Answering a Crisis of Authority

Many years ago I started blogging and writing on matters that were important to me and the church where I was pastoring. I was among a group of young fundamentalists that were pejoratively labeled, "Neo Fundamentalists" by the most conservative wing of evangelical Christianity, so my blog became "NeoFundamentalist" and I used to go by the screen name "NeoFundy."

Among fundamentalism (the most conservative side of Evangelicalism), the rise of the internet and blogging proved to be a serious challenge to the status quo. During the early 2000's, one blog / forum ("Sharper Iron") became the fast moving hub for those who wanted to think through and challenge the standard narrative of why young fundamentalists were abandoning their separatist roots. Since that time, it has slowed down and become more of a news and views forum.

Blogging during that time initiated several friendships that happily remain to this day. Those friendships were forged in the shared belief that something had to change in our circle of churches, ministries, and conservative evangelicalism as a whole. We came together as co-belligerents in a conversation that still reverberates today. However, critique and analysis cannot sustain a movement, and while blogging served a useful purpose in highlighting the problems, it did not offer much in the way of constructive solutions.

The Other Side of the Fence

There was an open place in our yard, one with an unobstructed path to a dangerous spot, so I built a fence to prevent my kids from going there. However, it wasn't long before one child discovered that there was a way around the fence, and they went around to play on the other side. What is a good father to do? I built another fence.

My children must be kept safe.

This one extended further and was set back a little more from the danger, just in case one of my kids might go around again. Can you believe it? The temptation of the other side of the fence was so strong, that one of my kids tested the fence until they discovered they could go through a small opening in one side. I had no choice, I built another fence, stronger than the last.

My children must be kept safe.

The fence wasn't all I was going to do this time; my children needed to be cautioned about going beyond the fence. It was there for their own protection. So I explained that when I was younger, I went to the other side of the fence and got hurt, and I didn't want them to be hurt as well. They needed a healthy fear of what is on the other side of the fence. The only problem was my trouble-making neighbor.