Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide

by Brett McCracken

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.

Genres: Christianity, Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Theology, Cultural, Faith

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

I was hoping that this book would be funny, honestly. It was not funny, except for the occassional smirk. Nor was it terribly insightful, I'm afraid. I got the sense that the author had written his college thesis on the topic of Christianity in popular culture and was given the well-meaning suggestion that he should make a book of it, and he got about halfway there. It's not heavy enough to be of any sociological or theological import. And it's not light enough to amuse or entertain. To use that most hipster-ish of all words, this book is "awkward."

I could not fathom why McCracken was moved to take these silly white kids in tight pants--among which ranks he admits he also dwells--so very seriously. They don't seem to me to be any more important a demographic than any other one. I found the earnest categorizing of hipster "types" laughable--I listen to a type of music out of each of the categories here and there, wear clothing of this type and that, and I am a 30-ish married mom of three who is pretty far from being accused of being "hip." If he was aiming for humor he aimed too high, and if he was aiming for serious analysis, he aimed far too low.

Why would churches want to attract hipsters? McCracken takes for granted that they would, but why should he assume this? What's wrong, after all, with just being you know, a church? Without any gimmicks, creepy Calvinist frat boy preachers, or musical bells and whistles? I am clearly the wrong kind of person to review this book as I chose my current place of worship based on their use of the Book of Common Prayer and excellent traditional choir. But people like me and my church don't exist in McCracken's weirdly limited Christian universe. The majority of Christians in his world are suburban white Americans who drive to a megachurch and buy Starbucks in the lobby and appreciate Thomas Kincaide. But out here in the real world, the majority of Christians in the world are Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, with runners-up including Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Methodists. The average Roman Catholic and the average Anglican in the world share in common this fact: poor, black African, female. Most Christians in this world are liturgical, traditional, sing hymns and hear scripture read. The vicissitudes of American intra-Calvinist turf wars are not so universal as McCracken seems to think.

What does this apparently enviable Christian hipster subculture have to say to them? Other than that perhaps they feel pity for such women not having access to H&M stores, and posters of African children make great fodder for U2 fundraisers?

[Chris Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I try to avoid the temptation to rate every book I read 5 stars and state it's a must read. However, "Hipster Christianity" by Brett McCracken gets the nod. I cannot recommend this book enough, but it's especially timely for church planters, even though the book was written in 2010.

McCracken lays the book out in three parts and all help drive towards the final chapters conclusion about the question of if Cool & Christian can and should coexist. The historical/sociological tracing of hipster/cool from the Enlightenment to present day is worth the cost of the book (Chapters 1-5). Especially insightful is the intertwining of the 60's-70's era hip movement with the move of the church to position themselves to reach younger twentysomethings.

The middle four chapters (6-9) lay out the then current hipster practices that were prevalent in the church and Christian world. I say were because as McCracken lays out in the book, cool is always moving and therefore nothing stays relevant for long. While some names have since been disgraced (Driscoll & Tchividjian) and some are diminished (Jones, Kimball, etc.) they still serve as touch-points for looking back to understand where we currently stand in evangelicalism.

Lastly, the final five chapters (10-14) serve as a critique and call forward into truly authentic Christian worship, practice, and engagement with the culture. Somewhere along the way you will feel the prick of conscience wherein you identify with your sin issues in pursuing coolness at the expense of faithful, biblical Christianity. The last two chapters are some of the best I've read by way of encouragement to grab hold of the church because it is the work of God in Christ through us.

The reason this book needs to be read, especially by church planters, is because it helps us understand how we got here, in 2017, from the origins of Christian hip in 2003. If you aren't a pastor/church planter but desire to better understand how we got here then read this book.

[Rebekah O'Dell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a very-sadly-closing Borders Friday night based solely on how hard the book’s promotional website made me laugh at work on Friday. Let me say from the outset — I understand that this won’t be a book everyone rushes to read. It’s a niche book — a niche which happens to interest me — so, I won’t be offended if you don’t take my recommendation because it doesn’t interest you.

More sociology of religion than religon, McCracken undertakes a journalistic approach to dissecting the newest trend in Christianity — hipster Christianity. Mostly as a reaction to the capitalistic mass culture of WWJD bracelets and contemporary Christian music, the new wave of hipster Christians are much more invested in the traditions and history of the church — it’s mysticism rather than it’s sanitized, popular appeal. Rather than simplifying Christianity, hipster Christians seek to replace the mysteryand confusing conundrums of the faith, claiming that these are as intrinsic as the basics of the Gospel.

