Posts tagged ‘Church’
Is Christianity Dying?
It was quite a byline: “‘Protestant’ is no longer America’s top religious umbrella brand. It’s been rained out by the soaring number of ‘Nones’ – people who claim no faith affiliation.” When Cathy Lynn Grossman, religion editor for USA Today, penned these words for her article, “As Protestants decline, those with no religion gain,”[1] they served as yet another sobering statistical reminder concerning the decline of Christianity in America. More and more people, it seems, are simply not concerned with matters of faith.
But not so fast. At least if you believe Ed Stetzer, president of Lifeway Research, who explains the statistical shift in the “nones” like this:
“Cultural Christians” mark “Christian” on a survey rather than another world religion because they know they are not Hindu, Jewish, etc., or because their family always has. “Churchgoing Christians” identify as such because they occasionally attend worship services. On the other hand, “conversion Christians” claim to have had a faith experience in which they were transformed, resulting in a deeply held belief. The recent growth in “nones,” I believe, comes primarily from cultural and churchgoing Christians shifting to the category no longer using a religious identification.[2]
Stetzer surmises that more and more people are increasingly feeling at liberty to publicly admit what many of them already privately suspected: that Christianity is not a tenable way to view of the world and so there is no reason to be overly concerned with what this faith – or any other faith, for that matter – teaches and preaches. And because there is no longer the social stigma attached to being irreligious that there once was, these people feel comfortable designating their faith commitment as “none.”
So what does all this tell us? I would offer two thoughts on this data.
First, this data is a good reminder that, contrary to the gleeful predilections of naysayers, Christianity is not on the brink of extinction. On April 8, 1966, TIME Magazine famously carried a cover story titled, “Is God Dead?” where eminent theologians opined on the possibility of doing theology without God. Christianity, it seemed to these scholars, was on the decline while secularism was on the rise. The “nones” were on the ascendancy and would shortly squelch the relic religious commitments of the Dark Ages. But those relic religious commitments to a God from ages past stubbornly refused to die. Christianity did not fall flat. And Christianity will not fall flat. As the above statistics intimate and as Ed Stetzer explains, it’s not that Christianity in America is declining per se, it’s that people are becoming more honest about what they actually believe.
Second, this data reminds us that Christianity and culture don’t mix quite as well as some might have previously thought and others might currently wish. The desire to have a culturally Christian nation didn’t work so well in the first century as the nascent Christian Church was belabored and bludgeoned by the Roman Empire and it doesn’t work so well in the twenty-first century in a secular society that disparages and derides the Christian faith. This should not come as a surprise. Christianity and culture will always be at odds with each other, for the perfect law of God and the sinful sensibilities of men can never coalesce.
Ultimately, this tendentious relationship between Christianity and culture should clarify our mission. For all too often, the Christian mission has been reduced and relegated to little more than that of fighting culture wars in hopes of forcibly shaping society. However, such efforts have proven largely futile. Yes, there are times when Christians need to stand up for the truth in society. And no, I do not have any problem with Christians lobbying governing officials on issues of moral import – issues such as abortion or caring for the poor. These things are indeed important. But in order to win on Christian positions, we must first win over people. After all, people hold positions. Positions do not hold people. If you don’t win over a person, you won’t win on a position.
Finally, even if things seem grim in society, take heart! Persecution, ridicule, and mockery from without the Church and scandal, avarice, and pride from within the Church have not been able to destroy a faith founded by an itinerant preacher from the backwaters of Galilee. I have a feeling some statistics about Christianity’s decline aren’t going to be able to take it down either.
[1] Cathy Lynn Grossman, “As Protestants decline, those with no religion gain,” USA Today (10.9.2012).
[2] Ed Stetzer, “Column: Christianity isn’t dying,” USA Today (10.18.2012).
