The hostile culture of the U.S. is pretty obvious to anyone who pays even a bit of attention. There are warring factions on multiple sides of virtually every topic. Unfortunately, one seemingly can no longer live in peace. That’s because choosing a side also means choosing enemies.
It’s a sad reality. And that’s the very thing that Brian Jennings sets out to address in his book, Dancing in No Man’s Land: Moving With Peace And Truth In A Hostile World. In this post, I am sharing my reflections from review copy I received.
We Have Bunker Mentality
Jennings frames Dancing in No Man’s Land using the analogy of war bunkers, where opposing sides seek safety and refuge in their personal spaces. They enjoy being distant from their chosen enemies and surrounded by like-minded individuals.
The neglected – and often empty – area between two bunkers of opposing forces is “no man’s land” and we, as Christians, should seek to occupy that space. Even dance within it. Jennings presents a sound argument to encourage us to be brave and confident enough to step into that uncomfortable zone. And we should be willing to also welcome our “enemies” to join us.
Even in our hostile culture. Especially within our hostile culture.
The hostile U.S. culture is pretty obvious with warring factions on all sides of all topics. As such, we can seemingly no longer live in peace. Dancing in No Man’s Land is a profound read that provokes thought and understanding, aimed to encourage and equip us to advocate for reconciliation.
Bunker Mentality in a Hostile Culture
To this end, Jennings helps us understand why we step into bunkers by describing “bunker mentality” as:
An attitude of extreme defensiveness and self-justification based on an often exaggerated sense of being under persistent attack from others.
From there, each chapter unfolds within the three part book book structure to not just help us understand our ways, but also to teach us how to step out from and rise above them. Some of the key problems he identifies with bunker mentality in our hostile culture is the likelihood to view our bunkers as the sources of truth and a tendency for idolatry disguising itself as loyalty.
This, of course, is in addition to us making enemies of our neighbor (whom we are commanded to love) simply because they have a differing opinion.
Let’s Walk Together
As readers learn, bunker mentality is not just for military frameworks. In fact, it’s pretty easy to see all around us in our hostile culture. However, the book does use a lot of military imagery throughout. It’s especially so at the beginning, almost to the point of excessive. It diminishes as the narrative progresses and does, in fact, serve a purpose.
That purpose helps the reader see and understand the psychology of opposing sides, where unity and cooperation are the exception to the norm. Jennings then offers ways for us to approach God’s people and God’s world for being difference makers. The goal, he shares, is one of unifying divisions and being advocates for reconciliation even when we don’t fully agree with one another.
That’s a desperately needed trait in our hostile culture. Heck, it’s a desperately needed skill in many a church congregations!
Some of the many strategies he covers is walking in grace and truth, wisdom and tact, gentleness and strength, humility and courage, and more.
Dancing in No Man’s Land – Final Thoughts
While I was originally put off by the military references at first, and I don’t enjoy books where authors use time-bound phrases like “just this past week” and “the other day,” I learned much from this book. On top of that, you find it to be and enjoyable read.
Dancing in No Man’s Land is a profound read provoking a lot of thought and understanding. One that can mend relationships at the office, at home, in churches, and more. There are short chapters, all of which end with reflection questions. They are perfect for engaging in deeper thought, as well using in small group studies, book clubs, and more.