McCracken’s work is well-balanced, neither lauding or condemning the movement. Rather, he seeks to understand its underpinings and its reactionary nature. I think anyone interested in religion and religious culture would be interested in this read. The first three chapters on the “history of cool” are entirely skimmable, if not skippable, but overall this is a really interesting exploration of a faith movement. I read it in one, short sitting.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Opening chapter 10 Brett writes:

"Of all my church visits during the research for this book, the churches that frustrated me the most - the ones that, to be honest, I had a hard time sitting through - were those that I call "wannabe" hip churches... These churches were the worst at disguising their desperate hope to be hip. They clearly endeavored to be palatable to the cool kids. But mostly they just looked sad and desperate, uncomfortable in their own skin and too hip for their own good."

How ironic. This is exactly the same feeling that I got while reading your book. Perhaps it is because the subject matter is an exercise in futility. As you say, right from the front, cool is an ever shifting, ever changing thing that hipsters ride the front wave of. It is impossible to define what hip is, because as soon as it is defined, it has changed. Then you spend the next 150 or so pages trying to define what a "Christian hipster" says and does and thinks and wears and listens to and reads and likes and on and on ad nauseum.

I had high hopes for this book but was severely disappointed. The only reason I even gave it a second star is because it did point me towards some great music and literature I had not yet discovered.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 2 out of 5]

My reason for reading this book was pretty much just the fact that at a library book sale, this book stood out to me since I dislike hipster impulses in Christian culture and it was endorsed by a couple people I knew, so I thought why not. :P So I came to this book with some bias and hoping to see some major roasting of "hipster Christianity."

That isn't really what this book is (alas), but given the fact that McCracken seems to be writing to this crowd, the approach he took--more compassionate and sympathetic--was wiser for his intended audience (and probably a more mature approach TBH).

That being said, I wasn't sold by this book for a couple of reasons.

First, his definitions of "hipster Christianity" were... really vague and really expansive. He was trying to argue that a return to traditional services is actually a mark of "hipsterism," and I really wasn't buying it. At the point when you're trying to put Mark Driscoll alongside Rob Bell as examples of hipster Christians... I kind of feel like your definition is too vague to be meaningful/accurate? (And yes, this book was written before Driscoll was revealed to be an abusive narcissist and Bell went heretical, but even back in 2010, they were pretty radically different). Several of his definitions would have put me in the camp of "Christian hipsterism" and... that really doesn't describe me. Sure, some of my beliefs may be on the "cool" side of things, but many of my beliefs are decidedly not, and I think hipsterism is better defined as a mindset than as a list of traits.

Second, while I don't blame McCracken for this, the topic of the book makes it easily outdated. While a lot was still relevant, a lot's changed in the 10 years since this book is written in the cultural landscape, and so all the references to Obama Christianity and such have really lost their impact.

Third, while his appeal in the last section of the book about the dangers of hipster Christianity was heartfelt and seemed persuasive enough to his intended audience ("hipster Christians"), at least for me--as someone who already dislikes that trend in Christian culture--it wasn't very interesting/engaging since he was saying things I already pretty much agreed with him on.

I did find the section analyzing the history of "hipsterism" pretty fascinating with how McCracken traces it back to the origins of democracy and the complex relationship between the two. He made some decent philosophical points there that I'll be taking with me. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the historical section, I found the contemporary sections to be unhelpful and didn't take much from them.

I'm also pretty sure that no one has any right to be using the words "cool" or "hipster" as often as McCracken uses them in this book. :P

OK, I'm done.

Rating: 2-2.5 Stars (Inconsistent).

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I would not recommend this book to most people I know.

Actually, I'd go so far as to say that a very small grouping of people (irony) would benefit from this. BUT I must say, I actually enjoyed this book.

Definitely a nice change of pace from what I've been reading lately. At some points, it was pretty illuminating to see tendencies in the church amongst young people and to see where they derived from. One of my favorite chapters was essentially a history of "cool" in the Western church since WWII. Also, the chapter about the various types of hipsters had me laughing out loud. What is most refreshing in all of this, I think, is that he actually is genuine and cares about the church and is willing to critique largely his own demographic for the benefit of the church, which is admirable.

