Aaron Renn has written an important book, “Life in the Negative World.” It is meant for evangelicals learning to live in a culture where a biblical faith is seen as a negative influence on others. In a recent blog, Renn noted “About a quarter of the book is an updated and expanded version of my diagnosis of what’s happening in evangelicalism and its relationship with society at large.  But three quarters of it is about how evangelicals should start living in this new era I’ve called the ‘Negative World.'” 

I have been following Renn on line for sometime.  I regard his insights  worthy of serious reflection and discussion.  In his blog he wanted to “highlight four themes that you can use as a guide in thinking through the ideas I share in the book.”  I believe they are worthy of our attention as men who want to follow Jesus.

First, a posture of exploration.  In the world as well as the church are in a time of rapid change and uncertainty. We all are experiencing significant change.  Renn believe this should lead us into “adopting a posture of exploration.”  “Today’s world is much more like a ‘zero to one’ startup.  We are in the unknown territory and have to get more comfortable walking by faith rather than sight.”  Using the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the promised land as an example, he suggests, “They had known only the wilderness, which was their comfort zone.   Now they had to venture into the unknown, following the ark because they had not been this way before.” 

Second, increased focus on being a counterculture.  Renn believes, “the evangelical church needs to spend much more time self-consciously and intentionally stewarding the strength and health of its own community.”  He sees evangelicalism as internally weak.  He suggests there should be more of an internal focus rather then that of an external focus.  The image of building an ark to survive the flood would be a good image for the church to adopt

Thirdly, a minority mindset.  We are no longer a “moral majority” representing the cultural mainstream of America. “This means,” according to Renn, “that evangelicals need to learn to act like other minorities have always acted. We have to create our own institutions and practices that demarcate and sustain community life and be less reliant on the mainstream institutions of society.  Evangelicals do not need to take responsibility for or invest in mainstream institutions.” 

Fourthly, raising the bar on church.  When Christianity was the de facto national religion, most people were members and attended.  The bar was rather low; discipleship and belief were seen as artificial barriers to membership.  But Renn maintains, “As evangelicalism becomes more of a minority faith that requires an unpopular choice to embrace, this gives evangelical churches the opportunity to raise the bar for what they expect out of their members.  Raising this bar will be crucial to having stronger churches as well.”

These four suggestions can work effectively for any gathering of men, wanting to combat the effects of the shrill voices regarding toxic masculinity.  Men, the culture is not going to give us the guidance, encouragement and support to be a godly man.  We must be more creative in building communities of men who are about to build an ark, so as to rescue especially younger men.  We will need to accept the status of minorities, while calling men to whole hearted allegiance to the Lord.  I am thankful for the godly men in my life.  Jesus said, “Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self” (Mark 8:36 – Message).