Is Christianity Hipster?

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hat do you get when you mix a knit beanie, ankle-rolled jeans, a pair of well-worn Toms, a V neck t-shirt, some tasteful tattoos, a bible, and coffee? The infamous, slightly androgynous, totally relevant, and absolutely perfect: hipster Christian. You can catch this exotic biped lingering around local music dives drinking in the melodies of popular (but not too popular) indie bands or taste-testing the newest concoction at their local micro-brewery (Yay for quad’s and porters, right?).  Additionally, they might surface in groups at nearby coffee shops gathered around Tim Keller’s newest book talking about God, life, and poverty in third-world countries. If you see them here, I wouldn’t disturb them. It’s probably best to just take pictures from a good distance. Their diet of soy and legumes makes them slightly unpredictable at times.

*Image from thepubscout.com

Well, obviously this is a bit of a caricature, but I think it’s instructive as far as it goes. A lot of twenty-somethings are asking the question: can Christianity truly be relevant to contemporary culture? If so, what might that look like? Does a charitable accommodation of Christianity merely consist of adopting cultural trends and “baptizing” them with the presence of Christian traditions (i.e. Scripture, prayer, concern for the poor, etc.)? This is certainly a confusing question and a lot of times it seems like we just mash disparate parts of our life together and hope for the best. We take our love for coffee and mix that with a little bit of bible-study and (ta-da!) you get a “relevant, Christian” product. Unfortunately, this approach seems somewhat flat. It doesn’t seem to account for the true richness that we know the Christian worldview possesses.

So, what is a better way of navigating this question?

To begin, I think it’s helpful to remember that the evolving face of cultural trends always masks their impetus. Their true nature is an expression of a genuinely human desire: the desire for a place. We all want a place. We all want to fit somewhere. We all want to belong. Latching on to hipster trends (or even “hipster-ism” itself) seems to satisfy this human need and we just eat it up. Somehow it makes us feel like we’re not so alone. It feels defined and definition provides comfort.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not down on interesting and exciting new cultural developments. In fact, I think iPhones are great, the 4,531 newly discovered ways to make coffee is pretty phenomenal, and I never knew until now that Ray Ban’s were actually the apex of ocular engineering. I’m not saying we boycott these trends. What I’m encouraging is a that we honestly assess the reason behind the trends to see how Christianity can properly engage them.

The reality is, a new iPhone will never give you a lasting meaning or purpose. That new coffee shop that “everybody goes to” will eventually close down.  Given the inevitable expansion of your plaid-encased mid-section, your skinny jeans (Lord bless ‘em) will probably stop fitting in about 5-7 years.  Trends change. Cultural taste is about as capricious as a 5^th grade love interest and if you find your “belonging” in these realities, then you’re bound to wear yourself out running around to “empty cisterns”(Jeremiah 2:13).

Now, this desire for “belonging” is not (in itself) a bad thing. In fact, I think it’s a beautiful reminder of the human condition. Human beings were actually created to have a place. Fortunately, that place consists of more than just a pair of skinny jeans and an asymmetrical haircut. We were created to abide in a dynamic, reciprocal relationship with God the Creator.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Essentially, he calls to us saying, “Stop your useless attempts to find meaning in other things. Stop carrying the burden of endless cultural demands. I am here. With me you have an enduring place; one that doesn’t change every other week. Only I can provide the peace you really need and the place you crave.”

*Image from wallpaperfast.com

Jesus also says in John 4:10, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” In the context here, Jesus is talking with a woman who was fumbling through life, trying to find purpose and security through cultural customs. Jesus recognized this and said to her, “You don’t have to keep doing this. Look to me. I have the water that your soul is longing for. I can fill you forever. I can satisfy that bottomless pit that your soul has.”

This is why I think Christianity is actually MORE hipster than anything currently on the table. Why? Because Christianity focuses its attention directly on the latent desire existing behind cultural trends. It speaks to the most relevant and essential deficiency you and I have: the need for a place to belong.  

So, go out and enjoy culture. Enjoy the fruits of human creativity and ingenuity. But don’t forget that truly relevant, “hipster” Christianity doesn’t best accommodate itself to cultural trends by just mixing them with Christian traditions. Instead, Christianity most affectively confronts culture with the poignant message of the gospel as it answers the fundamental desires of all human hearts and offers anyone an enduring place in the Kingdom of God.