students of jesus

In Subterranean: Why the Future of the Church is Rootedness, Dan White, Jr. has crafted a striking—and useful—metaphor when he calls fidelity the taproot of the church. “Fidelity is the essential character of faithfulness for cultivating a Tree of Life,” amidst the decaying world. “Fidelity is the concept of unfailing loyalty and putting that loyalty into practice, regardless of pressing circumstances.”

He describes these pressing circumstances as the crucible conditions of living as citizens of God’s kingdom in a world hostile to the idea of another kingdom, a kingdom announced by Jesus but not yet realized in all its power and authority. For the earliest believers, following Jesus was something more than a personal choice or a faith accessory. It was understood as a call to become an alternative people faithful to the rule of a not-yet-fully realized kingdom.” This kind of faithfulness grows from rootedness, a none-too-flashy source of life because it lies beneath the surface of everyday demands. Even so, the taproot of faithfulness keeps the Tree of Life green.

White points out that the hostile kingdoms of this world are not the true enemy of fidelity. In fact, opposition reveals faithfulness; the pressures of an unfriendly world can squeeze fidelity (or the signs of it) to the surface. The true enemy of fidelity is when the powers of this age become too friendly with the church. That’s true of the political alignment of church and state (dating back 1700 years), and it’s also true of the alignment of faith and popular culture in our present day.

Consider our modern-day enemies of fidelity: White describes in detail the “new narcissism” that masquerades as our constant worries of neuroses and “a low-key misery around the status of our lives.” This is the supremacy of ego, the tension between the heresy of self-love and our true calling to love God and love others. Especially in Western culture, Christianity has morphed into a selfish preoccupation. “Western Christianity is dizzy on the substance of the personal,” says White. He’s right: we think salvation is a personal ticket to heaven, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit is all about me. In part, this is a kingdom conflict: “faithfulness to God’s kingdom agenda meets the ravenous fighting ego.” Sadly, in many quarters of the Wstern church, the ravenous fighting ego is winning. Jesus is my “personal Savior,” like a Supernatural Siri available at our summons.

Dan White presents a challenge that rings strange on our ears. “When we make ‘personal’ fundamental to relating with God, inevitably our faith becomes transactional, not covenantal.” In other words, we get what we pay for instead of God getting what he redeemed with his very lifeblood. Another challenge: “When ‘Christian’ is a faith that works for me it is no longer a faith that works for the kingdom of God.” He also unpacks the possibilities of practicing fidelity in the next chapter (look for Fred Liggin's post Friday).

We need this message to take root in our churches and our souls, but who is ready to receive it? Dan is probably a real buzz kill at the uber-happy celebrations of many American churches. I’m glad he is.

Get a copy of his book (you’ll get 40% off if you use the code ROOTED before 23rd October).

Want to read other great bloggers as they summarize Subterranean? Check out these links:

Zach Hoag has written a review of Chapter 1: Hotels or Trees

Tim Suttle discusses Chapter 2: Excessive Personality

Ben Sternke reflects on Chapter 3: Extracted Perception

Kathleen Ward on Chapter 4: Expedited Production