Breaking Down Walls: Counter-Cultural Christianity

In the 1970s, many Christian families in America built invisible walls. The message was clear: stay separate, stay safe. We created our own ecosystem – Christian Yellow Pages, Christian businesses, Christian social circles. Like pioneers circling their wagons against perceived threats, many Christian families fortified themselves against the “secular world,” venturing out only for necessary interactions at school or work.

But my father chose a different path.

He was an executive who loved real estate investment, but titles and wealth never defined him. What defined him was his deep, unwavering love for Jesus – a love so genuine it couldn’t help but spill over into every interaction he had. While he supported Christian businesses, he saw every business transaction, and every professional relationship, as an opportunity rather than a threat.

I can still picture him trading his perfectly pressed executive suit for worn jeans and a work shirt, kneeling beside gardeners and carpenters at our properties. He’d work alongside them, his genuine curiosity about their lives flowing naturally into conversations about faith. There was no agenda, no forced evangelism – just authentic connection sparked by genuine care.

One memory stands out crystal clear: Walking into my parents’ garage as an adult to find my father, hands placed gently on our Christian plumber’s shoulders, praying with him. The man’s tears spoke volumes about my father’s gift – the ability to create a space where people felt safe enough to be vulnerable, to share their burdens. He possessed a rare combination of authority and humility that drew people in, making them feel both respected and cared for.

His approach wasn’t just about initial connections. He followed up, checked in, and offered both encouragement and gentle correction when needed. Whether someone was taking their first tentative steps toward faith or had walked with Jesus for decades, my father invested in their journey with equal dedication.

When he passed away one Easter morning nearly fifteen years ago, we planned for a small, intimate service to protect my mother from overwhelming grief. But word spread, as it always does when someone truly beloved leaves us. The celebration of his life became a testament to his legacy – the sanctuary filled with people from every imaginable background and stage of faith. It was living proof that his counter-cultural approach – engaging with rather than withdrawing from the world – had borne beautiful fruit.

My father wasn’t gifted with natural evangelism in the traditional sense. He simply loved Jesus so deeply that it transformed how he saw and treated every person he met. In an era when many Christians were building walls, he was building bridges – one conversation, one prayer, one act of kindness at a time.

His life taught me the most fundamental truth about faith: loving God authentically will always lead to loving others genuinely. It’s not about having the right spiritual gifts or following a prescribed method. It’s about letting God’s love flow through you to touch others, whether they share your faith or not.