Really a 68?!? After scoring embarrassingly high on the quiz and having my roommates unjustifiably mock me for my hipster tendencies, reading Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide seemed imperative. Admittedly, I set out with the goal of reading the book to prove that I am far from the label of hipster – whether Christian or not, and I still maintain that stance (regardless of what the bookish intellectual hipster description might seem to suggest).

Sadly though, based on Brett McCracken’s description of hipster Christianity, I might have to consider myself a cool kid within the Church. (I know, I know… me suggesting I’m cool automatically means that I am not, but refer to my previous comment and understand that I am working on McCracken’s definitions). According to McCracken, Christian hipsters like the emerging church, missional lifestyles, theology/philosophy, communion with real wine, multisensory worship, art, tattoos, piercings, Shane Claiborne, Sufijan Stevens, Mark Driscoll, Donald Miller, being abroad, living in DC, going to Ebenezer’s coffeehouse, using technology, and reminding people that Jesus was a rebel.  Regarding all those factors, I am guilty as charged.

Even so, I also wholeheartedly agree with McCracken that cool can be a dangerous thing.  In the Chapter 11 of the book, he lists seven negative consequences of hip:

  1. Individualism – the notion of cool is self-centered. (192)
  2. Alienation- cool creates “in” groups and is inherently divisive. (193)
  3. Competition- “people committed to being cool do not trust each other… and guard their inner sanctum of their hip cachet” (194)
  4.  Pride/Vanity- Coolness feeds the ego. (196)
  5. A Focus on the Now- “hip is temporary and transitory” (197)
  6.  Rebellion- so much of the essence of hip revolves around rebelling against the mainstream and giving life to the revolutionary.  (199)
  7. Reduction of Identity to Visual - Hipsters are often labeled by their unique outward appearance, neglecting to examine inward character. (200).
McCracken concludes by suggesting that we should exchange cool Christianity for lasting, selfless, confident, and God-centered Christianity (234-244).  His main premise is that the Church should stop being preoccupied with whether or not Christianity is cool because the temptation is to mend the Gospel and the community of believers to fit the notion of cool. Instead the Church should be concerned with being the Church – a community of believers guided by Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and doing the work of the Father. 
“Yes, Christianity is subversive. But that should not be the end goal of our faith. We shouldn’t enlist young hipsters to join the cause because they think Jesus is a [rebel]. They should join the cause because they need God’s grace, not because they want to take down some system or join some romantic revolutionary movement. A faith built on rebellion is, at the end of the day, not going to be very sustainable… Especially considering that Christ came to right the rebellion of man. All else but the gospel is rebellion. The cause of Christ is the one obedient cause.” – (188-189).

Overall, despite being a bit disappointed that McCracken didn’t dive into more of the material from his website, I would recommend reading the book because the topic is one that seriously needs to be considered. What is the purpose of the Church? Is it to be cool alternative to the status quo or is it to be the Body of Christ in this world? 

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