by Michael Frost

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review by Trey Doty

“I don't think I fit in,” Peter said as he responded to a provocative biblical text one evening in our living room. Despite all the discussion about the emerging church, mission, community, and an assorted smattering of other buzzwords, he somehow failed to hear that he was invited to the conversation. How could he not fit in? Attend most conferences and you too will be invited to the conversation, but the talk usually devolves to programs and fails to address the existential reality plaguing that person living a raw, questioning, practical, and experiential faith. Peter continued to say, “I have friends at church and want to be around them, but I also see my friends from work and…I like to be with them too. Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck between them, bridging the gap between markedly different worlds. I'm the same person in both places, but I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be!”

Rarely is there a more profound moment than when someone embodies the tension played out in the New Testament. Peter's frustration illustrates the focus of Michael Frost's latest book, Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture. Frost states early on that we are called, like Christ, to be godly, but we are expected to fully live this out in the midst of others. There is no more dangerous path than the one trodden by Jesus (p. 15). Peter found the dangerous path and has decided to follow, regardless of his uncertainty. His courage to move forward is not his alone. Rather, according to Frost, there are a growing number of exiles—Christians who find themselves in between the host empire (Western culture) and the nostalgia and sentimentality of the church that has lost her missional urgency. With this book Frost begins to answer the practical questions that arise from in-between or exilic living and guides us toward the path Jesus walked.

The first of four parts, entitled “Dangerous Memories,” engages the theological foundations for grasping our present milieu. Frost initially makes it clear, however, that we are living in a post-Christian culture. The church no longer guides, influences, or holds power over Western society. Since Christianity is no longer the imperial religion, we acknowledge the liminality of our faith within a culture that embraces an eclectic spirituality or none at all. In the quiet conversations beyond the earshot of public discourse, my friends readily admit to a superstitious faith that allows for Jesus. Their admission is also a yearning for something deeper, more robust and sweeter than their morning coffee. As Frost says early on:

This [“Sunday Christian”] version of Christianity is a façade, a method for practitioners to appear like fine, upstanding citizens without allowing the claims and teaching of Jesus to bite very hard in everyday life. With the death of Christendom the game is up. The church in fewer and fewer situations represents the best vehicle for public service or citizenship, leaving only the faithful behind to rediscover the Christian experience as it was intended: a radical, subversive, compassionate community of followers of Jesus. (p. 8)

Ostensibly this comes as a surprise for many, but as anyone who has recently chatted with his or her neighborhood barista will attest, this is old news.

Frost goes on to recount the incarnation of Jesus, the epitome of exilic living. As both human and divine, Jesus lived between the Roman Empire and the hyper-righteous living of the religious leaders. His mere existence embodied a critique of two intimidating power structures. His invitation to those outside such structures is an affront to common decency and standards of purity. See what happens when you mix politics and religion—or at least find yourself in between the two. It is a good way to get yourself killed.

The life of Jesus is a call to a radical and subversive faith, lived out in the ordinary rhythm of life. Whether we are eating, celebrating, working, playing, or doing all of these, we are reminded that the grace of Jesus in a true encounter with him transforms our character. We try to contain that encounter to Sunday morning, yet it is ubiquitous in our everyday activity.

As followers of Jesus enter more fully into a faith reminiscent of the Gospels, Frost asserts that we are to bring others along. Where do we begin the conversation with others? Frost suggests we begin conversations with members of the host culture in “third places.” A third place is not our home or workplace, but places where people regularly go to take it easy and hang out with friends. He suggests cafes, coffee shops, pubs, the general store, community centers, etc. If you were to read no other portion of this book, read this section on third places. If applied, it might radically change how you think about your faith. One small warning applies, however: When living out your faith among others, people may ask you about Jesus, which in turn might require you to think beyond simple platitudes.

The final two-thirds of the book takes a look at how exiles specifically respond to church and host cultures. Frost outlines behaviors that are inviolable for those who are committed to following Jesus. The five promises (in the “Dangerous Promises” section) essential to exilic living include: authentic living, serving a cause greater than ourselves, creating missional community, practicing generosity and hospitality, and working righteously. Frost moves beyond these five promises to discuss how we are to critique our host culture (“Dangerous Criticism”). He ends the book with a discussion of worship (“Dangerous Songs”). The five promises and subsequent critiques provide hands-on and immediately applicable ways to begin your attempts at an authentic faith.

I do have a difficulty with this book: Frost joins many authors in complaining about the song lyrics currently used in our times of gathered worship. This common complaint typically assaults the personal and seemingly self-centered perspective reflected in the words. This disturbs me because I have yet to hear anyone demonstrate how this is not the case in Psalms and in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament. Frost does make his case, however, in challenging the deeply romantic language of many lyrics—words which might be better saved for love notes passed in tenth grade history class. Fortunately, his emphasis in this last section of the book is more about the broad nature of worship weaved throughout our whole life than just a rant about what one baby boomer does not like about songs used in worship gatherings.

Too often we live insularly within small, self-congratulatory enclaves that perpetuate our delusion that we are certain about what has stunted the growth of church and what the solutions to this are. While it is appropriate for us to preface these declarations with tentativeness, our humility is easily unmasked and found to be the same hubris that underlies much of what we now critique. Another danger we face is succumbing to a life that easily sacrifices the creative work of Christ for short-term gains. Frost adeptly points to a starting place for people who desperately desire to live out the kind of faith that draws people to Jesus.

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