When Donald Miller speaks of the use of love as a currency of sorts, he is, IMO, really on to something. Do so, cheapens the greatest of virtues. I wonder if this also reinforces the notion that some people hold that Christians are manipulative and controlling.

This observation is most penetrating:

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This approach has created a Christian culture that is completely unaware what the greater culture thinks of us. We don't interact with people who don't validate our ideas. There is nothing revolutionary here. This mindset is hardly a breath of fresh air to a world that uses the exact same kinds of techniques.
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May God help us to put no confidence in the flesh, whether it is in the flawed effort to create a culture of cool or any other effort to manipulate and control our others. The power of the message of the cross and the working of the Holy Spirit should be sufficient for our calling!

"People feel loved at Imago, but they also feel instructed, guided, and that God is not just a Deity who is there to give them whatever they want"

What a brilliant commendation for a church. Imago Dei sounds like it is transforming not conforming - either to society or to the prevalent Christian sub-sulture.

I'll be the second to last person to defend the Dove Awards - but did Donald hear that, or is he assuming that that's how they feel?

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"I can tell somebody such and such a behavior is sin, and still love them. Why not? Why not bring them food, why not hug them, why not have them over to the house? Won't this only help them understand the truth?"
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When Truth is bound up in the action of love-- the "verb" of it, if you will-- then it becomes a language every single human being can understand. We cannot always understand the Christian buzz-words or the weighty theologies. But we can understand Love and see the Truth through the action and expression of it.

Great thoughts from Miller.
Shalom.

If my wife and I didn't show our kids that we love their grandfather who is gay, what would we be teaching them? Shame on us if we were to teach him any other way than love as his reaction to his grandfather.

That's a hard to swallow Idea...I need to run to the drug addict that steals from our church and throw my arms around him, instead of shooing him away...I don't want to do that...

... but that's what so amazing isn't it? I guess what I love about Jesus is how he breaks through those boundaries and makes a place that isn't for those who fit but for everyone. Including Paul and his pious "chief of sinners" and those of us with greater shame and social stigma attached with church. Jesus breaks through those social standards to relationship... before the "sinner" stops, what an amazing move.

Donald Miller's thoughts are great, but Loren Miller has a good point.

As others have noted, Donald Miller asks, "Why not? Why not bring them food, why not hug them, why not have them over to the house? Won't this only help them understand the truth?"

In my heart, I love these questions. But in my house, I want to protect my kids from some people who are simply dangerous--like drug dealers, like sexual predators on the internet and on the street. I want to protect our youth in my church from these same people.

How do we find the wisdom to balance justice and love?

I am perfectly ready to turn my own cheek (in theory). But I am not ready to turn my daughter's cheek for her.

I have thouroughly enjoyed reading Don's first three books and look forawrd to his latest also.

I agree that the gospel is not "cool" or "fashionable", but it is something beautiful. Sure, our culture has a counterfiet notion of beauty, but isn't that all the more reason why Christians need to develop and live a theology of aesthetics?

In asserting that "fashion doesn't matter" or "hip doesn't matter" I would plead that Christians still contend that - along with love and truth - beauty does matter. While fashion and other aspects of culture can and are used to denigrate the beauty of the imago dei, they can also be used to esteem it appropriately.

Apparently you're not too aware of the evil that lives in many of these people who need our love and mostly prayer that God helps to release them from the chains that bind them.

You must be able to discern the Spirits my friend!.. Some of these poor lost souls (which we no longer are! ) are bound and members of the kingdom of darkness! Some are oppressed by demons, or even possessed! It is them (Satan's forces) that you'll be dealing with!.. Thus, the reason to pray, fast, and put on the armor of the Lord when dealing with some of these people. We can't just forget about the dangers involved. NOT with all sinners or all homosexuals, or all drug addicts, but certainly with many of them! It's Satan ( the controller ) we'll be dealing with! Are you being guided by the Holy Spirit, prepared/protected and guided by God's armor!? Then Go for it. Fight the winning battle!! This is not just a game of .. poor dears .. and just be nice to them. You'd be an open target for whatever attacks the adversary has prepared against you. BY ALL MEANS BE PREPARED VIA THE HOLY SPIRIT. IT'S FIRE YOU PLAY WITH, NOT MERELY LOVE!!! Love we already have for lost souls. You'll be dealing with lots more than just poor poor nice lost brothers.

