Attractively Countercultural

I recently listened to a Bible study where a friend challenged her listeners to be attractively countercultural. What does that look like? And what does that mean compared to fifty, thirty, or even twenty years ago?

Countercultural perspectives are relative. In the 1960s, the prevailing conservative culture faced a tidal wave of challenges to generally accepted moral values. Counterculture supporters demanded the removal of what they called outdated restrictions. Labeled “progressive,” protesters fought for a release from moral restraints that interfered with their happiness.

Fast forward to today. The moral shift of our predominantly secular society has flipped the script on what is considered countercultural. Today, those who challenge accepted values are now those who hold to morally conservative ideals.

Ideological skirmishes have grown into ideological warfare. It has been said, “You can’t legislate morality.” But it seems our culture is determined to legislate immorality. So how can Christians support a countercultural biblical worldview without compromise in a way that’s attractive instead of combative?

Major plagues in the second and third centuries, and in the 1300s and 1500s, provided opportunities for Christians to live in an attractively countercultural way. Wealthy non-Christians—and even some physicians—did all they could to distance themselves from the sick and dying. But Christians cared for the sick, both their own and pagans outside the Christian community. While others ran from plague centers in fear, Christians stayed in love.

Some might say today’s situation is different. Non-Christians not only support lifestyles in opposition to biblical Christianity, they also extend efforts to pass legislation to pressure Christians to comply. Followers of Jesus Christ can respond combatively—and many have. Or we can stand firm in our biblical worldview while loving those who don’t agree with us.

What does this look like?

Speak the truth in love.

Ephesians 4:15 reminds us to speak the truth in love. Rather than beating people over the head with a ten-pound Bible, we can hold to what we believe while sharing why we believe it. We can communicate our concern for others’ welfare as we remind them how much our heavenly Father loves them. Instead of demanding that people first leave their sinful lives before coming to Christ, we can share the Father’s love for them right where they are. Isn’t that what Jesus did during His earthly ministry among those dismissed as sinners by the religious elite? Of course, as pastor and author Max Lucado noted, “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”

Speak of hell with tears.

Evangelist D. L. Moody once said, ““No one should ever preach on the topic of hell without a tear in his eye.” All too often our speech and behavior can communicate satisfaction—and even a level of joy—that unbelievers will get their just punishment. We forget that, as the apostle Paul declared in Romans 5:10, we were also once enemies of God. And in Matthew 23:37-38, when Jesus spoke judgment on the unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, we can hear the sorrow in His words. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.”

Speak to unbelievers as individuals for whom Jesus died.

Instead of seeing unbelievers as the enemy, we can see them as people for whom Jesus died. We can care for them as individuals rather than quotas to convert. We can ask questions to help understand why they choose not to believe the Father’s love for them. And we can remember that many unbelievers are, in effect, prisoners of war. For isn’t that what the apostle Paul said was our condition before we came to Christ? Paul wrote in Colossians 1:13-14, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

As I consider these points, I’m reminded of a wonderful example of attractive counterculturalism. Crisis pregnancy centers such as Care Net do much more than “hit and run” with the gospel message. They care for physical needs while sharing the gospel in love. And even when clients choose abortion, they are offered services to help address the emotional, physical, and spiritual consequences of their choice. What a God-honoring way to be attractively countercultural!

Join the conversation. What ways can you think of to be attractively countercultural?