Current Research: Objections of the Unchurched to Christians

I am often amused by religious research regarding church growth and world opinions about Christianity. The Alabama Baptist (“the most widely circulated state Baptist newspaper”) reports that in a recent study one researcher found those “who don’t attend church [the unchurched] are not too bothered by what they view as hypocrisy in the Church.” For several reasons the preceding statement is amusing to me. The researcher went on to point out the four things that “non-churchgoers don’t like about Christians.” Sadly, they are probably accurate but certainly not amusing. However think with me, and ask yourself after reading the four objections, what are they describing?

1) Christians who treat other Christians poorly. 2) Holier-than-thou attitudes. 3) Christians who talk more than they listen. 4) Christians who don’t go to church.

Listen to Jesus’ rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. “For they preach, but do not practice” (v. 2). Sounds to me like number 3 above. “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their fingers” (v. 3) A definite connection to number 1. “For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. Four neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (v.13). “For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (v. 25). In other words, the Pharisees and scribes talked about being in the kingdom like some talk about being a Christian, but neglect the assembling of the saints for every contrived excuse, anemic alibi and personal pleasure. This would be applicable to number 1, 2, 3 and 4. “For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness”(v.27). Again, this clearly fits all four objections.

I know you are ahead of me on this but what has Jesus just pronounced a woe upon? HYPOCRISY! (see first part of each of the verses cited vv. 13, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29) The “unchurched” regardless of how you slice, dice or spin it, are bothered by the hypocrisy of Christians as they describe the things they don’t like about them. Even so, what should be our greatest concern is that God dislikes it!

So the real question is: Are WE bothered by it? It won’t change until we are and our lights will not shine as long as Christians are indifferent and complacent about it. (John 13:34-35)

The Darkness of the Soul without God

By all accounts, George Sodini was a seemingly rational and reasonably successful 48 year-old man. He worked as a software program writer for a large law firm. He enjoyed his work and had recently been promoted. His lifestyle did not reflect any sort of drug or alcohol abuse. In fact, until the last couple of months, he hadn’t consumed any alcohol in twenty years. He never married, and he owned his own home where he had lived for the past 10 years. From the picture I have seen of him, he was nice looking man, physically fit and well-dressed.

Yet, George Sodini was identified as the gunman in last Tuesday night's (August 4, 20090 deadly LA Fitness health club shooting in Collier Township, Pennsylvania. His own words conveyed via his blog (an internet site where one’s personal writings can be posted and read by all) reveal a man struggling profoundly with his own sense of isolation. His blog chronicled his torturous life as he wrote about the loneliness and frustration he felt at not having any kind of a relationship with people, especially female companionship. His writing, as was his life, was filled with darkness and contradictions. Tragically, he fatally shot three women and injured nine others in his shooting spree before turning the gun on himself, taking his own life.

The words of the writer of Ecclesiastes are stamped all over his life and writings: “Vanity of Vanity, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (1:2-3). It is impossible for most of us to comprehend the struggles of people who suffer in such depraved silence from a sense of not belonging or of being needed. For Sodini, his perception of life was clearly one marked without meaning or purpose as defined by the word vanity. I am making no excuses for Sodini. To the contrary, I am pointing out that without a real relationship with God based on faith and a proper understanding of His word, Sodini’s empty life shows the darkness of the abyss to which evil can fill the life and lead the soul of man.

When I read Sodini’s writing, I wonder what an encounter with a faithful Christian would have done for Him. Perhaps nothing, but then again, perhaps everything, and four people would be alive and nine others would not have been injured. I am reminded that the power of the gospel, lived out in our lives and shared with others, has “wonder working power” to transform the vilest person we might ever meet, even me! (Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:12-17) Always, let your light shine – you never know the darkness into which it may shine leading others to the Christ.

