Modern Radicalism vs. Historical Radicalism

Modern radicalism is a far cry from its distant relative found in classical activism and the struggle for cultural and social change. Here is the revised and updated version of the full story to run in Relevant Magazine next month. I'm sure they will edit down some important content. You get the full version here first. Enjoy! To write about radicalism was going to be easy- or so I thought. My personal jump off point should’ve provided good source material; a published book on the subject and a personality bent toward all things extreme. Personally speaking, I like radicals because they are not boring and I started off this project believing I was one myself. The timing is good too. In our political season we keep hearing about the liberal left, the religious right, radical environmentalists, radical Muslims, and even radically branded Christians make the occasional appearance in the mainstream news media. It turns out that modern radicalism is big news.

But modern radicalism is somewhat different from classic radicalism seen in the lives of people like Ghandi, Martin Luther, and even Christ. These days it looks more extreme – like a more radical radicalism. In our current setting radicalism is really closer to grass roots activism. Our North American brand started with the American Revolution and worked its way through the anti-slavery movement in the 19th century; to the Lawrence textile strike in 1912; to the labor movements in the 1930’s; to the civil rights movement in the 60’s; to our 21st century expressions of radicalism seen in anti-abortion, immigrant defense, anti human trafficking, and pro environmental movements today. Many leaders for each radical movement in North American history were committed followers of Christ and his teachings. Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez are great examples among many. Both were deeply committed to their faith. A migrant worker from the strawberry fields in California, Chavez employed traditional radicalism (including fasting and prayer) to successfully organize farm laborers and migrant workers to fight for equal rights and justice. He died in 1993 and 50,000 people attended his funeral. I start to notice the fact that historical radicals often operated from a community of faith and the wisdom that comes from Scripture. It turns out that while many people live with a post modern, poly-theistic value system, radicals lean toward the wisdom of the ancients.

While on business in various cities around the world I began asking people about their view of radicalism today. To capture the most current ideas on the subject I posted queries on places like The Ooze (www.theooze.com ) and other emergent media outlets. Some said the Amish were the best example. Some mentioned Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne, and Bono. Some mentioned their pastor or youth leader. As you can imagine, answers were all over the board.

I began randomly interviewing strangers. One woman, in her mid 50’s, with a friendly face and shoulder length colored hair sat on an airplane next to me between Portland and Denver. She looked a lot like Greta VanSusteran (sp) from Fox News except she was a bit older, prettier, and she was sitting with me in coach. This time, I asked about her view of Christian radicals in particular. She told me that modern radical Christians have hi-jacked their own faith traditions and changed the original intents. She mentioned people who picket abortion clinics as the perfect example. “They don’t seem very smart to me because they don’t understand the teaching of their own faith. They shove it down people’s throat.” She said thoughtfully, without indicating what faith she adhered to. “Those people are on the fringe to me”. She concluded by saying that she has no respect for anyone who is on the fringe. Before returning to her Suduko game, she paused thoughtfully, removed her glasses and leaned over to say, “Actually, the anti-war protesters of the Vietnam era were a good kind of radical.” Hmm. This research is going to be more difficult than imagined, I thought to myself. As time went on, I realized the definition of radicalism is somewhat of a moving target.

I needed to go someplace where real radicals hang out. I needed to find that anti-war, anti-Starbucks, wheatgrass-eating, yoga-practicing population of Ralph Nader supporters. So I head to Pioneer Square in downtown Portland, Oregon. It has the nickname of Portland’s Living Room because people just hang out there all the time, rain or shine, playing hacky sack, and eating their hotdog stand giant pretzels. The square covers one city block bordered by the metro train, an old courthouse (the original Pioneer courthouse), and Nordstroms. A few people in the square pass out flyers about various causes and meetings taking place throughout the city. Someone hands me a slip of paper that points out our country spends $486 billion on military spending and only $29 billion on diplomacy. Man, this place is a radicals breeding ground. This bunkered in bastion of Goths and freaks and street preachers has taken some big business hits because there is a thriving Starbucks located on the Northwest corner. But I’m not discouraged. I venture inside for an Americano with steamed soy and I find more anti-war flyers on the tables. Out in the square, through the big window I can see a guy holding a binder and trying to stop people walking past him. He’s trying to gain their support for something. He’s about 28 years old, wearing a skull cap, and sporting a full beard. Perfect.