A couple drawbacks however: though he stated that "missional means many different things to different people", his analysis of the missional church is a little bit too simplistic (missional = emergent evolved) and because of that, kind of misses the mark. He rightly highlights the justice and "loving your neighbor" aspect but largely overlooks the actual gospel proclamation of missional living. In conversations like these, that element (gospel proclamation) should never be assumed.

A second drawback would be that after a while it felt like he lost alot of the steam that he really built up around earlier chapters discussing the "faux coolness" of churches that attempt to be hip. I found myself to lose interest in the final chapters.

However, I want to again emphasize how much I appreciate his earnestness and desire for the church to be holy. I found myself really convicted by some of his assessments, especially in regards to liberty. For that, I am sincerely thankful.


To conclude, if you know what a hipster is and engage with them fairly regularly in your church, read this. Otherwise, you'd probably be better off reading a critique of the Emergent church or something.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

McCracken tackles the question, "Are cool and Christianity compatible?" Ultimately, he argues that they are not although he acknowledges that some Christians may be cool people. Church leaders and churches cannot fabricate "cool Christianity." His discussion in part one about the nature of cool is well presented. He argues that people are image conscious and they want to be recognized. Then, in the second part, he describes Christian hipsters and their churches. I found that section both the most interesting and the most aggravating. Clearly, some hipster values conflict with Christian values. He brilliantly places the emerging, emergent, missional conversation in the broader context of Christian efforts to be cool. Finally, he evaluates hipster Christianity in part three. By far this is the best part of the book. With winsome writing and pointed analysis, McCracken evaluates hipster Christianity. He comes to some clear conclusions, challenging believers to pursue the historic faith instead of some new for novelties' sake. Ultimately, he concludes that "The desire to be cool, hip, fashionable, and recognized...it's all a vain pursuit and a waste of time...Our instinct toward cool will only be satisfied in Christ" (p. 247). If you live in a hipster community, or if you identify with hipsters, you should read this book. If you aren't even sure what a hipster is, then you can probably invest your time in David Well's book, "The Courage to Be Protestant," which McCracken leans on heavily for his assessment.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to give this book a try because I was becoming increasingly aware that I might actually be part of the "Hipster Christian" generation: the so-called "emergent church". Little did I know that my church was actually included as an example of a "hipster church" in it (and was the only British church to feature significantly). That was unsettling. I don't think our leadership are too comfortable about that either.

Proximity to subject aside, it was interesting reading the history and drive behind some of the current thinking and common features that have emerged but what McCracken failed to cover was the massive differences in ideology between several of these churches that might be superficially similar (or not so, in several of the cases). While the two famous Mars Hill churches in the US are both held up as examples of hipster churches, their doctrines are entirely different - to the point that Mark Driscoll of one has been known to call Rob Bell of the other a heretic.

The warnings that McCracken gives of what can happen when churches chase cool are fair and make for food for thought but I feel his brush is frequently too broad and particularly (if unsurprisingly) USA-centric.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brett's descriptive abilities are showcased well here, and he did a great job spanning the scene across the country. But I was just as impressed with his ability to synthesize so many writers/pastors and church experiences. To get Donald Miller and David Wells into the same pages is no small feat. As evangelicalism broadens and fragments, getting different "camps" to see the others is a great service to the church. I was thrilled to see how he made Wells accessible to a crowd that might not read him otherwise.

Good warnings against using consumption as an identity marker and a good reminder for churches not to try to be "cool" to draw people in. I'd recommend this book -- especially if you're trying to understand young evangelicals!

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the intended audience for this book, being LDS, but I am a recovering hipster with an interest in the debates surrounding emergent Christianity. The best stuff is in the middle and final sections of the book, and the author makes some powerful arguments against allowing cultural influences to infringe on religion.

The first section was a bit long on the "what is hip?" discussion, but likely seemed that way because having been steeped in hipster culture, I don't need it defined for me.

Recommended for those interested in the intersection between church and the culture, and making church "relevant" (to use an irksome buzzword) for the rising generations.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book promised to be much more readable and interesting than it was. That being said, there were a couple quotes that stood out to me and are great food for thought:

"The born-again, marketing church has calculated that unless it makes deep, serious cultural adaptations, it will go out of business, especially with the younger generations. What it has not considered carefully enough is that it might be going out of business with God. [...] The younger generations [....] are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them."

