Faith-centered leaders are increasingly challenged in our culture to live by their biblical beliefs. At the same time they are called on to accept the beliefs of others, in some cases that are diametrically opposed to what Jesus Christ teaches. Jesus Himself spoke of this difficulty. In John 17:14-15 Jesus reminds us in His prayer to the Father, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
We sometimes hear the phrase “in this world but not of it” applied to Christians. Jesus never said this phrase exactly, that we know of. But He alluded to this teaching in His interrogation before Pontius Pilate. In John 18:36, responding to Pilate’s charge that Jesus proclaimed Himself a king, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” If we are members of Jesus’ Kingdom, then we acknowledge that His Kingdom is not of this world, and so we are indeed in it, but not of it. This teaching is the core of a faith-centered leader’s charge to engage meaningfully in the culture, but for his spiritual position to remain rooted in God’s Word.
And this is where conflict arises. In our current culture we are bombarded by a wave of what might be termed wokeness. The term “woke” by dictionary definition describes a person’s alertness and concern about social injustice and discrimination. On the surface, that certainly seems like a Christian’s moral and spiritual interest. However the term is highly politicized, and has been weaponized to mean support for various causes and victim classes which are in many cases opposed to the teachings of the Bible. Author Noah Carl’s view of wokeness is likely the more accurate: “a system of beliefs which sees identity groups like sex and race as the primary units of society; which attributes to some groups the status of victims and to others the status of oppressors; and which posits that various ‘structural’ and ‘systemic’ forces stymie members of the former groups while conferring ‘privilege’ on members of the latter”.[1]
“Wokeness” is a system of belief. To accurately engage in a culture that espouses wokeness, Faith-centered leaders must first understand this challenge not as simple social issues, but as an entire system of belief. Primarily, woke beliefs are rooted in identifying oneself as either a victim or oppressor. Further, because a core woke belief is that society itself has been formed by rules laid out by oppressors centuries ago, the society itself is structurally corrupt and must be destroyed and remade entirely.
If you are of the generation that lived through the 1950s through the 1970s, you’ll recognize these beliefs as similar to other cultural renovations like the Communist revolution or the hippie movement, or socialism in Europe. In each case the idea is to remake society as more fair and equal, in order to right the wrongs of past oppression. And though a Christian leader would certainly want to live in and work toward a world that is both fair and equal, it is impossible to agree on reasonable definitions of those terms within woke ideology. Carl explains: “transgenderism (going from one sex to another) is considered good, whereas transracialism (going from one race to another) is very bad. Note that even going from the ‘oppressor’ gender (male) to the ‘victim’ gender (female) is permissible within woke ideology. But woe be to anyone going from an ‘oppressor’ race (white) to a ‘victim’ race (black).”
The New Testament sounds the alarm on this ideology. 2 Timothy 4:2-4 warns, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” Because woke ideology is tied to belief, facts themselves are remade to fit. This is where we find teaching that gender is fluid, a choice versus a biological certainty; or that criminals should be released and police should be defunded or eliminated. We hear “follow the science” on Covid policy, but completely ignore it on transgenderism or climate change.
Going with the flow. Into this messy soup of belief the faith-centered leader finds himself attempting to make a meaningful contribution. In most cases, individuals and organizations accept the woke beliefs of people in their sphere of influence in an attempt to engage the culture and treat all with dignity and respect. The thinking is that a leader can be kind and open to those with whom he disagrees, without having to espouse a specific view. They fail to understand, however, that woke ideology does not accept disagreement or dissent. In fact, systems like the Corporate Equity Index have been put into place to rank the ideology of major companies and brands on their publicly espoused views of various social issues.[2]
Unlike previous revolutions that attempted to remake society, today’s woke beliefs swim in a sea of like-mindedness created by internet connection. In decades past, young idealists would need to be physically together. Woke causes of the past consisted of small groups of people disconnected from one another and unable to manifest a large-scale cultural movement. Further, their membership often didn’t understand the totality of their own cause. Their relative isolation caused individuals within the group who were not completely committed to its ideas to fade away over time. Today however, with social media and other online tools, one can easily find a significant group of people who espouse similar beliefs. Thousands of individuals can be connected online in a matter of hours, and the Internet provides the perfect echo-chamber of group-think that gives individuals confidence about their own viewpoint. Once you are able to claim victim status in some way, it makes someone else at fault for the challenges of your life, and the solution to your future clear: the elimination of those individuals and beliefs which have been oppressing you and your peer group.
Safe spaces, gender neutral bathrooms, pronoun declarations, taking a knee against police brutality, the #metoo movement, cancel culture, acknowledging privilege, shaming based on decade-old tweets, critical race theory, banning comedians, silencing debate on college campuses, shadow banning, pride jerseys for pro sports teams, virtue signaling, gender pluralism—these are just a few of the woke cultural elements that press against common sense and reasonable debate. A faith-centered leader, then, must realize that a “go with the flow” attitude toward wokeness will likely not prevail. How, then, should we engage effectively in an increasingly hostile and disagreeable environment that is modern wokeness?
They will know us by our love. Jesus Himself faced woke ideology in His time on earth. His own people, the nation of Israel, were victims of Roman oppression. There were government and religious and nationalistic classes in New Testament times. Today, some religious leaders even claim that were Jesus alive now, He would certainly affirm woke causes.[3] The truth, though, is that Jesus did exactly the opposite. Woke ideology tells us to identify our victim status, and then cut down those who are oppressing us. Jesus counters, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:27-31).
The faith-centered leaders’ response to woke belief is to love those individuals with whom we disagree. Jesus clearly directs us: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). This love will be painful, and sacrificial, and selfless. It means thinking of others first. It means being able to listen, to reserve judgment, and often to simply be respectful and avoid heated arguments. Remember, love is not agreement; rather it is extending care and concern despite disagreement.
Love at its core is seeking common ground, and valuing relationships and people above their specific beliefs. You cannot change people. You cannot argue wokeness out of someone. You can only adopt an attitude that genuinely loves others, and control your own response and actions. Ask God to help you develop empathy—the capacity to imagine what others feel, and respond to that with care and concern, even though you don’t feel that yourself. This kind of love requires a listening ear, personal growth, and spiritual leadership. It’s an understanding that the goal is not to win the argument, but rather to win over the person.
Jesus also reminds us that despite this approach, woke culture will not love us back. He warns, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me” (John 15:18-21). It is into this environment that the faith-centered leader is called. The question one must ask is this: Am I capable of honestly loving and caring about those who will hate me and what I stand for? This is only possible for the leader who is committed to and living for Christ.
In today’s culture, we bicker, feud and fight with other Christ-followers. Arguments among God’s people are commonplace. But we can never argue anyone into an understanding of God. At best, this is a spiritual tangent.