Are we willing to be unattractive for the sake of the gospel?

BTW I know I'm something of a snob, and I don't have problems with that.

Tuesday night as part of this discipleship course we had a talk from someone that has truly pioneered a church in a difficult area of Oxford. It’s a council estate, full of poverty and unemployment, and most especially, full of the side of current culture that makes me glad not to live there.

He moved there about 5 years ago, as a youngish guy with his wife, and started getting to know people. He became *like* them.

This was brought home to me when he was talking about winners and losers. The characters referred to were football managers – not people I would see as admirable in any way.

I’ve been turning this over and over in my head since then. Why would someone of reasonable intelligence accept ‘sun-newspaper’ culture and actually make it their own – at least where it did not clash with un-negotiable Christian values.

I think I know.

There’s a tension within my feelings about this. It’s easy to think that he’s got it nice – cultural values of beer and footie, everyone has a particular accent and way of delivering ideas – cushy number for a younger guy. But he’s actually identified himself with those we (both society and me – I’m guilty too) would see as contemptible, as worthless unless they change. Instead of doing the impossible for the unwilling (trying to get them to ‘come up to my level’) he’s gone in there and down to theirs.

And some ARE rising up.

It’s good and it’s challenging. It’s not comfy, but comfy is for those insulated and ineffective.

If I were to try to do what he’s done there, could I succeed? Absolutely not. I don’t have the right interests, accent or thought processes. But I admire the way he’s “made himself nothing” to do what he’s doing, and to walk in integrity with it.

These days I sound like a product of the culture I’m surrounded by, even if I don’t entirely think and behave like that culture. I wonder where I need to become nothing to make a difference?

More challenges.