Culture's Changing Tide toward Christians

When the moment of truth came, I used to sweat like I'd just sucked 24 hot wings to the bone with only a small complimentary cup of water to relieve my fiery palate: What would happen when I revealed that I was a Christian?

Perhaps I would suddenly be marginalized or outright dismissed for my faith. Besides, it is cool to bash Christians--those people who belong to a money-grubbing irrelevant institution that are out of touch with the real needs of society ... or so they say.

However, if you look closely, you'll see that sentiment is starting to change. And as a Christian leader, if want to stand on the precipice of change, you'll have to truly embrace the rhetoric of Jesus that was far more than mere words. The current of evangelical Christianity in the west is starting to shift from building a powerful political empire to a return to its roots: helping the downtrodden. And that's what is getting the secular world's attention.

New York Times columnist Nicolas D. Kristof revealed how closely he's been paying attention to the shift in evangelical Christendom in the U.S. In a recent column, he wrote: "Scorning people for their faith is intrinsically repugnant, and in this case it also betrays a profound misunderstanding of how far evangelicals have moved over the last decade. Today, conservative Christian churches do superb work on poverty, AIDS, sex trafficking, climate change, prison abuses, malaria and genocide in Darfur. Bleeding-heart liberals could accomplish far more if they reached out to build common cause with bleeding-heart conservatives."

While many Christians are quick to engage in "culture wars" with the world, Jesus never behaved in such a manner. Instead of condemning sinners, he ministered to their needs -- and then they listened to him. If evangelical Christians want to change the world, we must start with a raw assessment of the needs in each of our communities as well as the problems nationally and internationally. Then, we must find a way to provide solutions and hope with the same heart of love Jesus demonstrated daily as he walked among the people.

I've already witnessed this seismic shift taking place where I am as part of the movement to call churches to care about creation. Through the book we published in Saving God's Green Earth and pastor and author Tri Robinson's "Let's Tend the Garden" ministry, I have had the opportunity to connect with people all over the U.S. who have probably never darkened the door of an evangelical church if one at all. But they're drawn to what we're doing, intrigued by the idea that Christians just care about something they care about. And while I've heard the concerns voiced by national evangelical leaders that this movement is being co-opted by the left, those concerns are mere myths, created to help them hold onto their political clout that they fear is slipping into a sea of Christian relativism.

What I've found to be true -- and should be true of everyone who truly is evangelical -- is that it doesn't take long before the iron curtain of distrust makes way for a heart that believes maybe there's more to life than simply their "cause" as the questions start to come my way. It's not revolutionary; instead, it's merely undoing years of perception (sadly, some of it is accurate) of who Christians are and what their faith is all about.

I'm tired of being a Christian in hiding, a mere do-gooder. But those days are coming to a close. The shift taking place in the church is from one of building giant empires based on Sunday attendance to that of giant movements based on a group of people committed to being the hands and feet of Jesus. That's what I signed up for. How about you?

Jason Chatraw is the publisher of Ampelon Publishing and the co-author of Saving God's Green Earth and Mystics, Mavericks & Miracle Workers.

As a 12 year old desperate to make some extra money to buy more baseball cards, I agreed to help a couple of friends on a farm for two weeks. “Pulling pig weeds?” I responded when they told me my assignment for the first week. “What are pig weeds?” Over the longest fortnight of my young life, I became intimately acquainted with pig weeds and their ability to multiply at night, something like Tribbles from Star Trek. This 40-acre cotton field assigned to us to eradicate the pig weed population felt like a spacious prison whose only exit was completion of the task. No matter how many pig weeds I pulled, it seemed like there were 10 more sprouting up as I turned my back and headed for the next row.

When we are entrenched in ministry, discipleship takes on a similar feel: Just as feel like we get one issue solved in helping someone gain solid footing in their relationship with Christ, 10 more pop up out of nowhere. I often feel that way in my journey with Christ, excited about my one step forward before realizing I discovered two more issues for Him to heal in my life. My source of frustration usually emerges out of the fact that I don’t like things that are incomplete. An unfinished building, a car that stays up on blocks, a puzzle missing a few pieces, an ice cream sundae without whip cream—they all needle the part of me that wants to see something completed, something finished.

While many contemporary versions of the Bible use different wording, the New King James’ way of putting Hebrews 12:2 speaks volumes to me, urging me to quiet my nagging feeling of irritability for the incomplete. “… Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith …”

Jesus is the one who finishes my faith, not me. How refreshing to know I can lay down that burden! Of course, there is the fine line of laying down the burden to make room for God to work and then giving up altogether. But this is good news, especially to everyone in ministry who struggles with why no one they minister to seems to “get it.”

