Can Christians Be Hippies?

I am asked this question in some form at least once a month, almost daily during the summer when I practically smell like evergreen trees I'm in the mountains so much.

I've found this question to be posed from one of two types of people. The first class is that of uninformed individuals who see hippies and Christians as exact opposites. Their definition of hippies being pot smoking, peace loving, dirty individuals that most of the so-called Christians they know wouldn't let through the doors of their church for fear of dirtying the freshly shampooed carpet. The second group: Christians who are positive that rock climbing is testing God and that anyone with dread locks must need an intervention.

In a day when everyone eats organic and your lawyer's son has dreadlocks, what is a hippie? Even the most non-judgmental person can come up with some sort of mental picture; and it isn't probably what the average western church-goer looks like. One situation I experienced resulted in the conclusion that I could be who I wanted to on most Sundays; but if I was going to be in front of everyone it would just be "too distracting" and generally not good for the congregation to dress differently. You'd think I wanted to wear an inappropriately worded T-shirt or a mini-skirt; but I assure you my garb was completely decent and not unusual. It just wasn't church approved.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of hippie is this: "a usually young person who rejects the mores of established society (as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living) and advocates a nonviolent ethic."  This made me stop and really think about how to proceed. Nothing seems wrong with any of those things to me; so let's put emotion, style and personal opinion aside. The only truth we have to consult is God's word. In John 15:18-20, it says that we are not of the world because God chose us to be separate from it. Jesus made it apparent when He cleared the temple that there is a place for righteous aggression. However, Psalm 11:5 does say, "The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates."

So what am I getting at here? Simply this. Do the leaders of today's churches really desire for us to look like everyone else? Do the worship pastors of this age really need their team to keep up with whether it's okay to wear black with brown this season? I have a friend who served with the worship team of a large, nationally known church that is recognized for its production of some of the best modern worship songs. This church literally has a rack of name-brand clothing backstage for "emergencies" in which one of their team members doesn't match the prevalent color scheme that week. A few years ago, members of a local church asked a group of young adults to leave their door-step, basing their request solely on the "type" of people they were. Stories like this leave me at a loss for words; well, almost.

Did Jesus ask Zacchaeus to change his profession before He would dine with him and "bring salvation to his house"? No. Jesus knew that his loving response to salvation would be to relinquish his sinful ways and to obediently start becoming more like Christ in his own little Zacchaeus way. I challenge the body of Christ. What do we care about today? Are we concerned with loving people as Jesus did? Or is it about making Jesus look pretty to the world, hoping that will be enough to draw them in?