Thread by @EstherOfReilly

Apropos of @PaulVanderKlay and @glenscrivener chat on what Jordan Peterson offers that's lacking in the church, how he's exposed the church, etc., a few thoughts. Thread. /1

First of all, we have to recognize that we're dealing with a remarkable talent here. Communicators like JP are one in a million. You can't teach what he has. You have it or you don't. So that's something that's beyond any pastor's control. /2

But this is, of course, as JP says, a "multivariate problem." "The Church" isn't a monolith. Even "evangelicalism" isn't a monolith. There is no one entity on which we can pin blame, no one thing to which we can point and say "That's it. That's why we're hemorrhaging." /3

However, I submit that we can pinpoint at least a few problems. First, we could look at JP's demographic: smart, somewhat quirky young guys. Then we could consider the level at which Church is typically "pitched" and ask ourselves why it misses this demographic. /4

One takeaway is that churches shouldn't be afraid of going deep in Bible studies & small groups. Don't underestimate your audience. Don't give them milk when they're hungry for meat. Men in particular will respect you for giving them meat. /5

Another takeaway: Don't be afraid to confront suffering and darkness. Don't put pressure on people to construct a happy facade for their life. Bring these things into the small men's group. Bring them into your sermons. And SIT with it. Grapple with it. Don't rush to "fix" it. /6

Also, don't shy from questions. Young people sense insecurity. They sense when you're dodging or shutting them down because you're afraid of looking silly. Learn from JP: Put yourself out there even when it might be vulnerable or risky. Men will respect you for it. /7

Also, read more. Read old books. Read great literature. Read history. Feed on the kinds of things Peterson has spend his career feeding on. Don't worry about whether Dostoyevsky is old or irrelevant. Kids tune out when you try to be relevant anyway. /8

Also, most importantly: Understand why you believe what you believe. Peterson's fanbase is largely composed of people who think Christianity, literally understood, has no rational justification. This is because they never encountered anyone who could give them one. /9

Through peer pressure, through an accumulation of bad arguments, through memes, through culture, faith and reason have come to be seen as enemies. And who wants to be unreasonable? Who wants to be "anti-science?" /10

By offering a new lens by which the Bible can be appreciated as story but not accepted as history, JP gives his followers respect for the Bible minus the challenge it poses if literally true. The challenge that says, "It is actually unreasonable NOT to believe." /11

We need to accept the fact that a faith grounded in literal fact is not what many ppl are looking for, and as long as we hold firm to that, they will look elsewhere. We can't stop them, but we can do better explaining why Christianity is a thinking man's religion. /End

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