Yesterday our prof showed photographs of culture-shaping events from my generation. He started with the atomic bomb (BEFORE my time) through JFK assassination, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Anti-war protests, and even Woodstock. The purpose was to give perspective as to how much our culture was in upheaval then and bring a perspective to the cultural shift we are seeing today. We are feeling the same unrest our parents or grandparents felt when the world they knew was changing before their very eyes.
In the midst of all that chaos, the Christian culture was going through its own upheaval. They were facing the Jesus movement. Hippies were finding Christ and coming into the church in droves. But they didn't come in suit and ties. They came in halter tops and blue jeans. I remember preaching at a church in Key Largo, FL, that was going through a split because the pastor had the nerve to take food out to the homeless beach bums and let them use the facilities to shave and wash. He even allowed them to come to church!
I was taken back to the years when I and many of my friends started going to church. We all had long hair and wore sandals. I didn't realize then how much countercultural courage it took for my pastor to accept us and mentor us. I remember some disapproving looks but I just thought they were old cranks.
Fast forward to today. I have hope for another Jesus movement. It's very possible that God will start revealing His Son to this generation one confused person at a time and when He does the big question for me will be, "Will I be ready?" Will I be able to accept piercings and tatoos and spiked collars and whatever else may come through the door looking for love and direction? I hope so. I'd like to think so. I kinda like those cultural rebels, they remind me of me!
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