LETTING OUR LIGHT SHINE IN OTHER CULTURES

“Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”

Dorothy, Wizard of Oz

The phrase “the Ugly American” is defined by the dictionary as a “pejorative term for Americans traveling or living abroad who remain ignorant of local culture and judge everything by American standards.” It is very easy to forget that we are not in America when we are doing work in foreign countries. Learning to be flexible is the key to success in doing this work in India. India does not have all the modern conveniences related to infrastructure (i.e. communication system, transportation [roads], power plants, etc.) which we as Americans take for granted. There are just some inconveniences that you must accept if you are going to accomplish anything worthwhile. It is painful and miserable when people can’t deal with it. There really is no point in complaining about it. We are not in the United States.

I have enough other faults and weaknesses but complaining is just not one of them. I think I know why I don’t complain, but it is not important to the point I want to make. Initially there is a culture shock and it takes some adjusting. However, if you travel abroad, the easiest way to adjust to a culture is to just be a Christian. Being a Christian has nothing to do with whether I am an American or an Indian. The universal nature of God’s Kingdom (rule) is such that it can and is to be lived in every culture (Revelation 7:12). In fact, isn’t that God’s point to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2? God assured Nebuchadnezzar that He was going to set up His kingdom (rule) and it “shall not be left to another people” (vs. 44). Simply put, God’s kingdom/rule over people was going to be universal, and it would be established without respect to human culture, might or ingenuity (i.e. “without hands’).

For this reason, Jesus established a new covenant that was universal in scope. Jesus wanted us to make disciples for Him. To accomplish that, He commands we “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15-16). The reason He commanded this is because the gospel is for all men regardless of their culture, race or ethnicity. If we are going to let our light shine in other cultures, it will be on the basis of our faith in the gospel and not on our insistence for our American way of life! (read carefully 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

COLONY OF HEAVEN

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…" (Philippians 3:20)

I am an American citizen and very grateful to be one. There is very little in India, outside of the cherished relationships I have with many of the Indian people, which makes me want to live here. India is not my home. It is a beautiful country in many ways. It is a country far richer in tradition and history than America. I am ever learning about India that I might not be perceived as being disrespectful toward the culture. Sometimes that is not easy for my Western mindset to understand, much less accept, the differences in cultures. I am aware that the reverse is true for my dear friend Benson when he visits America. Though neither of us has a desire to live in each other's respective land, we do respect each other's culture as far as our conscience will permit

I am quite confident the one thing we (Benson and I) share in common, above our preferences for our native cultures, is the desire to live in our respective cultures only as sojourners because our longing some day is to be in Heaven. Thus, we both long to have a firm grasp on the pilgrim concept taught in the Bible – namely, that this world is not our home – whether we are Indian or American. For we are first and foremost Christians, which means we are members of the family of God that is made up of every nation, tribe, peoples and languages, who will one day bask in the culture of God's presence without a longing to be elsewhere. This is what we both strive to reflect in our lives and preaching because we are guided by Heaven's ways revealed in the Scriptures. Thus, whether in India or America or anywhere else in the world, all those who make up God's family are a colony of heaven on earth regardless of the differences in their respective cultures and languages. Regardless of where Christians live on this earth, they can live faithfully to God letting their lights shine through the Scriptures knowing their true citizenship is in Heaven.

NO SECRETS IN DEATH

The media focus on the recent deaths of celebrities has been unrealistic. Steve McNair, a former NFL quarterback who was married and the father of four boys, was found shot to death alongside his girlfriend, according to the news media. His death is tragic in so many ways as were the two other cultural icons, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. The message of the book of Ecclesiastes is stamped all over their lives; "Vanity of vanities…All is Vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

It is no secret that the lives of these icons (as well as many more before them) were characterized by lust. The exact cause(s) for the type of cancer Farah Fawcett contracted may be unknown to the public, but the risk factors for it are not. Michael Jackson clearly died from a drug induced heart-attack. McNair died at the hands of someone while he was with his mistress. A look at their bank accounts, fame and popularity reveal they "had it all." The reality is that "having it all" is no safeguard against death. Death is where you leave "it all" because you cannot take any of it with you.

