Definitions Part 3: Hipster Christianity (Confessions from a Hipster AND a Christian)

Definitions Part 1: Jesus vs. Religion
Definitions Part 2: What is Christianity? What makes someone or something Christian?

Have you heard this phrase being thrown out? HIPSTER CHRISTIANITY. I hear it ALL THE TIME. Every time I hear it, the meaning changes, most of the time it’s used as a negative and then sometimes, it’s not. It’s a very misunderstood and misused term. AND that annoys me.

Let’s start with defining what a hipster even is. Trust me, I would know. I am a hipster.

A hipster could be identified by wearing v necks, skinny jeans, plaid shirts, an assortment of fedoras, beanies and caps, TOMS/Ked’s, behead hair, tattoos, ray-bans, your grandfather’s sweater and probably shops at thrift stores, American Apparel and/or Urban Outfitters.

Everything hipsters like is obscure and indie. The hipster’s choice of music is music you’ve never heard of before (It’s usually sounds like a mix of shoegaze, dubstep, acoustic, unconventional instruments and electronica. Band names are inspired by their favorite authors like Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, Chuck Pahlanuik or Kurt Vonnegut). Hipsters will like things for ironic or nostalgic purposes (Labrynth, bow ties, fedoras, ect.). And every hipster is a barista, musician, a freelance designer/illustrator, blogger, and film/literary/art critic. Their coffee and teas are always organic and fair trade. They also love to use the font Helvetica Neue for everything.

(And I sadly fit all of these.)

This was my FB default. And sadly, this isn’t me trying at all.

Hipster is an art/fashion trend as well as a life style and culture.

Now normally when I hear the term “Hipster Christianity”, its usually reflecting the current trend in American churches, kind of like the next step of ‘Seeker-Friendly’ and ‘Simple Church’ movement that happened in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. It also reflects the attitude of a ‘younger’ Christians (I use ‘younger’ loosely because it doesn’t reflect just physical age but rather the mentality.) who had grown up in church and are challenging some of the Church’s legalism and conservative ideas.

So I’m want to explain how ‘Hipster Christianity’ is a misunderstood term that can be painted as both a positive and a negative.

THE POSITIVE

It used to describe a movement towards house churches and small groups where a desire of restoration and reformation from the current ways of ‘corporate’ church. There is a certain aesthetic that is very artsy and organic. It is inspired by artists and musicians looking back at our roots in the Acts Churches and our current post-modernism to seek a more living faith after being burnt out.

They hold art shows to raise awareness for community and mission out reaches. The worship is a combination of original songs, deconstructed Hymns, maybe some current worship songs and even some old fashion liturgy.

The ‘Hipster’ part of the term describes the atmosphere of the church rather than reflecting the attitude - which I will talk about in a bit.

(My best example of this is Bloom in Denver, CO. You might have heard of the band Gungor, this is their home church. You should check out their teaching pastor, Andrew Arndt's blog)

THE NEGATIVE

But here are two reasons why being a called a hipster is a negative: hipsters are often viewed as posers and fakes and the hipster attitude.

The hipster will give off the appearance of aloofness and apathy. The hipster is cooler than you. The hipster already did the popular trend before it was ‘mainstream’. When the hipster talks, the tone is condescending.

And it’s really obnoxious.

So let’s address the term Hipster Christianity again. To sum it up, instead of ‘Holier-Than-Thou’, it is now ‘Cooler-than-Thou.’

There is this obsession with ‘the show’ and cultural relevance, to where it becomes the utmost priority. What I’ve also noticed is the Hipster Christian/Cooler-Than-thou lifestyle is that they are okay, if not proud, of drinking. They love to open their ‘worship experience’ (It can’t be called a service anymore, it’s too ‘churchy’). They intentionally slip in swearing sometimes.

They like to say, “If the music is too loud you’re too old.”

“This isn’t your Grandmother’s Church.”

“Don’t worry about whatever sinful thing you are doing. I won’t judge you like a ‘conservative christian’ would.”

It started of with good intentions, trying to reach out and bring people back to church who didn’t like church. But I think we swung the pendulum too far.  We’ve become obsessed with making Jesus ‘hip’ and ‘cool’. It is a purposeful forgetting of the name we bear as Christians. This isn’t Hipster Christianity, it is Shallow Christianity.

And that is when I get concerned.

It’s not the skinny jeans, or the music choice or volume that I’m worried about. All of that is just appearance and preference. It’s when it affects the heart and the leadership of the church develops that arrogant hipster attitude. When that happens, we lose sight of Christ and everything He did for us to even be Christians in the first place. Christianity and church becomes a glorified competition, something for man to better at than his fellow men.

Does that last sentence sound familiar? It goes right back to my first post about Jesus vs. Religion. Christianity isn’t about us, it’s about Him. We put God first instead of getting fixated appearances and competing- both in our own and other Churches.

When we try to change Jesus and Christianity into something cool, it’s like trying to reinvent the wheel using a triangle. It might slide by for minute, but it will get stuck eventually. And what are we trying to improve anyways? Let us look at Jesus for who He is.

I’m going to start if with that He was the best artist and designer ever. Have you looked outside?

Jesus was a radical and loving teacher who spoke the truth with authority.

He was the most humble man, cleaning the very feet of His disciples.

He cared for the widows, the lepers, the whores, the thieves, and the lowest of the low.

He took on the worst death even to just save one of us.

And, not only did He rise from the dead, He conquered it.

And how is any of that not cool?

By trying to make Jesus cool, it’s basically saying that we are embarrassed of Him. And that is wrong.

“Then Jesus told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky... Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:24-27 MSG