"If we as Christians truly do see God in [trendy material things] we should make it known. [...] To put a name to that transcendence is our job."

"Christians make a difference in the world by being different from the world."

"Our reaction to cultural ripples should not be that we feel immediately obliged to take part in the trend or jump on the bandwagon, but that we seek to understand the source of the ripple and why it caught on in the first place

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book that is necessarily dated just because of the subject matter. The first half was fascinating for the history covered in it, and he does give some good, necessary critiques of the emergent church, the seeker sensitive movement, and stereotypical conservative churches. While he certainly does critique what needs to be critiqued, I would have liked stronger wording in the critiques. It would be fascinating to see a second edition of this that covers the subject from the perspective of being in a post-Obama era, especially in analyzing the culture's interaction with Trump.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough look at the concept of 'cool', 'hipster' and implications for the church. While written 7 years ago, it's a testament to the author and subject content that this book is still 100% relevant. The sociologist in me reveled in the chapters describing the hipster subjects, both people and churches, and the detail was fascinating and entertaining. The concluding chapters brought all the questions, confusions, themes and descriptions down to a few real core truths, leaving me with a greater sense of what it means to be a Christ-follower. A highlight was the focus on the essence of the church, and its place in history - something I haven't thought about for a long while.

[Andrea Garcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried really hard to get through this book twice, but just couldn't. Some parts were really interesting but it was repetitive and just lost my attention way too much for me to actually get through reading it. I wanted to learn more about the history of Christians, and the way society is affecting Christians today, giving many the label as "Christian hipsters" but unfortunately it was flat for me. Maybe this book is for some, but I couldn't finish it, nor could I really tell you what I've read so far.

[Adam Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read with some great points

I don’t necessarily agree with his critique of Thomas Kinkade—some of us have been through some horrible and traumatic things in life that the Painter of Light is more refreshing than looking at paintings by Hieronymus Bosch. That being said, I do agree with him that the purpose of the Christian life is not not about glorifying self, but in glorifying God.

[Grant Klinefelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is Christianity cool? And if so, should it be? "If Christian cool exists, it exists as a sort of happy accident—not as an intended consequence of careful planning and high-level marketing meetings, but as an unintended by-product of a faithfulness to the gospel and an authentic community's outworking of that in everyday life."

[Adam Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to finish this one, because I ended up savoring it in small chunks. Brett McCracken sketches the history and implications of what he calls "hipster christianity." A self-identified hipster, Brett has grown concerned about the movement, and so sets out to first accurately describe it, and then provide constructive criticism and evaluation. The result is a remarkable, important, wonderful book about this growing movement of young Christians, a movement that is shattering denominational and traditional boundaries.

The first half of the book is primarily historical and descriptive. What is "hipster Christianity" and where did it come from? While this part contains some stuff of interest, the book doesn't really get cooking until chapter 8, but once you get there, you won't want to set it down. This is where McCracken stops describing and starts interacting, and his evaluations reveal many wise insights.

One of the most important chapters in the whole book is chapter 10, in which McCracken discusses the "wannabe hipster church," which basically describes any church that tries to draw young people through the use of loud music, a pastor in jeans, and the obvious use of stage lighting and technology. In contrast to this, we are told something staggering:

"for things sacred such as church and worship and community, they [hipsters] are seeking something simpler than fog machines and strobe lights." ()

"Technology doesn't make anything cooler, and increasingly the younger generations are looking for a tech-free space wherein they can quiet themselves and focus on the transcendent truths of the gospel, apart from the media and digital overload of the rest of their lives." ()

"[Hipsters]love The Office, but I doubt they go to church with hopes of seeing a clip from that show. Pastors who think they'll win over the cool kids [or any kids - A. T.] by forming the church in the cool kids' pop culture image are liable to find themselves even less relevant than when they started." (p. 182)

