Aaron Renn is one of the most perceptive commentators on American evangelicalism as well as the broader culture.
A few years ago, he turned an online post into an article for First Things, an influential American journal on Christian public engagement, in which he described what he called the three worlds of evangelicalism. It became one of the most read and talked-about articles in the Christian world and even the secular media in the United States. He has now turned the article into a book.
What is this ‘negative world’? It is the third of three phases that evangelicalism has experienced since the 1960s. The first phase was the ‘positive world’ which, emerging from the post-war Christian boom, lasted from roughly 1964–1994 and in which society was broadly positive towards Christianity. Churchgoing was socially advantageous and Christian morality was broadly accepted as normal.
The second phase was the ‘neutral world’ which lasted from roughly 1994 –2014. In this world, society is more neutral towards evangelical Christianity. While it was not favoured as it had been, being a Christian was not necessarily a negative thing and the Christian faith could be one option in a pluralistic culture.
The third phase and the one in which we are living is the ‘negative world’, which began around 2014. In this world, society and its elites have a much more negative view of orthodox Christianity. Christian morality, especially in relation to sexuality, is suspect and Christianity, unless in compromised forms such as liberalism, is considered a bad thing. As Renn puts it: ‘Holding to Christian moral views, publicly affirming the teachings of the Bible, or violating the new secular moral order can lead to negative consequences’. In this new world there are no ministry models that stand out.
Renn goes on to explore the causes of these worlds and then the various strategies devised to meet their challenges. Of particular interest to British readers is what he says about the ‘Cultural Engagement’ strategy that is associated with the late Tim Keller and has been so influential in the neutral world on both sides of the pond. At the heart of this strategy was a commitment to ‘faithful presence’ in a culture with a view to its transformation by the gospel. However, Renn notes that often there was a tendency ‘to downplay flashpoint social issues such as abortion and homosexuality’ while having fewer reservations about talking about race and social justice.
With the dawn of the ‘negative world’ everything has changed and the old strategies don’t work or, at least, not as well as they used to. What can be done in this new world? According to Renn, we are in ‘unknown territory’ where ‘finding a path in this fundamentally unknown world will require a different approach from strategies of the past’.
Renn suggests three strategies for living as ‘a moral minority’.
The first strategy is personal in nature. Here Christians must be seriously committed to obeying God’s will revealed in Scripture whatever the cost, being excellent in whatever we do (here Renn has some interesting things to say about intellectual excellence so that we out-think the opponents of Christianity as well as equipping Christians) and resilient for whatever the future holds. The latter involves being prepared spiritually and practically for a world where, humanly, anything can happen, good and bad, and where being a Christian can be a serious disadvantage. Such spiritual resilience requires taking being a Christian seriously. Practically it means becoming more ‘anti-fragile’ so that we are better able to ‘survive or even benefit from negative events’. To this end he suggests that Christians become more financially frugal and less dependent on institutions that may turn against them, by building up our savings. We need to think hard about what work we do and what careers we pursue, as well as where we live. Christians need to establish middle-sized businesses that will provide employment if necessary for Christians as well as generate funds for churches, ministries and institutions. Pastors and others in ministry may need to think about being bi-vocational and having skills they can use when traditional ways of being supported are no longer possible. All this is not to say that Christians should withdraw from the world, but simply that they are ready for whatever comes.
The second strategy is institutional in nature. Renn encourages churches, locally and denominationally, as well as parachurch organisations, to become increasingly focused on their core mission of disciple-making, and to cultivate integrity in terms of character. Churches need to be smaller and more agile and less concerned about numbers and institutional success. There needs to be a future-oriented perspective, so that there is a succession of godly leadership and orthodox theology beyond the present generation. As a minority in an increasingly hostile majority secular culture this is essential to ‘sustain their own community, values, and traditions’.
But, far from being pessimistic, Renn sees a great missional opportunity in the new negative world. This is his third strategy. As a dissident and counter-cultural minority, evangelicals have an advantage for the advance of the kingdom. He writes: ‘Strengthening our communities will enable evangelicals to have a genuinely Christian place they can invite others into, and this can serve as a base from which to pursue outward mission. The kind of well-formed, embodied identity is more important…in the negative world.’
Because of their commitment to the truth revealed in Scripture, evangelicals are able to clarify the truth of things in a world succumbing to lies, as is seen in the controversies over human sexuality. He quotes theologian James Wood who says: ‘There are tons of people in the midst of the cultural storms who are crying out for someone to speak clearly, to be a courageous voice of reason … There are evangelistic opportunities that we should not miss’. Insightfully, Renn explores why so many young men are turning to people like Jordan Peterson and not to orthodox Christian spokesmen. In relation to that, he has some interesting and provocative things to say about the egalitarian-complementarian debate which merit reflection.
In the negative world some are calling for a strategy of disengagement, but Renn disagrees. For sure, things will get tough, but evangelicals mustn’t give up on the wider culture. To that end he calls for prudential engagement. Such engagement will be messy. Politics will be very tricky and on many issues Christians will come to different views. And there will be hostility from the world. But faithfulness as Christians demands our engagement even as we refuse to compromise Biblical beliefs and morality.
There has been push back against previous iterations of Renn’s thesis. Some in the orbit of Redeemer Presbyterian Church make the point that New York was a very negative place when Tim Keller arrived in the 1980s. True, says Renn, but today the general culture is much more negative and hostile to evangelicalism. Others query his categories and dating. Renn concedes that they are a bit general and schematic but that they are, like periods in history, useful categories for making sense of what has happened and is happening. I agree. And if some find the book not particularly theological Renn admits that he doesn’t write as a theologian even though he grounds much of what he recommends in Scripture. For British readers the biggest issue with the book is that it is so American in focus and therefore requires considerable adaptation to our context. But whatever quibbles one has, I think most readers would agree with Renn that Western culture has become increasingly hostile to orthodox Christianity. This important book is one of the best and most useful of many seeking to understand evangelicalism in our cultural moment in the West, both in its analysis as well as in suggesting a way forward. Concerned Christians and leaders should read it for its wisdom in the darkening times in which we live.
LIFE IN THE NEGATIVE WORLD:
Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture
By Aaron M. Renn
Zondervan. 240 pages. £18.99
ISBN 978 0 310 155 157
