On Boomer Squish

The title is a riff on the incredibly well-elucidated Millenial Snot, and I have no illusion that my take on Boomerism will have the rhetorical flourish or insight of the original. There have also been reams of text already written on Boomerism with the online right at the forefront of the prosecution. "OK Boomer" used to be a liberal insult, now it's the conservatives who use it. I do not write this to generate anything novel, but merely to reflect on my own recent experiences with what I've heard termed "Boomer Squishiness".

I'm going to focus on public intellectual Christian Boomers since that is where I have had most of my in-person and online interactions. The late Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian (of the Presbyterian Church of America , a conservative denomination) championed "winsomeness" and a "third way" that was not tied necessarily to any political party but transcended politics. And for his time and place, I think this was not an inappropriate position. He certainly grew a large, conservative denomination in Manhattan (!).

But now we've hit "negative world" (at least in elite circles), and his approach no longer works. Near the end of his life, Princeton Seminary withdrew a lifetime award due to his Biblical stance on same-sex relationships. This must have come as a blow to someone who prized himself on maintaining an intellectual and public presence in the American elite. The third way is dead.

Now, the seat at the table with the American elite will only be granted to passive Christians. The elite may grant "heterodox" beliefs held in private, as long as they aren't stated in polite company, effect who they vote for, or try to change the status quo in any meaningful way. This is “dignity”. It is also betraying your children and their future. It is losing.

This hit home to me when a guest Boomer preacher gave the sermon at my church. He referenced politics briefly, and in much the manner I would have engaged with politics in April 2021: in fear and despair. He didn't explicitly reveal his politics during the sermon but I know from other sources that he is a never-Trumper. He urged us to trust that God is in control (always a good reminder), but to an extent that was head scratching to the (majority of) the congregation who feel liberated after 4 years of Biden.

The rest of his sermon was decent if not intellectually stimulating or theologically hard-hitting, except for a weird diversion in which he imagined the moment after death and meeting Jesus face to face. In that moment, he said he would be hugged by Jesus for one hundred years. Aside from the extra-Biblical imagination, this emotionalism makes God small: yes, God is relational but he is also completely other. Jesus as Man knows our frailty and our suffering, but he is also God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God; Begotten not made, of one Being with the Father. Our song selection included "Holy, Holy, Holy", and "Agnes Dei", reflecting the glory and omnipotence of God; the sermon did the verbal equivalent of the much-maligned "Jesus is my Boyfriend" CCM.

Yet what bothered me the most was when asked how we should pray for him, he said we should instead pray for revival. While I very much agree with this prayer request, the way he answered made it sound like such a revival was far off or non-existent. I was in shock: look to the fields, they are white unto harvest! The very church he was preaching to is bursting at the seems. There has never been a time in my lifetime where real, lasting, meaningful revival has seemed so plausible. I can only conclude that he only wants revival on his terms: with the type of people he likes, with the type of winsomeness he likes, with the type of post-war liberal consensus he likes.

But God is bigger than your post-war liberal consensus. God is bigger than your winsomeness. You want revival? Go to MAGA! They are hungry. They are seeking. They are desperate for meaning. And you turn your back on them because they are the underclass, the deplorables, the hicks. You hypocritical Pharisee! Go to the new location of r/Donald. You will see very edgy content. You will also see Pepe being carried by Jesus. Pepe kneeling before Jesus. Pepe praying and crying. They need Godly men to guide them, mature them, and ultimately fight alongside them in spiritual battle. This is the future Christian revival: and yes, for now it will be aligned with political movements and political power. That is life outside the post-war liberal consensus.