I just received the following email: “I just signed up for your ‘Catch.’ I am a new Christian. I call myself ‘in the closet’ because I am still not comfortable with the whole idea of it all. The Holy Spirit has grown in me this year; I feel like I am almost ready to come out. Anyway, thank you for today’s catch…”
To which I replied: “I am so glad you have recently joined us. You are precisely the kind of person we exist for. Hopefully, if you stick with us, you may be able to avoid a lot of the negative aspects of American Christianity that makes you want to stay in the closet. The gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing to be ashamed of, but many aspects of current Christianity are. We’re trying to reduce the amount of stuff you’ll have to unlearn some day.”
Ever thought about how much you’ve had to unlearn versus what you’ve learned in relation to your faith? My guess is that the former is greater than the latter. Take, for instance, our new reader’s tendency to not want to identify herself as a Christian. Why is that? Is she ashamed of the gospel or is she ashamed of an incorrect assumption of what a Christian is? Most people will grant you the opportunity to explain what and why you believe. They respect that. The problem here is what gets communicated automatically without saying anything.
What will get you out of the closet is your ability to put what you believe into your own words. It’s all about meaning versus assumption – relationship versus supposition.
John Fischer The Catch 
And, as Tim Morey puts it, “Embodying Our Faith-Becoming a living, sharing, Practicing Church.”
This is exactly why when I am asked if I am a Christian, my response is always, “that depends on what your idea/definition of a Christian is.” Without fail, I always find out what their ideas are before I have been placed in the boundaries of their boxes.
As usual, John, I agree with your basic premise. But when you talk about “unlearning” and things about current Christianity that you are “ashamed” of, that’s a lot like someone saying they’re ashamed of their family simply because it’s different from other families. Should Catholics be ashamed because they’re not Protestants? Should Methodists be ashamed because they’re not Presbyterians? When you change denominations, are you “unlearning” what you knew or – and here’s my contention with you – are you ADDING TO what you knew before.
Isn’t life in Christ a journey, and aren’t we moving from one imperfect state to another, picking up new information, experiences and relationships along the way? There should be nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to unlearn. Life and learning are processes leading to maturity – in this case, maturity in Christ. Should we be ashamed because, at one time, we were a child or a teenager or a young adult? Or should we be ashamed of other people that are still children or teenagers or young adults?
I once belonged to a cult called the Way International. I belonged to it for 15 years. I joined it while in college in the ’70s because, at that time, denominational Christianity had forsaken Biblical Christianity and had descended into “social Christianity,” hoping to save their waning numbers by being “socially relevant.” It didn’t work. Young people left the church in droves and, like me, found what they were looking for in so-called cults, like the Way International – organizations that still taught the Bible as God’s Word. Later, I came back into the denominational stream, and today I am a good Presbyterian. 🙂
Am I ashamed of the time I spent in the Way International? Certainly not. It was an experience in my journey with Christ that helped me to accept and appreciate all denominations for what they bring to the table; it helped me to realize that God is greater than my beliefs and my theology; but especially, it helped me to learn God’s Word. God had His hand on me then, and He has His hand on me now.
So I would be careful talking about being “ashamed” and having to “unlearn.” If something is part of our spiritual journey, it is there for a reason and it probably has a value that we are unaware of.
Thanks, John.
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said here. I think we’re interpreting what we’re ashamed of differently. (And I probably wouldn’t even use the word ashamed were it not for the comparison with Paul’s “ashamed of the gospel.”) I’m referring not to our growth processes or even our experiences. I’m referring to how Christians are largely perceived in this culture, how that has been shaped by the media and how certain vocal Christians have contributed to a stereotype of judgment, hate and bigotry.