One of my guilty pleasures with television is watching reality shows. This summer, I enjoyed Big Brother 8, but I got so frustrated with the two women on the program who prayed and talked about the Bible one minute and then cursed at a housemate the next. It was maddening. However, what really pained me was when the household instigator looked at them and said, “Would Jesus say that?” Or “I guess God doesn’t like you because He didn’t help you today!”

I started wishing I could borrow the “Big Brother” house microphone and say, “The reason he keeps making fun of your faith is because you keep showing major inconsistencies with how you walk it out.” Then I stopped and thought I would probably look just as inconsistent as them when watched moment by moment. And it’s not really their fault that the household instigator continued to antagonize them (OK, they could be nicer and user cleaner language)—it was the result of flawed thinking that once we give our hearts to Jesus that we’re suddenly finished. Pop culture is not to blame for this thinking—Christians are!

As we share the Gospel with others, we must explain what the Bible says about Jesus being the finisher of our faith, not us. Most people in our culture—Christians included—think that we have to be perfect now that we’ve decided to follow Jesus. But that’s far from the truth. Jesus is the one doing the perfecting and finishing in us … and it’s not going to be completed until we see Him face to face. (1 Corinthians 13) We’re still responsible for our actions here and now, but the burden of trying to “be” perfect can be lifted off our shoulders.

In ministry, we can set that burden down and joyfully encourage others in their relationship with Jesus, knowing that we can truly have patience to minister if we realize we’re not going to see the completion of what we set out to accomplish with God in this lifetime. We should all be moving toward a life that more and more reflects Jesus, but we don’t—and can’t—get there in a day. There’s freedom that comes with not only knowing that truth but also walking it out on a daily basis.

Is the Sun Setting on Christianity as We Know It?

I often think about how incredible it would be to own a time machine, ala Marty McFly in Back to the Future, and invest in ideas that impacted the culture of America. For example, wouldn't you have loved to have been one of the people who believed that bottling Coca-Cola was a great idea in the early 1900s and invested $50 in the company's stock? Or you knew Ray Kroc was a genius in the 1950s and that McDonald's would take over the world?

When I stop dreaming about my DeLorean traveling 88 miles per hour and whisking me to another era, I look at the present world in which I live and think about the future, particularly as it pertains to the Church in America. Will it more than just survive but be a force for cultural change? Will the church experience a renaissance and change the world as opposed to existing in a state of mere self-preservation? For some innovative pastors and churches, the future is now. They've already felt the stiff cold breeze of the culture's perception of Christians and are working hard to reverse years of well-intentioned leaders drowning out the Gospel message with a counter intuitive message of isolation and separation. But this task can't rest on the shoulders of a few alone--and it certainly isn't up to the church alone, either.

Last week, I experienced a renaissance of my own faith, inspired to think deeply about the message the Church portrays and its impact on culture. Until now, I've seen the need for a shift in the collective thinking of the Church in America, but didn't really know what it should look like. But now I do.

Meet Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes. While on a trip to Argentina, he was moved with compassion for children in a village who had no shoes. So, he came up with an idea for a shoe company that would give away a pair of shoes to children in need all over the world for every pair of shoes sold. He's given away thousands of shoes and has contracts with almost every major department store in America ... and his company started about a year ago.

Hearing Blake share his story is inspiring, but getting the rest of the story is what really excites me. As a result of his work, he was invited to a fashion designers' awards banquet where he shared a table with some of the biggest names in the fashion designing industry. Blake admits that he's no fashion designer, but he had people at that table listening intently to what he said, yearning to be a part of what he was doing. He's just a Christian who saw a need and not only is influencing the culture of poor children in impoverished places with a practical expression of the Gospel, but he is also provoking fashion designer moguls to rethink the course of their lives.

Christianity as we know it, as it's portrayed in the media, is rapidly disappearing. However, a new generation of Christians are emerging, intent on changing the world through a different expression of the Gospel than their fathers' generation. Churches that serve as merely "Christian clubs" are not only settling into irrelevance, but they're also settling into relative obscurity.

Why the shift? I think the up-and-coming generation of Christians are tired of being defined by what they're against instead of what they're for. Try asking someone you know how they would describe the belief set of a Christian--and they would probably do so by listing a bunch of things Christians are against or can't do. God is for so many things--love, justice, peace, harmony, grace, healing. His people should be as well.

As you ponder your role as a Christian pastor or leader, think about this: What cultural good will you create? How will you help show the world around you what you're for? How will you provoke others to rethink their idea about what it means to be a Christian?

