Is Your Theology Nostalgic?
Like many people right now, I’ve been watching the newest Star Wars show on Disney+, Obi-Wan Kenobi. As I’ve been watching, I’ve been struck by how much the series leans on nostalgia to captivate its audience. While I’m usually optimistic about the movies and shows I watch (I like Eternals after all), I’ve been bothered by this reliance on fan service of characters first introduced 45 years ago to cover flaws in the writing and production. This emphasis on the nostalgic is not unique to Obi-Wan Kenobi - a look at the box office right now shows a sequel 36 years after the original movie (Top Gun: Maverick) and the sixth movie in a series that’s almost 30 years old (Jurassic World Dominion).
In addition to the nostalgia demonstrated in our media, it’s not uncommon to hear statements like “things were just better back in my day.” While a fondness for the days and things of our past is not necessarily bad, I think we are wise to ask ourselves why nostalgia has such a strong grip in our lives. And as youth pastor theologians, we can examine our theology to see if it’s driven by a longing for the way things were or by a humble submission to God.
What Is Nostalgic Theology?
There are many ways that our theology could be motivated by nostalgia. We could look back to our own experiences as a teenager in youth ministry and build a theology of ministry confirming those as essential. Were frantic, messy games a key part of your youth ministry experience? Then form a theology emphasizing a relevant environment and how these types of games can help push back against legalism. Was the annual summer camp the pinnacle of spiritual experience? Focus on how Moses and Elijah had mountaintop experiences, and Jesus himself transfigured on top of a mountain to his disciples.
The allure of nostalgic theology can take a more nefarious turn as well. The 1950s were a period of relative peace, comfort, and stability for a segment of our population, and an idealism can emerge that desires to see society return to that time. While certain family values were more prominent, a theology that grows out of nostalgia for this bygone era will be lacking a holistic vision for the care and flourishing of single parents, celibate singles, and other alternative models of family. Not to mention, while that period is positively nostalgic for some, ethnic minorities did not experience the same peace and dignity. I suspect some of the resistance to racial reconciliation efforts stems from a theology that doesn’t see a need because of nostalgia.
It’s too easy for our nostalgia and fondness for things of the past to influence and shape our theology in harmful ways. How can we ensure that we don’t have a nostalgic theology?
What’s Shaping Our Theology?
If you asked 100 churches to name which ministry is least likely to say “that’s just the way we do things,” my hunch is that most would suggest the youth ministry. We are often the segment of ministry that is most innovative and willing to challenge long standing traditions. My charge to push back against nostalgic theology is not an encouragement to be innovative for the sake of change. Rather, it’s a call to humbly and thoroughly evaluate our held beliefs to identify ways we’ve been affected by our memories and assumptions. Here are a few ways I think we can do that:
Take Your Theology Back to God’s Word
The primary reason nostalgic theology arises is not because we are addicted to nostalgia, but instead because we neglect the Scriptures in forming our theology. We see this frequently in our students, when they share a belief they hold to simply because it’s all they’ve known. As we point our students to Scripture to consider their own beliefs and why they believe what they believe, we must do the same thing ourselves. The Bereans are most notable in Acts 17 for “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so,” even as they were being taught by some of the most prominent leaders in the Jesus movement. May we be similarly devoted to allowing God’s Word to shape our theology, not the other way around.
Ask How Your Theology Fits Together
As we examine the Scriptures against our theology, we are also wise to consider the whole counsel of Scripture and how the various pieces of our theology fit together. It is easy enough to proof text a belief we hold from a few verses scattered here and there, confirming our theology. However, when we consider the grand story of redemption and how the various books of the Bible fit together so intricately, we are unable to segment our theology in a way that satisfies our own desires. I’ve been struck by this integration as our youth group has studied the Gospel of John this year, where John continually uses images and words to demonstrate how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament redemptive arc. May we be diligent to see these connections and to examine whether or not our professed and actual theologies align.
Listen to Voices Outside Your “Nostalgia Bubble”
One final way I believe we can critically examine our theology is by seeking the perspective of those who don’t share the same nostalgia we do. This could mean listening to the voices of those from different socio-economic or ethnic backgrounds, or asking a friend from a different Christian tradition about their beliefs. As an American youth worker, this certainly has to include the perspectives of those from different countries and cultures who can help me realize how my beliefs resemble American ideals more than the gospel. It can be too easy to stay in an echo chamber and miss the blind spots where our theology and ministry practices have been shaped by something other than God and his Word. May we be humble listeners to those who are different from us, courageously stepping outside our comfort zones, and willing to learn.
Examining our theology requires humility - accepting that we may not have it all correct. There’s a lot of room between full certainty and an abandonment of objective truth. As we seek to faithfully disciple our students in a world that is simultaneously pluralistic and polarizing, may we point them to God and his truth over and above the beliefs we’ve shaped from our nostalgia. That may not be easy, and will likely require hard changes; but I truly believe it’s worth it and will lead to new stories rather than rebooting the same ones over and over.