His name is Nate and he’s the local head of Greenpeace. I tell him about Relevant Magazine, and this story idea, and I ask him if he considers himself to be a radical. “I can see why people think we are on the fringe”, he used that same phrase Greta used on the plane. “But I don’t think we are radicals at all”, he says it, and more, with a genuine smile and a knowing look. “Greenpeace was actually started by a Quaker – a Christian!” He sees that I am visibly shocked by this claim, which I later found out to be mostly true. The founding members, most of them, were devout Quakers based in Vancouver, BC. “Back in 1971 the US Government was planning a nuclear test off some islands near Alaska and this anti-war Christian guy thought it was wrong. So he got another crazy guy to loan his boat to the cause and they all headed up to put themselves in harm’s way… to stop a US military nuclear test. He tells me their motivation was based on the value of stewardship for all creation. He actually used that word – stewardship. He called it “non-violent resistance to protect all life”. He tells me their mission failed to stop the test and the founders were arrested in the process, but it started a peace movement that continues to this day. Regardless of what Greenpeace has become, the original intent was established by some very average Christians with above average convictions. I left Pioneer Square that day with a new realization that true radicals don’t normally think they are radical. In fact, the ones who say they are radical probably aren’t.

I didn’t stop there. Nothing but a global search of the most obvious radicals would be necessary for this journey. I walked the streets of Chicago in search of someone more like a Christian radical. I dunno, someone with an in your face Jesus sign hanging on their back. In the middle of February I found myself in Denver and didn’t find a single radical there either. Not the obvious kind anyway. I was looking for the kind that Greta spoke of… people on the fringe! I need to find a snowboarders for Christ meeting or a skate park evangelism team. Nothing.

I headed to Delhi, India for a business trip and did some prior research hoping to find a radical on the other side of the world. I’m not the first to do this. Shane Claiborne writes about travelling to India to meet Mother Theresa because he felt she might be the only true Christian in the world at the time. I suppose I’m looking for something like that too, a true Christian radical who is going against the tide in a part of the world that has little stomach for Christianity.

I’ve been there four times, enough to know that I don’t really like Delhi. I’m not drawn to a place with severe pollution, the kind you can see; the kind you can taste in the evening when you go to bed and dig out of the corner of your eyes when you wake up in the morning. Dogs and cows roam around with impunity. Men urinate on the sides of the crowded roads without a thought. The poverty is unreal. Many people, millions of them, are so poor they live in small huts made from cow manure and have been known to eat dogs to stay alive. India is not a fun place to visit.

When business concludes I set out to meet a man, a true radical, named Rick. I learned that he and his wife moved to Delhi from Atlanta to help plant home based churches throughout India and Nepal. India is a place where Christians are regularly harassed if not fully persecuted for their faith. So I prepare to meet my first real Christian radical. Because of the inherent risk of such a mission and the difficulties associated with planting churches in India, I expect to meet someone who looks more like Indiana Jones than John Edwards. To my complete surprise, I find Rick to be perfectly normal on the outside. He wears glasses to read and drive and, well, to do anything. He has slightly graying hair that is cut like a Chicago businessman and he wears perfectly normal clothing. He’s not big or muscular or sporting any hardware pierced through his nose, eyelid, or ears. It takes me some time to just admit that he looks like my dad. Yet he and his wife are successfully encouraging and mentoring local leaders to plant home churches throughout India and Nepal. They don’t make much money, haven’t written any books, and they don’t get any airtime on Christian TV. But I’m overcome by their warrior hearts.

Later that same day Rick and I met one of his local leaders for coffee. His name is Ramesh, a new church planter and living example of the ministry and mentoring of Rick and Ellen. I learn that he and his wife are headed into Northern India soon to plant a new church. It dawns on me, right then, in a humid coffee shop in Delhi, that true radicalism has horrible pay; it takes years to see its fruit; and it requires that quiet, under the radar kind of love for people that Christ gave his life for. God is not speaking more profoundly to the good looking loud ones. He’s moving powerfully through the simple ones who only wish they could have the time and money to be a snowboarder for Christ.

I fly home. I readjust to my clean freeways and, for a moment, catch myself wondering how my book is selling at Barnes and Noble. I briefly wonder if I should take that new job for better pay and move my family to another city. Then the Lord takes me back to my time with Rick and Ramesh and to the countless other radicals who have optioned for a life with fewer options than my own. I start to realize that I just couldn’t see them before in places like Denver and Chicago because I didn’t know what to look for. I’d been tricked into thinking that radicals were somehow flashy, famous, and dangerous. But they’re not. They’re just not.

But classic radicals, the real ones, are alive and well. They are like the nuns taking over for Mother Theresa in Calcutta without anyone knowing their name; anti-abortion activists who have been fighting a seemingly impossible war for over 35 years, home schooling moms distributing food in La Chereca, Nicaragua, and big city environmentalists who never backs down from well funded industrial law firms. I realize now they are all around us, tattoo or not, pierced or not, these people do affect our lives and culture. They are quietly praying and fasting for the sick in their church. They are taking in foster children. They are just doing the stuff that Christ would be doing for “the least of these”. Christ told his disciples and the crowd that gathered around him, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me”. Mark 8:34. That means us. That means we should all be radical.

