1 Feb 2008
We are living in very interesting times. This generation is experiencing what may eventually be viewed as the transition between an American culture that valued and embraced Christian beliefs, into one that does not. Already those who comment on culture and trends for the future are describing America as being “post-Christian.” Jesus warned that before His return “the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). We may not be seeing a sign of the End Times, be we are witnessing in America the beginnings of the same decline of church attendance and participation that happened in Europe over the past century. Today buildings that once held large congregations and experienced magnificent worship are now mostly empty and visited only by tourists. Could that be where America is headed?
Our situation may or may not be that dramatic, but the truth is our culture is changing. America at the beginning of the 21st century is not the same as it was at the beginning of the 20th or 19th centuries. How we respond to those cultural changes is crucial for the life, health and future of the church. Do we ignore that our culture is morphing into something we don’t understand by closing our eyes and hoping things will get back to normal (whatever that is), or do we just sit idly by wringing our hands in frustration as these changes happen around us, wishing things wouldn’t change so fast (or change at all)? Either of those choices only lead to our further frustration and alienation of the church from the very people Christ died for and sent us to love.
There is another option. We need to accept that our culture not only is changing, but changing in ways that makes the church less relevant to society. [We also need to accept responsibility for our part in why Christianity is losing credibility through how some believers act towards those outside the Church.] By acknowledging this we then can re-think how to fulfill our Lord’s mandate to go to our world with His Gospel. The staff and Elders of GCC are currently reading a book called They Like Jesus but Not the Churchin which author Dan Kimball not only points out the cultural changes happening around us, but also offers a very simple solution. It is not a new program. There are no seminars to go to in order to find out what new gimmick works with what is being referred to as the “emerging generation.” No, what we must do, he suggests, is to start thinking like missionaries in our own country!
A missionary assumes from the start two basic truths. First, that the message of Jesus is life-changing and valid for every generation and culture on earth. Second, that in order to present the Gospel to a different people group in ways that make sense to them, the missionary must first learn about the new culture to whom they are going. The missionary knows that they are not transferring their home culture into a new society, but presenting “good news” in order to advance the Kingdom of God in a new land and language. Because American culture and that of the church is growing further apart, for us to reach our generation for Christ we must learn its “language” and discover new ways to present the Words of Life to those who see the church as out of step and out of touch.
This doesn’t mean changing the message of the Bible or compromising what we believe so people will come to Christ (or adopting some new technique or program). Instead, it is about living for and doing the things of Christ so well and so lovingly that our culture will be attracted to Him, rather than turned off by how Christians sometimes portray what it means to follow Him. The bad news (as the title of our study book suggests) may be that many in our society don’t like the Church. But the really good news is that they do like Jesus, which means they are open to The Good News!
Let us be missionaries who take Jesus to our world (even if it is right where we already live)!
Denis Whittet
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