Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide - Paperback

by Brett McCracken (Author)

Insider twentysomething Christian journalist Brett McCracken has grown up in the evangelical Christian subculture and observed the recent shift away from the "stained glass and steeples" old guard of traditional Christianity to a more unorthodox, stylized 21st-century church. This change raises a big issue for the church in our postmodern world: the question of cool. The question is whether or not Christianity can be, should be, or is, in fact, cool. This probing book is about an emerging category of Christians McCracken calls "Christian hipsters"--the unlikely fusion of the American obsessions with worldly "cool" and otherworldly religion--an analysis of what they're about, why they exist, and what it all means for Christianity and the church's relevancy and hipness in today's youth-oriented culture.

Back Jacket

What happens when church and cool collide?

What happens to the church when our concern with appearances equals or outweighs our concern for sound doctrine or faithful practice? In this probing book, insider twentysomething Christian journalist Brett McCracken examines an emerging category he calls "Christian hipsters"--an unlikely fusion of the American obsession with being "cool" and the realities of a faith that is often seen as anything but. His insightful analysis explores what they're about, why they exist, and what it all means for Christianity and the church's relevancy in our youth-oriented culture.

"McCracken offers a smart and timely peek inside our desperate quest to be cool. Hipster Christianity is an urgent but loving call to chase far more than the fashionable, to pursue enduring virtues rather than mere relevance."--Craig Detweiler, Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture, Pepperdine University

"McCracken courageously and accurately sketches the perennial temptation to sacrifice faithfulness on the altar of 'cool.' Every pastor, youth pastor, college chaplain, and Christian college professor needs to read this carefully."--Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park University; author of The Blue Parakeet; blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/

"Brett's book is a like a PhD course in Christian hipness. . . . He has accomplished something long needed in Christianity."--Jonathan Acuff, author of Stuff Christians Like

"Brett is able to put his finger on the pulse of hipster Christianity and yet point all of us back to the gloriously eternal and unchanging truth of the gospel. The result is an outstanding example of truth-in-love theological journalism."--Justin Taylor, blogger at Between Two Worlds; managing editor of the ESV Study Bible

"What hath Kerouac to do with Christ? Hipster Christianity answers the question by taking a trip through the culture of cool, stopping along the way to explore its troubled marriage with the Christian faith. McCracken, the tour guide, provides the kind of loving critique only a reluctant insider could offer."--Drew Dyck, editorial manager, Leader Training Team, Christianity Today International; author of Generation Ex-Christian

Brett McCracken is a graduate of Wheaton College and UCLA. His day job is managing editor for Biola University's Biola magazine. He regularly writes movie reviews and features for Christianity Today, as well as contributing frequently to Relevant magazine. Follow him at his blog, The Search, http: //stillsearching.wordpress.com.

Author Biography

Brett McCracken is a graduate of Wheaton College and UCLA. His day job is managing editor for Biola University's Biola magazine. He regularly writes movie reviews and features for Christianity Today, as well as contributing frequently to Relevant magazine. He comments on movies, media, and popular culture issues at his blog, The Search, http: //stillsearching.wordpress.com/. He lives in Los Angeles.