A few weeks ago at our leadership training evening, Pete recommended a book to all of us, and I decided to order it there and then!
I’m so glad I did, although as I’ve been reading it, there have been moments where I wished I didn’t…
Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community is a book which has made me laugh and cringe in equal measure as it reveals truths about what it feels like to be part of a diverse, bible believing church in 2021.
In a season where I don’t have the opportunity to be part of a physical church gathering every Sunday, the book has hammered home just how much I miss it, while also stirring me to think about what I might do differently once we are able to meet together again.
Keeping Cool
Brett McCracken - the author of the book, and a pastor at an Advance church in California - sums up his main challenge for us in the first chapter.
"When the Christian church is comfortable and cultural, she tends to be weak. When she is uncomfortable and countercultural, she tends to be strong.”
This is a constant challenge for us as a Church and as individual Christians in London, the draw towards being accepted and seen as ‘cool’ is real, and strong! But McCracken reminds us here that we are called instead to holiness, particularly when it comes to cultural touchstones such as sexual ethics and diversity.
Uncomfortable Mission
This is where the benefit of this book really hits home for me, McCracken has not simply written a book to encourage us to be better friends with one another - although reading it will certainly make you appreciate the benefit of church community to an even greater extent!
Instead, he also emphasises that when we as a church look different from the culture around us, that is when we put ourselves in the greatest position to impact those living in that very culture, and reveal the truth of the gospel to them!
In the final chapter, entitled Countercultural Comfort, he writes:
Regardless of its routine, the reality of the church is revolutionary. However unpopular we are, our purpose is profound. As salt and light, we are the hope of the world.
There are many other essential challenges that are brought to light in the book, from our unhealthy obsession with brokenness, to our discomfort with submitting to the authority of Christ, scripture and church leadership. If you ever feel uncomfortable in church, I would recommend that you read it! You will be reassured to learn that you are most certainly not alone, but also reminded that this uncomfortable feeling likely won’t, and arguably shouldn’t ever change.
But that’s not the whole story…
We are, mysteriously, part of a cosmic plan God has eternally known. And we have an eternal inheritance. The discomfort and disdain we endure in this life as a peculiar people will be a blip in the timeline of our infinite history. We will at last be the perfect church we presently long for; the unblemished bride at an unimaginable wedding feast.
