When I preached this past Friday night, two of my friends from Toastmasters came (a married couple who serve as leaders for the group). They normally attend a Unitarian Universalist church, and though I preached a sermon that dealt with mankind's hatred of God and sole hope in Jesus, they came away with glowing praise and told other folks at Toastmasters about the visit.
Speaking of Toastmasters, our next meeting was the following Monday. I gave a speech entitled "Is Christianity in Decline?" based on a blog post I wrote about that topic earlier in the week. After the meeting, I struck up a conversation with my waiter and we talked for about 30-40 minutes. He grew up in a legalistic church, went off to UW-Madison for college and left Christianity behind, and has since been struggling to put his life back together alongside his girlfriend. She is pregnant.
They are potentially looking for a church, but a place where they will not be judged and ridiculed. The faith of their youth continues to testify to the God of grace, but they doubt whether there is room in the heart or church of Christ for them. I had coffee with the young man today and tried to walk him back through the man-centered, works-oriented Christianity of his youth and redefine all he learned in light of Scripture. They will hopefully come to our church on Sunday. Please pray!
Yesterday, as I ordered a cup of coffee at a local bakery and awaited a dear brother in the faith to debate the issue of baptism, the woman at the counter looked at me and said "You're a pastor, right?" "Yup." "Could you see if anyone needs a part-time job in our bakery? We need somebody." "Sure, I'd love to get the word out."
"By the way, I'm having a hard time right now." "Why's that?" "I grew up Catholic and raised my first daughter in the church, but didn't raise my second daughter in the church and don't really go anymore. My parents are made at me. And now my younger daughter wants to know what I believe and why we're not going to church."
"Children often ask us the questions we really don't want to answer. Maybe it's time to think over these things and evaluate if this Christianity thing is actually true for your daughter's sake and yours. Why don't you come over for dinner some time and we'll ask you questions and help you think through the matter?" Let's hope we can get them over! (And if anybody needs a part-time, late night job in the Falls, let me know.)
After my coffee time with the young waiter this morning, I swung by Gents Barbershop on Main St. for my monthly high and tight from Nick Papageorgio. He's married to a woman who grew up in a Dutch Reformed church in Oostburg, but they no longer attend a church. We always have a good chat when I come in, and he cuts the hair of a lot of the friends I have made in the community. Today, he announced after my trim that the haircut was on the house. It's the small things. Awesome barber.
Tonight, we had dinner with our young neighbor friends and their little boy (a year older than ours). Our boy was wired and running around everywhere and casually rode a car down a stairwell, which ended with strewn car parts and a boy on his back at the bottom. Despite the distraction and stress that his antics caused, we had a surprisingly substantive conversation with our friends. We learned about their Lutheran and Catholic upbringings (largely cultural and nominal), and their subsequent interest in Christianity now (she is taking membership classes at a Lutheran church). They said that they were interested in reading the Bible, but didn't have one. My wife will make sure they get both a regular Bible and a children's Bible in short order.
By the way, I inquired about a leadership position with Toastmasters if there was need, and I got this response from one of the leaders: You are exactly the kind of person who exudes Toastmaster leadership, a generous spirit, a willingness to engage, and an overall aptitude for fun.
I sometimes feel like a blur of energy out in the community and am often second-guessing things I say and do. This bit of encouragement goes a long way, by God's grace.
Finally, a shout out concerning my lovely wifey: This past weekend, we hosted three couples for dinner on Good Friday before I preached. We also hosted two couples and a single lady for Easter dinner. Alongside preparing these meals, my wife cooked lamb for the first time, made carrot cake and coffee cake from scratch, painted our dining room (for fun!!!), mothered two children, and worked on several articles. She is crazy and I love her for it.
31.3.16
A Few Considerations Before You Vote
I am not in the habit of endorsing particular candidates or legislation on a blog that deals mainly with matters of the faith. It is important to me that you hear Christ, and Him crucified, first and foremost.
That said, I would encourage you to ask certain questions of yourself and bring certain considerations with you into the voting booth:
1) We are a nation of laws, not of men. Those who claim the mantle of men, but not the laws, will have nothing to bind them from trampling men. Those who claim the mantle of the laws (i.e. the Constitution) will be bound to also guard the rights of men.
2) Do not think about your vote solely in terms of the current race. Rather, consider your vote in relation to the presidency. Who do you trust to uphold our laws and nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will do the same? Who do you trust to act on principle, not on popularity? Who do you trust to guide our soldiers into harm's way?
