We as Christians must recognize that there is much to learn from those who do not call themselves Christians but who have the gifting and desire to do good in the world. To dismiss their work because they are not in the ‘fold’ is to dismiss the common grace of God and God’s ability to use those outside our boundaries to accomplish God’s work in the world. [Corbitt: Taking it to the Streets p.228]

I have lived through the last half of the 20th century and into the 21st century. During this time, I have been a faculty member of a Christian university for nearly 20 years. As a global citizen who has traveled to over 50 countries and a resident in an urban community, the past decade has given me pause to reflect on the meaning of being “Christian” and the tensions of having faith while living in a diverse world. It is a place I call the Muddled Middle. What does this mean? How did I get there? How do I now live? How does it inform my teaching? This short essay will attempt to answer these questions.

New York Tomes Square.  J. Nathan Corbitt (2011)

The Muddled Middle

The muddled middle is simply the civic context of life–particularly the urban context. It is the borderland of mingled cultures. It is marketplace, public town square, city center and place of business where no one person may have dominance and each person, ethnicity, class, religion, gender or preference must negotiate their difference and seek the benefit of all in order to find a common good life; where neither the sacred nor the profane dominate, but both have the opportunity to intermingle and influence. It can be a challenging, confrontational and uncomfortable place, especially for a former Southern Baptist from the mountains of North Carolina.

How I Got Here

Growing up as a Southern Baptist preacher’s son in the southern United States afforded me an overconfidence, even arrogance, in all things Christian. I remain very grateful for the Southern Baptist emphasis on education between 1950 and 1980. The funding they provided both to schools and to the students who attended them left many of us with an excellent education and no debt. I repeat that last one–NO DEBT. Thank you very much, sincerely. Continue reading →