The Misguided Optimism of the Intelligensia

A friend recently questioned my struggle over what it means to impact the culture saying something to the effect of: “some people are called to be separate from the community, and that’s okay.” In other words, this friend was saying that some are called to operate in the world of the elites, "out of touch" with the broader public, something that I simply am not willing to do. Dear friend, I beg to differ and won’t do so silently…If I "live the gospel" apart from a community, a community that is made up not merely of elites, then I am not really living out the gospel in the first place? True, Jesus had 12 disciples, but he also fed 4000, healed the lame, sick and blind, and raised the dead. He was not just interacting with the elites. It is no mistake that Jesus was born in a lowly manger with little splendor or grandeur. It is the story of one who humbled himself so that the good news might be available to all. If we suddently think that we are above "touching the masses," then we have lost touch with what it means to be human. I'm sorry for the harsh rebuke, but feel it's necessary to state my opposition.