As I look at the state of religion in America, I am amazed by how much ground true and genuine Christianity has lost over the past 20 years. I’ve been trying to figure out why this is happening. There can be dozens of answers to this question all of which probably contribute to the overall problem. But there is one thing I see that is not viewed as a problem that in reality is. Christianity has become a sub-culture instead of counter-culture. In an effort to be “separated from the world” Christians have created their own culture…there own greenhouse from which they live their lives.
This may not seem like a big deal, but the reality is that it is impossible to impact culture from inside the greenhouse. Many of us start this process by sending our kids to Christian schools (I’m not really even sure what makes a school Christian). From the onset children are passively taught that it is better to separate from secular culture rather than learn how to be a light in that culture. Students graduate without ever being challenged about what they supposedly believe. They can’t defend their faith or support what they believe, so the only two responses are to forsake their faith or to digress back into the greenhouse of our sub-culture. Neither response really does anything to influence culture.
Inside this sub-culture of Christianity where so many people live, you will find an abundance of hypocrisy. You will find people who argue over insignificant matters. You will find people and churches that are inwardly focused instead of outwardly focused. You will find people who’s only evangelistic effort consist of tossing a few dollars on the offering on Sunday. This sub-culture is content to do anything other than interact with and counter secular culture.
What we need is for Christians to be involved in counter-culture ministry. This is active not passive. This seeks to engage and influence secular culture for Christ rather than sit back and watch it, doing nothing other than criticize it. We need for churches to be involved in the community, focusing on spreading and showing the love of Christ in everyday life. We need Christians to be involved in counter-culture ministry; not a sub-culture.
There is much more to this topic, but this at least this gets it started. Any thoughts?
March 2, 2009
for students of culture