As the modern definition of radicalism has been redeployed numerous times throughout recent history, so has its relationship to Christianity. For some bizarre reason our streets, churches, and even Christian media are all filled with people who look radical - like pastors who ride a Harley to church, the emboldened lead singer of some band, and the pro snowboarder who openly professes Christ. I’m sure most of them are sincere. But can you see something different growing around us? A new Christian radicalism has emerged in the West that appears Christian on the surface but often moves without the traditional values of classic Christian radicalism and selflessness. It is called “radical” because it gets tattooed, writes edgy books, does podcasts, speaks at conferences (for top fees), and never really sacrifices much at all. The honor and the pay are just too good. Like a decorated horse at the head of a parade it moves ahead proudly with a full commitment to American materialism, individualism, and clever self promotion without giving a second thought to the costly sacrificial nature of a real radical.

This fake radicalism is appealing but it’s not real. Can’t you see it? They’re handing us a placebo and telling us it makes life more interesting. So many of us feed the veneer, just paying attention to external forms, without realizing we’ve just taken a Christian water pill. Western culture accelerates the dying process by continuing to erode away the radicalism of classic Christianity only to replace it with a brand of faith that doesn’t really cost anyone their life; not to mention our possessions, income, and relationships.

In the vein of MLK or Chavez, classic Christian radicalism begs for lasting change that takes years to unfold. And without agents or fancy contracts, it calls for warriors willing to fight long battles against satanic structures, including institutions, ideas, and corporations that hurt people without a voice. These are the targets of our warfare that Paul spoke of in his letter to the Ephesian church: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12).

Here’s the bottom line: in a world with more fake radicals than coffee joints, true radicals are needed now more than ever. Right now, in our own backyards, we have human trafficking, illegal immigrant abuse by shady employers, racism, over-crowded prisons, very little healthcare for children and the working poor, and the issues go on and on and on.

It’s clear that radicalism, as a lifestyle, is immensely important, and therefore requires our honest attention. The origin of the word, the English version, dates to the middle ages. It’s somewhat different from its current popular usage. It really means to be rooted. The idea behind the word is to be so grounded, so deeply rooted into a lifestyle direction that one stands against the social and cultural currents that tear others away from that same path. It’s not so much forcing a change of course, but returning oneself and others to an originally intended path. By this definition, classic radicalism is found in the lives of many historical figures, people who stood up for human rights and religious reform. Today, anyone who adheres to the person and teachings of Christ in the midst of runaway humanism and hedonism is, by definition, a radical. It’s essentially building your house on a rock that doesn’t get torn down in cultural storms. So, to become a true radical, is to return oneself and others to a sacred path, and stand against modernity’s eroding influences.

At this point in my research it all comes crashing in on me. I realize that I’m also part of the problem. Crap! I wrote a book on the subject, speak at conferences, and surf big waves with all the selfishness you can imagine. What’s more, with a good paying job and a life mission that doesn’t really cost me anything, I realize I’m not radical at all. I’m not what I thought I was. It’s an ancient Hebrew poem - a Psalm- that God uses to draw the mental picture I need to correct my own course and return to the ancient way. Psalm 46 says:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

The poet describes a world that is literally falling apart. It’s a world much like our own. But through the chaos and the destruction we can picture a big fat beautiful river that cuts through the unstable mountains into the city of God. The river of Life and the city of God are immovable. They are profoundly rooted. It’s within their boundaries that we invite others to join us in expanding those lines, the borders of God’s Kingdom, down and into the chaotic world to encompass the rejected and tormented. All this effort to study the icons of radicalism has brought me full circle. It was a spiritual mentor, Dave Nixon, who recently said modern radicalism has co-opted the culture and has lost its hidden power. It was always supposed to be framed up from the foundations of repentance, hiddenness, deep prayer, sustainable faith, and perseverance.

So, on a night when the outside world pretends to care less, I try to take that bittersweet pill of old fashioned repentance, hoping to wake up tomorrow morning infected again by the blood of Christ, diseased, and unable to extricate myself from His grip. I’m compelled to be a true radical right here in my small hometown, through my little local church, regardless of the cost or how long it takes. That is rooted.

Danger Habit Message Podcast

Here's a 30 minute version of the story behind the story... the reason I wrote the book... the reason all things are possible for someone who normally feels broken and bored. Take it deep and pass it on. Peace.

Our Greatest Fear

Whenever I post stuff like this I learn to regret it later. So let me restate the title as "My Greatest Fear". That way I don't have to speak to an idea for anyone else but myself in the event you take issue with it.

So, what is MY greatest fear? It's to be irrelevant.