Life does not have to be lived in vanity (meaninglessness) whether rich or poor. The fact is, life is only vanity if "having it all" means only living for this world. If all there is to our existence is this world, then life is meaningless. When people are consumed by their lust and addictions, clearly their world-view is strictly defined by the here-and-now. Consequently, drugs, violence and sexually transmitted diseases will be a major risk factors contributing to the deaths of people consumed by their lusts.

Think where each one of these individuals would be right now if they had been faithful Christians. It is true that being a Christian is no safe-guard against death but it does assure that when we die we can do so with dignity and not with shame. We die with dignity because we lived for a meaningful hope. Thus, the Christian's hope is better than anything this world can provide – even if one managed to "have it all" (Matthew 16:26). Someone has wisely said, "If you want to know how to live, then you need to know how to die." There are no secrets in death – much less in judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)

Sacrifice: When Nothing Else Matters

It was not the obligation or duty of Jesus to die for us. His sacrifice was wholly a matter of love. It is His incomprehensible willingness to love the unlovable that staggers the mind. A love publicly manifested by His giving up heaven's glory to enter a hostile and sinful world as a man rejected, ridiculed and condemned to die unjustly. The innocent for the guilty, to set them free, forever declares His humiliation and voluntary sacrifice on our behalf.

There are only two reasons that love motivated Jesus to sacrifice Himself on our behalf. Namely, His love for God and His love for God's creation – nothing else mattered (Hebrews 10:5-7). We must understand this, without that sacrifice is impossible! Nothing else mattered in his love but God and people – not His physical comforts (Luke 9:58); not His personal preferences (Matthew 26:42); not even His intense longing to be with His Father in Heaven apart from going to the cross (Luke 5:16).

Only when nothing else matters but God and people will God's people come to know the true meaning of sacrifice. Until then, the work of the local church will suffer want at the hands of physical comforts, personal preferences and longing to be elsewhere. We are not called to duty or convenience but to conviction and sacrifice that willingly serves through love. "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. …No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 9:23, 62) If we learn to sacrifice because nothing else matters but God and people, then our light will always shine.

“LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH”

“… in order to love, we must be individuals; to be individuals, we must know death; therefore, in order to love, we must know death.” Peter J. Kreeft

Last week while flying back from Tucson, Arizona, I was thumbing through the American Airlines on-board magazine for June 2009. It contained a human interest piece on the late “Billy Mays.” In spite of his annoying infomercials, according to the article, he apparently was not only very successful but was a very personable individual. It is interesting that within a week of reading that article he died suddenly at the age of 50. I guess, in a sense, he was to infomercials what Michael Jackson was to pop music and what Farrah Fawcett was to fashion models/actresses in the 1970’s. But more than that, Mays, Fawcett and Jackson all share the common fate of all humanity – they are dead.

I know it seems too obvious to mention but it needs to be noted that neither, fame, beauty, talent nor voice recognition spared them from the inevitable and the irreversible act of death. No one wants to be morbid or insensitive to those who sincerely mourn their passing, but death is the reality for each of us regardless of our talents and wealth. Compiling all their wealth, fame and beauty together could not compete with death. In spite of that, the Bible, which speaks to the living, does remind us that there is something that is as strong as death in this life: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD.” (Song of Solomon 8:6 ESV)

Solomon observes that love, like death, is both real and unrelenting as it pursues its purpose. Yet, it is not just any love, it is that committed love of marriage. As much as faithfulness preserves love, wisdom preserves life. Such committed love is jealous. Yet it is not a jealousy grounded in selfishness. To the contrary, the jealousy to which the writer refers, is that voluntary and selfless devotion, which seeks the protection and welfare of that one to whom we are committed. No amount of “water” (struggles, temptation, pain, suffering, et. al.) pouring over a committed love can quench its fires and no amount of wealth can purchase such committed love (see v. 7). The wisdom that preserves life, and the faithfulness of committed love, which sustains marriage can only be as strong as death, if it is founded on the “fear (reverence) of God.” (Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; 5:15-23)