The shocking truth is that "cool" no longer means technologically up to speed. It means "true to your self," "real," "authentic." The real surprise in reading this book is the transformation of "hip" from being a desire to exclude those who are non-hip, into a thirst for "genuine." In a world of fakes, illusions, posers and inauthenticity, being real, no matter what that looks like, being honest about yourself and who you are, has become the acceptance of anyone, so long as they have presented themselves honestly. This is a tremendous opportunity for the church, but we have almost entirely blown it, either by sneering at the hipsters (conservatives) or pumping our churches full of loud music, stage lighting and pop-culture (mega-church, church growth models). This latter example shows us that again the Church has responded incorrectly to the cutting-edge movements. We have clothed the church in the robe of hip, and have found that we are very apparent in our inauthenticity. It is a mask, nothing more. What is more, those who are most hip aren't desperate for the church to be hip, they're desperate for the church to be the church.

I could sum up the message of the book right here:

An aggressively cool Christianity is not what younger generations want from our faith. They aren't looking for something trendy and fashionable and transient; they want something deep and lasting and transcendent. They don't want a copycat church that looks just like their own culture (only a few steps behind); they want something alternative, unique, profound, lasting, and transformative. Our world is in flux, and lives are crumbling on shaky foundations every day. Uncertainty, skepticism, and fear are ubiquitous. People desperately desire something certain, true, and solid--something the church certainly be if it only gets its head on straight and mounts an epic reversal of the ripple effect." (228).

Of course, if any church looks at that quote and says, "they should just come to our worship," stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. We all have much work--foundational, structural, basic work--to do. To truly meet this vision, no example currently on offer will do. We must reform our preaching, our theology, our music, our mindset. We must become the place and the people that extends the incarnation into the world, that brings justification and new creation into the deepest, most wounded places. We must be the people of transformation, not merely of souls, but of lives, of neighborhoods, of states and nations. We must tear down our requirements for coming in, and instead bring people into the church in order that they may be transformed. We must not flee from the world, but be transformed and sent back into it.

In the end, that's all these hipsters want. But then again, that's all any Christian should want. The hipsters strike out on their own, get caught up in unhealthy movements (*cough*emergent-church*cough*) and leave the church because we are not being what we must be. So let's just be what we're called to be.

[Diann Blakely]

This book comes to me with two strong recommendations, and where I don't know the source of the first, subtitled "The Frugal Collegians"--

"A huge number of Christian hipsters are college students or newly graduated wayfarers. Birthed in vast quantity on the campuses of Christian colleges, these sorts of Christian hipsters embody that newbie, activist spirit of 'just now discovering that I can be Christian and care about the poor.' Because they are jobless or saddled with school loans, their hipster evolution has yet to reach advanced stages of Fred Segal materialism. Instead, it's mostly conceptual. With one foot in their old Baptist youth group and the other on the unsteady terrain of viewing missions through the lens of post-colonialism, these kids are horizon-broadened, foundation-shaken and mind-blown on a daily basis, as they encounter such things as genocide, non-western plumbing, or Camus for the first time in their lives. All the while they are learning to live lives of unconventionality--dabbling in post-legalism rebellion and vice (cheap alcohol and tobacco mostly) while figuring out how to sustain a more authentic and substantial Christianity than the feeble religion of their upbringing."

--the second was written by a close friend, Penny Arblaster, whose opinion I trust in such matters:

"As an outreach for teenagers and twentysomethings, Brett McCracken talks about hipster Christianity as a fine line drawn between new age and other such contemporary movements, just as for people brought up during the sixties and seventies identified Jesus as a spiritual dude with long hair like their own, as "the real thing" as a leader as the son of God. Young people today don't want stereotyped, mainstream denominational religion shoved down their throats. They want honesty, nothing false; they truly want to know God and that S/He teaches, and this is a book for them."

I'll be back with my own thoughts after I've read the book myself, which I anticipate with great pleasure!

[James Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.

I think anything self-described as hipster, like anything self-described as emo, suffers from the "I just called myself a derogatory term and I can't redeem myself" syndrome. When everyone wants to be kinda hipstery but not really, then that doesn't leave for much to talk about without getting super meta.

Backing up a bit, the book is about new younger movements in churches, which I do find interesting, and the book tells some interesting stories. I didn't realize that Christian colleges were seeing rashes of students coming in as republicans and leaving as democrats, and I thought it was just my friends that seem a lot less churchy than they did 10 years ago. I'd include myself in that category, too. I think politics and trends do have a lot to do with this, and I do sympathize with the dirty gritty grey churches over the too-good-to-be-true, hide-the-sin churches.

