Facing Facts
“The problem with America’s Christianity today is that, for the most part, it doesn’t exist! What passes for Christianity is instead an anemic, spineless, diluted substitute without convictions or principle. No wonder so many unbelievers see nothing in the church that would draw them to a life-transforming faith in Christ. No wonder so many political leaders ignore the church. No wonder that despite some 300,000 evangelical churches, scores of television and radio ministries, and millions of professing Christians, our nation is still on a collision course with calamity! What America needs is real Christianity! The kind of Christianity that changed the course of history.”
Excerpted from “Christians No Different than the World” by Pastor Chuck Baldwin, Crossroads Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida
One of the hardest and most thought provoking questions that has been asked of Christians in the last few years is, “Why would I want to become like you?” All things considered, I think this question is highly justified and timely.
It seems that while many western Christian groups have become nothing more than exclusive “member only” clubs, others have built up walls to defend themselves from “those out there.” Still others live what I like to call schizoid-Christianity, in that they are one person when they are with their Christian friends and someone else with their secular friends and work colleagues.
For too long western Christians, in general, have simply played church. Church was never meant to be an inanimate organization that exists for the sole benefit of those already within the confines of the buildings and social networks. It is supposed to be a living organism that grows and reproduces.
Ask any athlete and they’ll tell you that it’s never enough to talk a good game; you have to train hard, play hard, and have an innate desire to win at any cost. Dissimilarly, many Christians can talk a good game, but when all is said and done they are about as useful as an umbrella in a tsunami.
Many of us think we can just sit back and just wait for stuff to happen, justifying our apathy and complacency by saying things like, “What difference can I really make?” and “If God wants them saved then it will happen, with or without my interaction.” And while part of me would like to say that we can afford to take it easy, we can’t.
Let’s face facts, the western churches apathy and complacency is costing a lot more than wasted time or money, it’s costing millions upon millions of valuable souls.
The cold hard truth is that the world is watching us and contrary to what many Christians believe people outside of the church are not stupid; many of them know more about the Christian faith that we give them credit for.
Take the video featured above. All the kids featured in the video know that Christians are supposed to live love, but then see them as uncaring, hateful, puffed up, and judgmental. No wonder they openly say, “Why would I want to become like them?”
I appreciate that believers are only human and that we all make stupid mistakes; God knows I’ve made enough of them. But we can’t use this as an excuse every time we fail to live our lives according to our faith and when we continually disobey the Spirit’s calling to “Go and make disciples” (Matt.28:19), something all believers are called to do.
We need to take seriously the fact that if we as believers don’t address these issue’s, and fast, we may ultimately fail God and fail those around us who are in desperate need of His love. It all comes down to this: If we fail to change our ways and get serious about sharing the Gospel, not just through our words but also through our lifestyles, then we might just be the last Christian generation.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
November, 2008
Video by Refusing Escape Productions
Picture by Danny Hoyle