Please pray before you dare act.

After reading BLJ... I was a little concerned. Not about Mr Miller- but myself. Can I be culturally relevant?

Mr Miller has gifted us- not with a "new model for cool christianity" but, with a modeling OF authenticity. Be what you are- serve God from there- then grow.

Then- love others where they are- and allow them to grow.

THAT, I get.

Thanks.. I was starting to worry that in order to be culturally relevant, I'd have to start swearing, drink beer, maybe even live in a van and smoke a pipe. ;)

Isn't "not trying to be cool" really the new way of trying to be cool? Especially in the church, along with reciting one's gripes, cussing like a sailor, telling stories about childhood psychological trauma, and otherwise showing how spiritual one is by telling how unspiritual one is.

There's cool to the world, and then there's cool to the world we specifically live in. Playing up either type seems to have similar dangers.

There is a balancing act between love, faith, and common sense. I trust in God, but I lock my car door at night. I love those I encounter, even those who want to do me harm, but I do not allow them to harm me if I can prevent it.

I think that Donald is reflecting more on our refusal to reach out and love those whose lifestyles or theology we disagree with more than our need to be naive about people. But, the reality is that when we love, as God loves, it will cost us. It will hurt, and it will be more rewarding than we can imagine

Miller sounds altogether profound and contradictory:

In his first answer he says quite rightly, "I attended the Dove Awards and was brokenhearted. I saw all these beautiful Christians, wonderful people, with this wonderful, revolutionary message of Jesus, who, instead of saying, "Look, fashion doesn't matter, hip doesn't matter," were saying "World, please accept us, we can be just as hip as you, just as fashionable, only in a religious way."

And then in his second answer, he seems to become what he dislikes--a seeker of approval:

"This approach has created a Christian culture that is completely unaware what the greater culture thinks of us."

So, do we want the world to like us, or not? I'm confused.

I think we what happens is that the church takes to "speaking the truth" when they are out in the world rather than speaking the language of love. Where the truth should be spoken is within the walls of the church and community of believers.

The world should first and foremost see the church as a place of unconditional, grace-filled love for others.

Christians need to exude both truth AND beauty (I think they are inherently supportive of each other), but I understand what Don is saying about the Dove Awards and similar things that Christians do that simply emulates the world's approach.

I would love to see the Dove Awards canned, and a public free concert given instead -- acts of service given freely to the community instead of patting each other on the back at a Christian awards ceremony.

THAT, to me, would be beauty.

Excellent comment by Cam! I agree.
On another note, one could argue that authenticity is "hip" right now, so Donald Miller is being hip when he demonstrates his authenticity. (nothing against Miller or authenticity - I just think his "I'm not hip!" thing is ... well...

I loved Blue Like Jazz and enjoy Donald Miller's fresh perspective. I think he points out a valuable lesson... most people know when they are being treated as an agenda rather than an simple friend. It is quite a turnoff, and our 'cookie' cutter, pretty people churches aren't really changing anything.

I agree that he could fall victim to the same 'trend' based thinking as other have fallen into.

I love John Stott's teaching on the culture. Jesus calls us to the 'Beatitudes' and they are counter-cultural no matter what context. If Christians concentrated more on living the Sermon on the Mount than analyzing customer trends, i think we'd all be in a better place.

Great Interview with Don, and I will be third to last person to defend the Dove awards, but I think Don is wrong in critizing them. I hate Christian music, but so what if they want to dress up and honor those who are doing it. On top of that Don has been interviewed in Relevant Mag, which is basically an attempt at making Christanity cool yet he has nothing to say about that. The Dove Awards are too easy of a target, and his publishing company is trying to make him "cool" and "hip" why go after them? Oh well in the end we all do have some logs in our own eyes.

