We earned our title through the accident of geography and years of fierce independence. What drew settlers to the Northwest 200 years ago was the thirst for adventure and opportunity driven in large part by a desire to escape the people and places from which they came. Not much has changed in 200 years. As a result, things like church and conventional forms of community are not high on the list of priorities. We prefer things like spirituality over organized religion and independence over community.

Of course, it’s only when we look beneath the surface that we discover the hidden irony in all this. While the None Zone is clearly “non-religious” in nature, it is deeply spiritual. And while Northwesterners champion the value of independence we also create new and alternative forms of community that give hope.

As one who’s had the privilege of training grassroots leaders in cities throughout the U.S. – especially those at the margins of society, I am reminded how culture and context deeply affect the way we see and experience God. Consider the new study published by Baylor University that looks at the religious life of the United States. ("American Piety in the 21st Century: New Insights into the Depth and Complexity of Religion in the United States") What I find most interesting in this particular study is not the fact that 90% of Americans believe in God, but that there is such diversity in how the 90% see and experience God. This study suggests that the image of God that we internalize is largely dependant on where we live. The study summarizes the various images of God in the United States by using four broad categories: 1. Critical God. 2. Authoritarian God. 3. Benevolent God. 4. Distant God. They argue that each of these images can be tied to a specific geographical region whose culture is a lens through which God is imagined.

If you are familiar with regional culture in the USA, I invite you to take the test for yourself. Draw a line that connects the image of God with the region with which it corresponds. (Answers at the end of this post.)

For those in other geographical contexts, have you thought about how your regional culture affects people’s perception of God? Your comments would be welcome to this conversation.

This stuff makes me wonder about the power of culture and context in shaping our faith. If our image of God is largely determined, and therefore limited by where we live and whom we live with, where’s the hope of seeing God as anything more than a mere projection of ourselves? Does culture and context override the Spirit’s power to reveal God as God’s true self?

My work with CTM has not only surfaced these questions but it has allowed me to approach them with hope. As CTM continues to expand its work around the U.S. and internationally, we are expanding our appreciation for the unique ways that each region, culture and community sees and experiences God. I also have a growing conviction that if the Church (big C) really is the body of Christ, then it makes sense that it takes the whole church, in all places, to see God clearly. This is especially true among those who live at the margins who deserve to see a God whose love is at least as big and multifaceted as the challenge of poverty itself and not the one-dimensional god they are so often handed.

I am both encouraged and challenged by how culture informs our faith and becomes a tool in the hand of God to reveal God’s self more fully. I am talking about a way of seeing God that is born out of holy reverence for a particular time in a particular place and a particular people. I am talking about what others have called the “scandal of particularity.”

I must confess that I have tasted the Spirit’s delight in this scandal. Why then am I still so timid? Why do I resist the Incarnation’s relentless and radical concreteness? Why do I generalize the Gospel and violate the very nature of good news? To be honest, I’m not always sure, but I am happy to report that the people and places I serve are teaching me to trust the scandalously particular nature of the Gospel. I am grateful.

Kris Rocke
Serves as director of Center for Transforming Mission
Bumps into Reality by accident, most of the time
Heard God laugh once