3) Be both principled and practical. You want a leader who shares your values, but will also work hard to achieve the practical outworking of those principles alongside the legislative branch.
4) Examine records closely. You are not only looking for one who shares your values, but also one who has experience guarding them. Beware politicians whose words do not reflect their record. Be wary of politicians who have recently evolved as well. Such evolving is allowed in politics (we are always learning), but are the changes coming from a point of principle or are they sheer politics?
5) Who is willing to stand against the popular fads? Those who bellyache about the tyranny of traditional values are at the same time imposing a tyranny of values to their liking. A wall of separation is being erected between our passions and our reason, and the politically correct orthodoxy that ensues will bring no tangible benefit. Who is willing to be courageous--not angry and uncouth--but courageous in standing athwart these forces and yelling "Stop!"
Finally, once you have voted, rejoice! The Lord has graciously given us a political and economic system that both generally work to guard life and liberty. Sure, they don't work perfectly, but no human system will produce Heaven. And if, God forbid, we are denied life or liberty (and the two are bound), rejoice! For there is a King and Kingdom that stand over and above all earthly thrones, and a salvation wrought not by the blood of revolutionaries, but by the blood of a Savior.
28.3.16
Are there less Christians in America?
Before you rejoice or lament over such a dramatic shift, perhaps you should ask: Is this actually true?
Some of the data can be validated in part: For example, we know through denominational statistics that the mainline Protestant denominations are shrinking. This should not surprise us because these denominations have generally exchanged the historic "other-worldly" message of Christianity for a more palatable "this-worldly" message. A church becomes irrelevant when it has lost touch with the transcendent.
But a larger point must be made here: The decline here is not necessarily in the number of actual Christians, but in the number of people who identify as Christians. This is the true flaw in the study. How can you ask people if they are something if you don't define what that something is? It is totally subjective. If you ask me if I am fast, you are asking me to also define "fast." I could define it by a certain pace over a certain distance, or in comparison with other runners. My answer, however, will not tell you how fast I am but how fast I think I am.
Words have meaning, not just interpretations. In order to conduct an effective study of Christianity in America, you must first come up with some sort of standard definition of Christianity--perhaps "One who believes in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone for his or her salvation." Of course, all of that language is broad and could be unpacked. You could also further drill down and try to get past "nominal" (name-only) Christianity and ask questions about prayer, Bible reading, and church attendance. But these things are echoes, not at the essence, of Christianity.
According to historian Thomas Kidd in his book God of Liberty, the number of actual Christians throughout American history is much smaller than we often suppose. Using some of the same criteria as mentioned above, historians have speculated that the population of Christians in America has generally hovered around 15% of the population. That number may also be declining, but there is no way to determine that through asking people for their opinion of what group they belong to.
Of course, this rebuttal of the findings doesn't change the fact that less people consider themselves to be Christians. Might we speculate on alternative interpretations of why this is the case?
If those who hold to the core message of Christianity--the Gospel--have generally only made up about 15% of the American population, why would the vast majority of Americans consider themselves Christian? Well, Christianity used to be much more popular in American society than it is now. Politicians had to assert their (nominal) Christian credentials and "good Christians" (as if such a thing exists) were considered staples of their communities. Christianity was also closely intertwined with Americanism--to the extent that the untrained could would barely be able to tell them apart.
In past generations, the Christian label brought with it certain social benefits. The same cannot be claimed today in most areas of the country. Either you claim to be a tolerant Christian and not one of those evangelical Christians, or you face a certain degree of stigma and scorn. Christianity in its true form is no longer fashionable and more and more, faith in Christ comes with a cost.
I would argue that the decline in self-identified Christians is not a reflection of the number of actual Christians, but a reflection of the increasing cost of being a Christian. And with the increase of soft persecution--suppression of speech, economic retaliation, etc.--I would expect the number of self-identified Christians to continue to decline dramatically.
On the bright side, as Christian "morals" are no longer considered by many to be indispensable to American society, and as they are treated more as a hindrance to society, people will be forced to look at Christianity in terms of truthfulness rather than usefulness. It doesn't matter what sort of effect Christianity has on society--Is it true? A useful belief does not sustain people when it is no longer deemed useful. A true belief will sustain people regardless of whether it is deemed useful--for the Truth is mightier than the hoard.
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