Let’s say you are a pastor of a very large church and you hear God pushing you to reach out to those who do not come to church, to those who have never even considered going to church. So you decide to act on this calling and leave the secure setting you had and follow a path for which there is no established career trajectory. In fact, you are not even sure what you are supposed to do.
Also, once outside this church world and looking back at it from the outside, a couple of things jump out at you. What you hadn’t fully appreciated until now were all the subcultural trappings that shape how Christians see God, Jesus, the Bible, etc. For example, now it seems clear how narcissistic and tribal the church makes God sound: “Worship me and understand me the right way or . . . let’s just say you will miss out on heavenly bliss.”