Jeep Weekend

If I’m not careful, I find myself surrounded by similar-minded individuals who are great at reflecting my own perspectives and values back at me. In a society that continues to grow increasingly polarized and tribalistic, the ease with which this can happen worries me. After all, part of what made Jesus’ ministry so dynamic stems from the diverse company he kept.

Just over a year ago, my friend Daniel invited me to join him and his closest, mostly conservative, evangelical-minded childhood friends for Jeep Weekend: a weekend of driving heavily modified 4×4 Jeeps through off-road trails that would be impassable for any normal vehicle.

While Daniel and I share a similar worldview, he wanted me to know that my Anabaptist perspective and left-leaning social values would cause me and many of the Jeep enthusiasts to land differently on many theological, social and political issues. Nevertheless, he also made it clear he’d love for me to join them.

What happens at Jeep Weekend . . . stays at Jeep Weekend. So, although I’ve promised secrecy on all that transpired, it’s now one year later, and I’ve just returned from my second Jeep outing with Daniel and his crew. Here are five reasons to make a spiritual practice of saying “yes” to encounters outside your typical social spheres:

1. Community and diversity

While Anabaptists argue that community is the center of our lives, the reality is that all humans are designed for relationship and connection. Witnessing this type of community among Daniel and his friends—and then being warmly invited to join—created a dynamic scenario in which we encountered our differences in the context of friendship and compassion. These scenarios foster empathy and understanding in places that would otherwise feel distant or irrelevant.

2. Confrontation and self-reflection

I am not someone who seeks out confrontation and, while I don’t hide from it, I also don’t come across it often in my typical social circles. Times like Jeep Weekend put me face-to-face with folks who hold very different perspectives from my own on things like military service, firearms and “biblical manhood.” I want to emphasize that I am not making a value statement here. When I confront different viewpoints, this prompts self-re- flection and challenges me to grow in my convictions and understanding of myself.

3. Empathy through encounter

Jesus calls his followers to love their neighbours and enemies, and he commands this in a way that implies action rather than just warm feelings. Like many Anabaptists, I used to claim that as a peacemaker I don’t have enemies. My friend Hal reframed the idea for me: “Your enemies are the people and groups that are hardest for you to love.”

Society has made it easier than ever to relegate folks to categories that, like it or not, help define who we view as our enemies. Søren Kierkegaard is credited with saying, “If you name me, you negate me. By giving me a name, a label, you negate all the other things I could possibly be.” Interacting with folks who hold different beliefs de-objectifies them and encourages empathy. These are vital steps in loving like Jesus.

4. Meaningful relationships

It feels a bit narcissistic if I only choose to build relationships with people who view the world the way I do. After all, Jesus wasn’t just friends with Jewish carpenters from Nazareth. The band of disciples he assembled came from a hodgepodge of different backgrounds and were often found bickering. And yet Jesus called them “friends” (John 15:15).

I’ve learned to be more comfortable with ideological dissonance within relationships than I once was. During these Jeep Weekends, we mostly get along and, when conversations move into territory that highlights differences, I find myself saying, “I don’t think we’re going to agree on this topic, but I’m still OK being friends if you are.”

5. Collective Impact

Experiences like Jeep Weekend can enrich the collective witness of Anabaptist Christianity. While engaging with diverse perspectives is more a byproduct of the weekend than a motive for participating, it underlines the importance of embracing diversity within the Anabaptist community as a way to promote peace, justice and reconciliation in the world.

In other words, if we want to see the world less divided, then let the first step begin with us.

Josh Garber attends Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale, Arizona. This article originally appeared online at anabaptistworld.org on April 26, 2024. Used with permission.