This hit me the other day while sitting in yet another airport with a thousand other mindless travelers on my way to a pretty important event for myself and my family. I was thinking "Man, I'm glad I'm going somewhere important with my son who thinks I'm important". Then, whammoo! It hit me right there; the thought that someday I might not be able to say that I was important to my son, to my kids, to my wife, to my company, to my community, to my church, to my world. To be irrelevant would SUCK!

I wonder how many people genuinely feel that way now? They might not even have the internal sense, that foundational truth that they are relevant to God. I wonder how many people fight their way through life, through jobs, through relationships, just so they can feel more relevant? I wonder if, underneath all our good works and benevolent efforts, we're all just trying to feel more relevant... is the issue that big?

I have more to say on this but it has to wait for now. I'm off to another meeting of great importance and I don't have time to think about the possibility they can do it all just fine without me.

Peace!

Midlife Radicals, Free Radicals, and Gauguin

I heard the story recently of a father, husband, and successful businessman who left everything behind to paint. I mean he left it all behind - just walked away from his job, his family, his friends, and sailed to a small island in the South Pacific to paint for the rest of his life.

His name is Paul Gauguin and he's famous. Well, if you were into the history of art you would recognize him as a contemporary of Cezanne and Monet. The world of art honors him for his post-Renaissance paintings and his memorialization of Polynesian culture. And I agree, he was rare in that endeavor.

His last self portrait (1896)

But I can't escape the fact he was about my age when he just bailed out before his plane landed. He said he was escaping "everything that was artificial and conventional" about European life and just got on a boat and sailed away, restarting on a small island. Before he arrived he was quoted as saying, "The West is rotten and anyone who is like Hercules can find new strengths travelling to far-away places. And coming back one or two years after, solid." Accept for a short visit to France years later, he never really returned. He stayed there and fought against Catholic church harrassment and government corruption and abuse by painting scenes and ideas that preserved the beauty God had given his hosts.

His 21 year old daughter died after he landed on the islands and that all but killed his marraige and his faith in God. He said, "My daughter is dead. Now I don't need God". Gauguin later died as a result of Syphilis and alcoholism at the age of 54.

This story strikes a chord in many of us who just want to break out of the mundane life and go surf and paint on an island somewhere. What feral surfer or businessman have we not envied for this reckless abandoned lifestyle? Who of us hasn't wanted to just get on a boat and never return? Yet this guy actually did it... and he seems to have paid a terrible price. He left us with great art, yes, but his body was wrecked by rampant sex and drugs, his faith was wrecked by a lack of intimacy and understanding, and his selfish lifestyle ultimately left his family in rags.

"Lord, keep us on the straight and narrow way of sacrificial love and service to others." Peace!

Sugerland Vineyard the Sunday

I will be in South Texas this coming weekend, with my cowboy hat and surfboard in hand. Texas local Art W keeps sending me pictures of their surf and telling me they have it all going on there... we'll see for ourselves soon enough.

I will be speaking at a "Postcards from Paradise" movie premeire on Saturday night and then I will teach at the Sugerland Vineyard on Sunday morning. The Saturday night event is supported by the Sugerland Vineyard and Christian Surfers United States - Texas Chapter. I hope to surf the South Texas coast in the down times. Peace!

Earth Hour Tonight

Our family will take part in Earth Hour tonight between 8 and 9pm. I think it no coincidence that it has been snowing, off and on, over the last few days here on the beach in Oregon. For that to happen at all is rare. For it to happen in late March is hard to believe.

Truthfully, I hope the certain sets of conservative, right winged, Christians are right when they say global warming is a joke and that this is all cyclical. Wouldn't it be great if that were true? But I can't imagine how foolish we would be if they were wrong. I've met well meaning Christians who believe the Bible teaches the earth will burn up and that will in turn hasten the return of Christ. They refuse to listen to liberal global warming alarmists and chose rather to recycle by compulsion only. Preserving the planet and conserving energy? It's not done out of a sense of stewardship and honoring God's charge for us to be fruitful and care for what was created.

For me, I chose to believe that my great, great grandchildren will be cruising around in a jet pack or hovercraft and praying for those around them, serving the needy, and looking for the return of Christ. I do want them to be able to breath clean air and drink clean water. Earth Hour and many more things like it are good for us and it's the duty of Christians to listen and act.

Barrett on the 700 Club this Tuesday

My wife and I will be featured on the 700 Club this coming Tuesday, March 25th. I know the show has its share of controversy, but the producer who did our segment was pretty awesome. So I hope this turns out well.

The film crew was here last Fall and did some video of me surfing with friends (Buzzy, Stan, and Menke), skateboarding, and talking about the story behind the book. I think it will be one of those 10 minute segments with a narator, old photos, and video of my wife and I.

When they interviewed my wife Donna they did not let me stay in the room. I think it was quite personal and emotional for her. So I will be seeing her comments for the first time. Hmmm. Nervous!