The Debate that Won't Die

Everybody loves a good conspiracy. The U.S.'s moon landing. JFK's assassination. Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico. Those three have captured the imagination of storytellers for years. But it seems there's a growing trend in our culture to consider the resurrection of Christ as a conspiracy.

And while this conspiracy is churning out best-sellers and blockbuster movies (i.e. The DaVinci Code), it's not a new idea. For centuries, people have tried to purport Christ's resurrection as a theory. But now there's even more attention being brought to this topic through James Cameron (director of the movie The Titanic) and Simcha Jacobavici's documentary claiming to have uncovered Jesus' family tomb, including Jesus' bones. This renewed interest in this particular "conspiracy theory" points to some cultural trends that we must recognize in sharing the truth with others.

Trend No. 1: Most people do not want to be held accountable for their actions. The idea is wonderful for others, but not for ourselves. And if there were some way to disprove Jesus' existence, thereby landing a big blow to the Christian faith, then some people would use it as a way to escape all accountability. We all know accountability only works if there is someone we are accountable to.

Trend No. 2: People believe the Church tries to get them to do things they don't want to do by coercion. A general mistrust of the universal Church exists on many levels in the Western World—and with good reason. Church leaders have stolen, lied, abused, and lived grossly hypocritical lives. Now people are leery of everything the Church does, right down to its belief system.

In our conversations with others, we must abandon a "party-line" approach to the Gospel—"Get in line or get out!" It's clear that the Church's reasons for doing things are held at bay by the growing cynicism in our culture. "Why should I wait to have sex before marriage?" "Why should I tithe?" "Why should I get baptized?" "Why should I get married?" "Why should I tell the truth when no one else does?" These questions have become a chorus of doubt that has drowned out the sweet music of simple surrender.

God doesn't give us a list of do's and don'ts for no good reason; rather, He has a plan for a better way of living that emerges when we live our lives the way that He has called us to live. One of my friends in a recent sermon shared how he convinced his kids to pick up sticks in their yard. He didn't do it by asking them to pick up sticks—he did it by telling them about this great big bonfire they were going to build, and if they wanted to help, they could pick up sticks. The end goal compelled the kids to not only pick up the sticks, but to do it joyfully.

As people passionately in love with Jesus, we must share with the world God's plan for redemption and how He desires to involve them in it. We won't have to give them a list of what to do and what not to do; they will ask for it. And when people catch a glimpse of God's glory and His vision for this world, they will not only do whatever He asks, but they will do it joyfully. IO

Loud and Clear

What was once a whisper has turned into a blaring roar. Start flipping your dial on the radio or tune into what some of the influential lyricists of the next generation are saying about the church and you get the message loud and clear: We want authenticity!

Shaggy, the popular reggae artist, has a song called "Church Heathen" on his latest album that calls out the hypocrisy in church. He tells the story of sitting next to "Sister Pam," who divulges the church gossip—and it's ugly. Deacons are stealing. Congregation members sleeping with one another.

Then there's recent Rolling Stones cover artists Panic! at the Disco, a quasi-punk band that is known for its in-your-face lyrics. Their popularity stems from the fact that they address real life issues without poetry, just raw emotion. In their song, "I Thank God for Esteban," Panic talks about the "gunslinger extraordinaire walking contradictions" and pleads this powerful line—"gentlemen, if you're gonna preach, for God sakes preach with conviction!" Their message can sometimes be dark and devoid of hope, but Panic preaches their message with raw conviction—and their masses of adoring fans resonate with them.

In my conversations with friends who haven't yet made overtures toward following Jesus, I try to be real. I want to paint an accurate picture of my faith, not one I think I'm supposed to have. Trying to be something that I'm not has always frustrated my generation and me, yet many Gen Xers live in the tension comfortably. But the generation behind us has said, "Enough!" They aren't interested in being anything but who they are, which applies to young people who have decided to follow Jesus and those who haven't.

Proverbs 24:26 says, "An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." Our culture is in love with true honesty. We love reality TV shows no matter how unreal they may seem to us. The idea of people being captured unscripted on television appeals to the masses.

However, the church cannot sell an unattainable Gospel nor should it attempt to do so. The Good News is simply that Jesus came to redeem us from the muck and mire of this world with His life and give us an intimate relationship with God. But far too often we make it about becoming something—and becoming something quickly. However, we all know that just because our sins are forgiven doesn't mean we never sin again. That's what the culture today wants to hear; it's what they need to hear. That makes the Gospel real to me, and it's what makes the Gospel real to others. That's what "Just as I am" implies—God wants me just like I am right now.

The church is at a crossroads with our culture. We can give them lip service or a kiss on the lips. Which will you give? IO