I'll even say that I agree with the author's fear that a lot of Christians act in ways that might not be Christlike, and that we probably shouldn't encourage that.

But the book doesn't really know where to go from there. I wanted to be directed at a better vision of churches, at where we should take churches from here, rather than just a description of "this is what is cool in churches today, and here are some problems." It just didn't really end up being very fun.


One thing I did find interesting was that the bay area had no interesting churches, at least nothing remarkable for the author. I'm actually not surprised, but this did leave me wondering, how can SF, especially the mission, be super-hipster-central and yet not have any hipster churches? Hmm.

[Jared Totten · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collision of cool and Christianity. Most would not think there would be enough material there to fill a book. Or that said material could be intelligent, humorous, and thought-provoking.

Brett McCracken has proven most of us wrong with Hipster Christianity. Brett does an excellent job of taking what could easily be a wholly tongue-in-cheek topic and turning it into something theologically deep and challenging. While he seems to spend more time forming and asking questions than answering them, the questions he does ask are important ones. Consider:

Perhaps there is a third option—a much more insidious, countercultural idea: perhaps Christianity is hopelessly unhip, maybe even the anticool. What if it turns out that Christianity's endurance comes from the fact that it is, has been, and continues to be the antithesis and antidote to the intoxicating and exhausting drive in our human nature for cool?

This is not to say that the book is simply cold and academic. The research-paper-on-steroids feel is broken up by occasional humorous lists like: "Favorite Hipster TV Shows", "Reasons Why Calvinism is Hipster-Friendly", and the uncomfortably close to home "CCM Albums of the Nineties That Make Christian Hipsters Nostalgic". Brett treads the fine line in addressing a serious issue within Christianity with care, insight, and healthy dose of irony and wit. This is certainly something quite difficult to pull off and the fact that Brett does so with such seeming ease is a true testament to—dare I say it?—how cool he is. (See what I did there? Emphasized the point with a negative example.)

[E. Scott Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I didn't think I was going to like this book, but I really did. Here is what I discovered:

1) I am not a hipster Christian, whatever that is (will never wear skinny jeans, and I think Obama is the WORST President of the modern age - so those two things instantly disqualify me).

2) I'm completely ok with that!


Some great quotes from the book:

"If it's uncool to draw lines about what behavior is permissible and prudent for the Christian, then Christians should start getting used to the idea of being uncool."

"Truth is, Christians should be horrified by sin wherever we find it. We must never grow accustomed to it or permissive of it to the point that it doesn't cause us pain in the way that it would Christ. We must never call ourselve Christians and then live exactly like the foulest-mouthed, wildest-living party pagans we brush shoulders with ever day. No, we must be different...For Christians, the topic of sin has got to be on the table and open for discussion. We can't be shy about it for fear of scaring anyone away. Sin is a harsh reality, and like it or not, it has everything to do with our Christian faith."

and this little gem:

"Whereas previous generations of Christians confidently asserted their identity in terms of sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, sola Christus, and soli Deo gloria (by Scripture, faith grace, Christ, and to God's glory alone), today's Christians are more apt, in their wayfaring, postmodern pani, to live by the sola cultura philosophy: by culture alone."

Read this book!!!

[Pete Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was an interesting experience, because in many ways it felt like a walk through a museum of my own past. A lot of what falls under McCracken's definition of "hipster Christianity" came from the focus on Gen X ministry when I was first entering into pastoring. Which is to say in a way, that there are parts of this book that are already beginning to feel a bit dusty and/or moldy, especially at first.

But it does pick up as it moves along. At its core, however, McCracken is dealing with a most important question - What is the cost of trying to bring the church up/down to the fads, preferences, likes of the surrounding culture? Yes, we may gain a larger market share, but what does that mean for the gospel we preach and the shape of the Christian life?

I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those who are leading or part of a ministry that is giving in to the siren call of being "relevant" to the world. McCracken has some things to say on that pursuit that would be very valuable to mull over.

[Enzo Luigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the youth/campus ministry I used to be a part of, one of the things we placed emphasis on is relevance. We wanted to be relevant to the students our ministry were catering to. So in line with this, we put our focus on addressing the students’ felt needs (heart matters was a top favorite), we adapted trends from pop culture, and we (unconsciously) made ourselves look cool.

