My friend Tony wrote the following post
5 Questions with Kary Oberbrunner
Nov102008 Filed under: 5 Questions, Books Author: tony
Kary Oberbrunner is a friend of mine from Ohio. He serves as the Pastor of Discipleship and Leadership at Grace Church in Powell. The big news for Kary, though, is that his new book, The Fine Line, releases in January. In preparation for his book’s release, Kary is launching a blog tour, and this is the first stop.
TONY: First of all it’s an honor to launch your blog tour. Let’s start with this important question. As a resident of the Buckeye State, I’m just curious to know if you’ve ever been to my hometown of Piqua, Ohio?
KARY: Strike one. No I haven’t. You didn’t tell me these questions would be so tough.
TONY: Well, maybe this one will be easier. Tell us how you got from there to here.
KARY: I grew up a cheesehead, spending the first 20 years of my life in Wisconsin. Raised in a Christian home, I went straight to a missionary training institute out of high school. After two years there and a short stay in Paupa New Guinea I migrated east to Indiana where I attended Grace College. I met my wife, Kelly, in Grad School at Grace Theological Seminary. After serving for a year and a half in a small country church, we migrated further east to Ohio to Grace Church. God has been good to us and we have two wonderful kids.
I call myself a “Recovering Pharisee” because in my pursuit of studying the Bible and giving my life to the church, somehow I lost God in the process (This happened to Pharisees in Jesus’ day too. See John 5:39-40.). I went through a deep soul searching which included multiple desert-type experiences and a slew of counselors. I guess God had to break me before he could use me.
TONY: Your new book, The Fine Line, addresses what it means to integrate Christianity with culture. Why is that topic so important to you?
KARY: Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John 17 haunted me for years. He prayed to his Father before facing the cross, “I ask that they may be in the world…but not of it.” This paradox is a fine line indeed and discovering it is difficult, but not impossible. Each generation of people who follow Jesus must wade into this tension, wrestle with this question, and emerge with some kind of answer. Certain generations of Christians avoided the tension and as a result, the church and the world suffered because of it. But other generations ventured into the unknown—celebrating the mystery instead of suppressing it.
Here’s what I know: our difference from the world, not our similarity to it sets us apart. But even though Christ followers are called to be different, we’re also called to transform the world. Here lies the tension. We can’t be so far removed from the world that we lose contact, and we can’t be so much like the world that we’re no different from it.
TONY: That’s a question for Christ-followers, but what implications do you think that question has for the church?
KARY: A church is the people of God in a given time and a given location. If a church wants to be in the world, but not of it, then the people which make up that particular church must make that personal commitment. The larger organism cannot accomplish what the individual pieces are unwilling to do.
TONY: How have you seen this play out at Grace Church?
KARY: One tangible way we consciously step into the tension and walk the Fine Line is through our free medical clinic (check out the video clip). Doctors, nurses, and volunteers show up every Wednesday night to offer free health care to those who have no insurance. We offer prayer first. Some people accept it and some refuse.
We give people a taste of the Kingdom and some want more. Some just want a prescription. We now have several people in our church who started out as Grace Clinic patients. Although initially unbelievers, they made the decision to follow Jesus. Some of these people are hardened people: ex-convicts, drug addicts, and people wanting sex changes. Still Jesus has freed them from their addictions and given them holistic peace in this life and the next.
Walking the Fine Line (of being in the world, but not of it) is messy, but worth it. I wouldn’t want life any other way.
If you are interested in reading more about The Fine Line, you can download this sample chapter from the book.
