Loyalty Part 1

One of my favorite writers and speakers, Brian McLaren, often refers to his "loyal critics." This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to those people who tear apart anything McLaren writes or says, no matter how on or off-target he may be in saying it, or how on or off-target they may be in their criticism of him. They are people who stopped listening long ago (if they ever actually listened at all) to what McLaren is really saying. There are many reasons why Brian's loyal critics remain so loyal to tearing him down (political, theological, literary, etc.), and those critics come from multiple areas of our culture. The most vocal of his loyal critics, however, are Christians, people who claim allegiance to the same God and faith group to whom and to which McLaren claims allegiance. A sad fact indeed.





I share the same faith (or at least I think I do) as McLaren and his loyal critics. I am struggling through many of the same questions, hopes, fears, frustrations, and desires with which McLaren seems to be struggling, and I have voiced those questions, hopes, fears, etc., in various settings over the last few years just as Brian has (although his audience is much larger than mine). It seems that I too have collected my own loyal critics, a group who seem to be just as loyal and interested in commenting on my comments as are Brian's. I am not sure why this is, as it appears to take a tremendous amount of time and effort to keep up with what someone else is thinking, and I wonder at what cost the critics do this. Most especially, what are they losing out on by spending so much of their time on the thoughts of Brian, me, or some other person for whom they have contempt simply because they dislike our views? What opportunities for deepening their own critical thinking, their undertanding of life, as well as growing in their own faith are being lost to them because of their preoccupation with a person or persons with whom they deeply disagree? No empirical answer can be given to these questions, but I do know enough to know the answer is at least, "a lot."





What would cause each of us to begin to rise above the fray that grips so much of our culture and its toxic focus on whom/what we are against? What does a re-focusing of our attention on those things that actually contribute good to society look like? How do we go about achieving and sustaining such a shift in focus? Let's get even more personal. How do I begin to elevate my thinking and speech in such a way so that I find I am becoming part of the solution to the injustice, fear, and turmoil around me? How do you do that?





I don't have a list that gets you and me there, but surely the process includes caring less every day what our loyal critics are saying. They often say things that are hurtful, mean, stupid, and even destructive, but since the only thing that will shut them up is for you and I to shut up, well then, I say we make peace with the fact they will always be around, and return to our work of being part of the solution, part of the transformation of our neighborhoods, towns, and cities, that we deepen our own commitments to critical thinking, our own understanding of life, our own faith and spirituality, our own journeys of becoming fully human.





The loyal critics will show up as long as we show up. It's part of the gig if you want to be part of the solution. There is however another group of "loyalists" out there. More on them later.