Living in a sub-culture

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 24 August 2007 08:06:58

There is something which makes me laugh every year about Greenbelt which I feel I have to share, (particularly as nobody is actually going to read this as you are all off to a "field" in Cheltenham).

Whether it is in seminars or over a glass / mug of something every year you will hear Christians moaning about "traditional" forms of church and a lack of engagement with the world. They will often, proudly, say they have managed to walk away from the bubble of the Christian (evangelical) sub-culture or moan about how difficult they are finding to escape it. Now I have to put my hand up and say I am one of these people; I'll quite probably find myself in to those types of seminars again this year. However, this weekend provides the evidence that we are very much part of the same or an off-shoot sub-culture, to some extent and far from trying to escape it we infact celebrate it. Not through going to Greenbelt, but rather our whole approach to the festival.

Let me explain by outlining possible recent conversations you may have had.
Conversation a in a secular environment.:
You: Just got my tent sorted for the weekend
"Normal" person: Off to Reading then? (or if you are in the north feel free to insert Leeds there)

Conversation with in a Christian (post-Chrisitan) environment:
You: Just got my tent sorted
Christian / post-Christian: Off to Greenbelt then?

Around the web this week it has been facinating to watch this unfold. The majority of "popular" alt. Christian & post-evangelical type bloggs have all been advertising what their writers are involved in at Greenbelt. On this site and others which I spend too much time on Greenbelt is there as a kind of given if you're off festivating over the bank holiday weekend and virtual networking gives way to real life networking as short socials are arranged. (As one person put it most people put away their diaries when they go on holiday, but I'm already filling mine for Greenbelt). Would you know from these sites a world outside the Christian environment exists and that the main festival going on this weekend is Reading? Probably not.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with this, but it's more evidence of the sub-culture we live in (to some extent) even if we claim to have escaped.