Thursday, June 26, 2008

the post Christian society

I have been doing some reading this past week. This will come as no surprise to some of you. Others may struggle with this thought.

I think the younger folks will understand and agree, my generation and those older than I am, may still wish that America could return to it's Christian roots.

Without taking up the argument over how our country was founded, many Christian authors have come to the conclusion that we no longer live in the "church age." They mean that the church is no longer the strong force in the community that it used to be. Many people, and I meet them at Woods Chapel, show up at church in their thirties and have never attended church before!! We are no longer offering church to a nation of people who must simply pick their denomination, we are now missionaries in an increasingly secular and pluralistic society.

Now, we may wish it were different. We may wish that all of this would change, but the fact is that many of your neighbors do not attend church. Many have never been to church. Those who do attend church are often not as regular as my parent's generation. We let many things get in the way of our commitments to the church.

The long and short of this is that you and I are missionaries. We are sent by God into a post-Christian society. The institution of the church is no longer going to survive simply because the congregation built a building. For churches to thrive, the members have to "go into all the world," as Jesus asked his disciples. If we simply sit and wait for good folks to come to us, eventually we will dwindle and die.

Have you ever thought that you live in the mission field? Right now, there are people around you who are not just Presbyterians that don't go anywhere anymore, they are totally secular, or pagan as the old testament says. Such an awareness calls us to take seriously the need for us to be ready to share our faith.

You may be able to control the shape of your home and keep it as a strong Christian home, but all around us are those who have no idea what your church is about or what it means to be a Christian. These folks are waiting for a good word from you. Many of them know that you are a Christian and they are wondering about you. Let the way you treat your spouse and kids, let the general sense of love that you carry, be a witness to them of the amazing love of God.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to share the good.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It does not seem that long ago I mustered the courage to walk all the way across the dance floor in front of all my friends who egged me on to ask Mary Alice Holmes to dance...She politely said, I'm hopeing James asks me but if he doesn't I'll dance with you" For some reason I thanked her and walked back to my group....I think I changed her answer a little.

I wonder what would happen if each of us once a month asked a neighbor or even a stranger to join us at church or to visit our church...once a month doesn't seem like too much of a burden and half the church isn't watching you to see the result. God would be but he's on your side. I guess I have to start with the man in the mirror..and thanks Jeff for egging me on. I'll bet it gets easier as the months go by...nothing to fear when our Father is with us.

Anonymous said...

Jeff,

I have been thinking a lot about our country's founding and about the faith of founding fathers. I read McCullough's book on John Adams. You cannot go through a chapter without the author mentioning Adam's Christian faith. We are always one generation away from losing our Christian faith, now more so than ever. Your topic today will preach especially at this time of year and at this time in our lives. I for one would not like to live in a country that has lost its Christian faith.

Bob

Anonymous said...

Jeff,
I hope you're having a relaxing time off.
Your post today made me do some thinking. (as always)
Just yesterday, I was talking in the front yard to my neighbor friends as we do most afternoons. They had asked me what I had been up to and I replied, "just doing some church work".
I invited them to come to one of the cool events coming up and they responded,
"Oh, we do need to get back into a good church routine."
I said, "Woods Chapel is GREAT, you should try it there."
Then the conversation quickly turned to something else and I found myself bad talking my husband and complaining about my kids in the very next breath.
Thank you for pointing out that I not only need to have and inviting heart, but also a loving one - for everyone to see, no matter what kind of mood I'm in.
Hurry Back! I miss you!
JD