Observing the broader evangelical landscape, it appears that we’re not just the ministry who is into “cool” and “relevant.” Many churches and ministries are also chasing after these things. I’ve seen some in my country and read about some found abroad. So I asked: Should evangelicals really chase after these things? In my efforts to understand this phenomenon, Brett McCracken’s Hipster Christianity (Baker Books, 2010) really helped.

Read the rest of the review at Zoy Sauce Etc.

[Joshunda Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an informative read with some interesting points. If churches are supposed to be spreading the gospel of Jesus, who was a rebel, can they also be obsessed with being cool (or hip)? By visiting some hipster churches, writing about the history of cool and writing about his own personal experience as a writer/editor/hipster and Christian, Brett McCracken makes the case that churches should concern themselves with furthering the cause of Jesus first and being cool second. I was a little uncomfortable with what I read as the pervasive plugs for Relevant magazine, which he adds to a chronology of Hipster Christianity, in part because he worked for them and it seems kind of like a conflict of interest to mention the magazine several times in the book. Otherwise, a smart, thought-provoking book.

[Renee Goodwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brett McCracken is obviously conflicted about being a hipster. In the first part of the book, he traces the history of cool, laying out the thesis that hipsters have a long history of being the arbiters of good taste and the creators of culture. Then he makes a 180 degree turn, and portrays hipsters as being shallow dilettantes in direct conflict with Christian values. His knowledge of Church history seems to extend only to within his lifetime, as he completely neglects situations in which popular culture and Christianity joined forces, such as the Protestant Reformation or the American civil rights movement. There is also no discussion of the ways in which hipsters are contributing to theology, such as Process Theology and Radical Orthodoxy. Needless to say, I found this book quite disappointing.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised by where this book ended up, especially as it's written by a self confessed 'Christian Hipster'.
I wanted to write that McCracken is skilled enough to not throw the baby out with the bathwater on this issue, but it's not quite true. Instead he throws the bathwater out and refills the tub with fresh and pure water, substituting out idea of "culturally cool/relevant" with the view that Christianity intrinsically, in and of itself is 'cool' and needs not vainly pursue relevance and popularity.
The second half of the book is much better than the first, being a discussion and critical analysis of the issues (whereas the first is background information and an overview of the issues of 'hipsterdom')

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting and informative look at the "hipster Christian" movement. The author is young, Christian, and seemingly hipster-ish, thus the subject of his book. His book is not an attempt to be preachy, rather it was an honest critical analysis of the balance of being "cool" and being Christian, and whether the two can coexist. Although I am not the intended audience of the book, I found the author's earnest reflection on his faith to be refreshing and enlightening. It was interesting to learn about a subculture with which I'm not very familiar, although I got a lIttle tired of the obscure Christian music references.

[Caitlin Atkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, especially the second half, has a lot of great one-liners (and even two- or three- liners), such as, "accusing something eternal of being behind the times is, of course, laughable." Brett McCracken provided some food for thought, but he would have been better served writing blog entries. As a full length book, Hipster Christianity is weak and flailing. McCracken tries to cover too much ground, conflates various definitions of words key to his argument and makes huge, sweeping statements and generalizations with a flimsy bibliography to back them up. His subject is interesting, and I hope he continues to pursue it with a greater depth of research in the future.

[Kate Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough look at the concept of 'cool', 'hipster' and implications for the church. While written 7 years ago, it's a testament to the author and subject content that this book is still 100% relevant. The sociologist in me reveled in the chapters describing the hipster subjects, both people and churches, and the detail was fascinating and entertaining. The concluding chapters brought all the questions, confusions, themes and descriptions down to a few real core truths, leaving me with a greater sense of what it means to be a Christ-follower. A highlight was the focus on the essence of the church, and its place in history - something I haven't thought about for a long while.

[Sarah Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent theological analysis of whether Christianity and cool can coexist. Challenges churches' desperate pursuit of "cool" and "relevancy" in an attempt to win converts. Although the first half of the book examines specifically hipster ideas of cool, the second half of the book applies to broader, less time-specific applications of the concept of being cool; you could easily pick it up in the middle and not miss much if you don't care to read about hipster trends. Every cool Christian should read this book.