It seems as though our innate desire to be accepted and liked by someone is being labeled as evil. And indeed it is, but if we were all to get real with each other, we all do things to be accepted at some level, but hopefully to infiltrate the culture, not just to be cool or accepted. If I put on a tie to reach business men, I am not trying to be cool, although my flesh could get in the way when I stare in the mirror and say. "Now that is one good looking man that everyone will like." Each one of us has a level of wanting to be accepted by those of us around us. Heck, Jesus wants the whole world to accept him, but not for wrong reasons, for right reasons, for the cross. Stop criticizing the ties and pretty people. Don't criticize them because of their music and acknowledgement of God given talent.

It is so easy to point fingers at everyone else and especially those who are in the media's eye in the Christian entertainment industry and call them fake. Truth is, it is cool now to write a book and Donald keeps doing that. Christian conferences are cool also, Donald keeps speaking at those. Its not about ripping others and judging their hearts. Where is the love in criticizing those people when you don't know their hearts? I find it hard to swallow from an author and speaker where he markets a particular audience to read his book and yet criticizes artist who are just as talented in a different way. I love you Donald, but if this is truly your feeling then pull all your marketed book off the shelf, I don't want to see any more advertisements.

Right on the cover of your book it says, "Miller is enjoyably clever and his storytelling is beautiful, even poignant." Publishers weekly.

If that isn't marketing I don't know what is

My husband and I are in our late fiftees (well, maybe a teensy bit later than that even). We love Don, Rick, Imago Dei folk and their godly lives and thinking. We were two of Don's most un-cool looking workshop attendees when he was here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Nonetheless, he went out of his way to greet us and treated us like royalty. Vaila and Norman

In reply to Daniel Darling's question:

"So, do we want the world to like us, or not? I'm confused."

... No, we don't care at all whether they like us. In fact Jesus warned us that the world would HATE us. [Do we believe that? Can we live with that?] But what we DO CARE about is that they like ... uh ... LOVE Jesus! So should we be hip? Cool? Unhip? Uncool? We need to first of all be who God made us to be [we are members in particular in the Body of Christ], and we need to be WHATEVER it takes to get them to see Jesus & His love for them. We are to be all things to all men [even fashionable at the Dove awards], that by all means [hip, unhip, cool, uncool] we might save some. It's not about us...it's ALL about Jesus.

I think we're missing the point with the "Dove Awards" thing. Who is the audience? It's Christians! I'm pretty sure that Billboard and Rolling Stone couldn't give a rip. So why do we need to pretend we're the Grammys. I think that's what Don is getting at. For that matter, why do we need the Dove Awards at all? Shouldn't our purpose be to communicate God's love?
On that note, we can try to defend and rationalize our actions all we want, but when it boils right down to it, we DON'T love our brother, enemy, or even fellow Christain as we should, and that's wrong. But rather than shaming ourselves we should turn to God who is the only ONE (or ONES) who can give us that kind of love and sensitivity.
Time for you and I to get off the keyboard and on our knees to humble ourselves and invite God to make the necessary changes in us!
God Bless!!!

If the variety of these comments doesn't give us a true picture of the church, then nothing will. The truth is "every man is right in his own eyes." That is not what the church needs. It needs to express the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Period!

Good and refeshing. Amen. I've seen it and tried it, a little. It just isn't real, at least not for me.

I do wonder how being all things to all people in order to win some to Christ (1 Cor 9) works out in this. Surely we do need to connect on a cultural level. But in ways that do not lessen what the Jesus revolution and the kingdom- is all about.

I need to practice being brief! Basically, I don't see this "coming out" into the music scene, book scene, with our own awards, etc as being harmful. It's a stepping stone. We're growing in our identity as a community - and one with purpose. I think the Christian subculture(s) is in an adolescent stage. You can't be an adult unless you first are a teenager.

Fascinating concept. I just got back from Ethiopia and while reflecting and recovering from re-entry to the culture in the U.S., I realized my brothers and sisters in Africa have no concept of "cool." They seem free of trying to impress anyone or draw people to themselves. Their passion for God is steeped in humility. We can only imagine a culture with no concept of "cool." Or can we?