Being the Bad Guys
Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn’t
By Stephen McAlpine (Good Book Company 2021).
McAlpine is a pastor from Perth and so writes appropriately for the Australian context. He addresses three main issues: how we got to our current circumstances (the sudden hostility Christians are facing & our surprise to it!), what being the bad guys looks like (particularly the current gender/sex redefinition issues), and how to be the best bad guy you can be.
“This book isn’t about how to stop being the bad guys; its about how to be the bad guys. It’s about how to be the best bad guy that you can be – to refuse to be surprised, confused, despairing and mad about it, and to find a way to be calm, clear-sighted, confident and even joyful in it.” (p11).
His best chapter is called ‘self denial vs self actualisation’ – a comparison between what Jesus teaches compared to what our culture is (rather successfully) trying to pedal. There are some very helpful reflections on how the church ought to respond: our best asset is Jesus. The church needs to put the Lord Jesus front and centre, focussing on Him and what He has done for us. The author uses Daniel in Babylon and the church of Corinth as a springboard for addressing how we might live today in a hostile environment.
“We’re at a critical juncture. We must future-proof ourselves…. while our viewpoint and actions are still legal, let’s be brave enough to express and enact them.” (p138).
-Andy Buchan (March 2021)
You can check out an interview with McAlpine here:
