Facebook these are some of the names shared as examples of Christians who\u2019ve done it quite differently than some that have become the poster children for western Christianity.<\/p>\n

Dorothy Day<\/a>
\nMartin Luther King, Jr.<\/a>
\nDietrich Bonhoeffer<\/a><\/p>\n

Henri Nouwen<\/a>
\nAnne Lamott<\/a>
\nJohn Shelby Spong
\n<\/a>
\nFrederick Buechner<\/a>
\nSara Miles<\/a>
\nWilliam Sloan Coffi<\/a>n
\n<\/a>
\nShane Claiborne<\/a>
\nNadia Boltz-Weber<\/a>
\nGene Robinson<\/a><\/p>\n

Brother Lawrence<\/a>
\nNelson Mandela<\/a>
\nParker Palmer<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthew Fox<\/a>
\nDiana Butler Bass<\/a>
\nPhyllis Tickle<\/a><\/p>\n

Susannah Davis
\n<\/a>Peter Wallace
\n<\/a>Jay Bakker<\/a><\/p>\n

When I asked friends on FB to name the beacons of light they lifted up the names above as well as:<\/p>\n

Rachel Held Evans<\/a>, Bruce Reyes Chow<\/a>, Doug Pagitt<\/a>, Susan Thistlewaite,<\/a> Steve Knight<\/a>, Justin Lee<\/a>, \u00a0Anne Howard<\/a>,\u00a0Candace Chellew Hodge<\/a>, Christian Piatt<\/a>, Brian McLaren<\/a>, Jennifer Butler<\/a>, Eric Elnes<\/a>,\u00a0Barbara Brown Taylor<\/a>, Yvette Flunder<\/a>, Rosemary Radford Ruether<\/a>, Letty M. Russell<\/a>, Leonardo Boff<\/a>, Roger Wayne Wolsey<\/a>, Carol Howard Merrit<\/a>t and Brian Merritt<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n

Anna: \u201cJoe Bessler (prof at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa), Yuki Schwartz, Clint Collins, Crystal S. Lewis\u201d
\nDave: \u201cmy mom\u201d<\/p>\n

Carol: \u201cSingers: Andra Moran, Christopher Grundy, Prof. Gaylord Noyce\u201d
\nMark: \u201cWe mustn\u2019t forget Millard Fuller, Jimmy Carter, MLK, and the Rev. Dr. Mattie Hart (retired professor of religion, Flagler College)\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara: \u201cAmy Laura Hall and Tim Tyson\u201d
\nLeah: \u201cAnne Lamott as a writer, but as a real person who I\u2019ve have the pleasure to know, John Merchant. When I think of everything I hope to see in \u201ca man of the cloth\u201d, I think of John.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah: \u201cFather Michael Pfleger\u201d
\nDiane: \u201cTwo friends who minister in the trenches, Alice Hielker and Robin Lee Fitch. A FB friend who writes a conservative but very loving, accepting and affirming daily blog, Wayne Flowers. Steven Colbert. Hannah Deathrow, a friend, who adopted 4 international children. Steve Alper\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve: \u201cHoward and Margaret Montgomery. In fact, the whole Montgomery clan \u2014 from Howard and Margaret down to their great grandchildren.\u201d
\nMichelle: Gregory Boyle (founder of Homeboy Industries), Helen Prejean<\/p>\n

Bruce: \u201cI would lift up Revs Anna Hall, Michael Piazza, and Cameron Trimble.\u201d
\nCheryl: \u201cWalter Bruegemann wouldn\u2019t teach in his own church but could be found Sunday after Sunday washing coffee cups during the fellowship hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter: \u00a0\u201cRonald Thaxton and Nancy Thaxton were some amazing people who were transformative in my life 20 years ago \u2013 they started the process of teasing out answers to questions \u2013 many planted by a close friend who did not get my \u201cchurch thing\u201d when I decided to follow Jesus some several years before that.\u00a0Jay Bakker, Adele Sakler, Kathy Silveira Escobar, Kathy Verbiest Baldock, Pastor Nar, Pat Green, Rebecca Bec Cranford-Smith\u201d<\/p>\n

One friend said: \u201cGandhi was a way better Christian than most Christians\u201d<\/p>\n

And here are just three cool videos (\u00a0Lord knows there are a gazillion more)\u00a0for your viewing and sharing pleasure.<\/p>\n

I invite you, IMPLORE you, to share names, stories and links in the comments below. The more stories you can share of love and service from local settings the better! \u00a0Please help make this post a resource that Christians can pull from when ever they feel the need to say \u201cI\u2019m not that kind of Christian, but I just might be this kind of Christian.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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