A few days ago I was sitting in the studio of a St. Louis radio station doing an interview. The host was asking me questions about Fixed Point, an event we have coming up in St. Louis, and a variety of issues of faith and culture. Mid-interview he said, "Usually people who represent your side of the argument come off a little crazy. Now you don't seem crazy ..."

A nice guy, he wasn't entirely serious, but he did have a good point. How many times have we seen or heard on television or radio someone who was suppose to represent the Christian worldview, but didn't? My cousin, a television insider, once explained this phenomenon to me. She said that in the secular media bubble there is little understanding of what Christianity is, so when an "expert" is needed, they simply go to the most visible figures they can find who seem to represent that point of view: T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, etc.

This explanation makes a lot of sense. But I think there is more to it. I think that orthodox, mainstream Christianity has done a poor job of representing itself. Having become market-driven rather than driven by a biblical mandate, the church has, in many instances, come off as crass commercial endeavor. This is the brand of Christianity that seems to dominate the airwaves.

But there is another more authentic Church that has received little visibility. Christians must re-engage in the marketplace of ideas so that the world can see this Church.