Why It’s Good To Be A Weak Leader
The other day, I was reflecting on how some of my most memorable moments of ministry seem to come when I am not doing the things I normally do. I spearhead the adulteducation program at Concordia, but I sincerely love getting goofy for the sake of the Gospel with the kids who attend our annual Vacation Bible School. I spend a good portion of my day in the office taking care of business on my MacBook, but I am delighted when I go on a mission trip and swing a hammer to help an underprivileged community. Just last week on Christmas Eve, though I am normally a teacher, I was honored to work with an incredibly talented group of actors, musicians, and tech folks as a director in our Christmas pageant. Stepping out of my normal role and into something different has a unique way of stretching, growing, and inspiring me.
Leadership gurus traditionally teach that a person ought to lead from his strengths while managing his weaknesses. But as I’ve been reflecting on the times where I have been privileged to lead in areas where I am not apparently talented or naturally strong, I am beginning to question this tenant of leadership orthodoxy – at least in part. For when a person is called to lead in an area where he may be weaker, it not only helps him grow in a different and new mode of leadership, it helps him grow in his preferred mode of leadership as well.
Here’s what I mean. Every leadership strength comes with a built-in deficiency. For instance, if a leader is naturally a type-A in-charge go-getter, he may also come across as insensitive or uncaring, more concerned with finishing a job by a deadline than demonstrating compassion on a person. But if this leader periodically puts himself in positions where his primary calling is to care for others, this can help him balance his type-A in-charge go-getter proclivity with intentional empathy and deep sensitivity. If another leader is naturally more of a perceptive, conciliatory, people-person, he may also come across as weak or pandering, more concerned with keeping everyone happy than getting something done right. But if this leader periodically spearheads projects that involve making tough decisions that will inevitably ruffle others, this can help him balance his perceptive, conciliatory personality with a tough-as-nails determination. Leading from a place of weakness encourages a person to be cognizant of and work on those deficiencies that are inherent in his strengths.
Leading from a place of weakness, of course, is nothing new. The apostle Paul writes of his leadership in ministry, “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Leading from and in weakness is what honed and helped Paul’s strength, for when Paul led from weakness, he had only Christ’s strength on which to rely. And Christ’s strength, not human fortitude, is what every leader needs. As Paul writes in the verse prior, “[Christ’s] power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Don’t be afraid, then, to lead in an area where you are weak. After all, even if you’re weak, Jesus is not. And He can use your weaknesses to show His strength and to bless your leadership.
Merry Christmas!
“Adoration of the Shepherds” by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622
On this Christmas Eve, I wanted to share with you a portion of a Christmas sermon from Martin Luther, dated 1521. Interestingly, Luther never actually preached this sermon. Rather, he wrote this sermon as part of a collection of homilies for other pastors to share with their congregations. At this time, he also translated the New Testament into German. Luther did this so people could read the Bible in their native tongue and pastors could faithfully preach the Bible to their congregants.
In this sermon, Luther beautifully brings out the centrality of Christmas – not just as a story that happened long ago, but as an eternity-shifting event which calls for faith. Without faith, Christmas brings only condemnation, for the world’s Judge has arrived. But by faith, Christmas is cause for rejoicing, for our Savior has come!
So, it is in faith that I wish you a merry Christmas!
The Gospel teaches that Christ was born for our sake and that He did everything and suffered all things for our sake, just as the angel says here: “I announce to you a great joy which will come to all people; for to you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord” [Luke 2:10–11]. From these words you see clearly that He was born for us. He does not simply say: “Christ is born,” but: “for you is he born.” Again, he does not say: “I announce a joy,” but: “to you do I announce a great joy.” … This is the great joy, of which the angel speaks, this is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man (if he has this faith) may boast of such treasure as that Mary is his real mother, Christ his brother, and God his father. For these things are, all of them, true and they come to pass, provided we believe them; this is the chief part and chief good in all the gospels … Christ, above all things, must become ours and we His, before we undertake good works. That happens in no other way than through such faith; it teaches the right understanding of the gospels and it seizes hold on them in the right place. That makes for the right knowledge of Christ; from it the conscience becomes happy, free, and contented; from it grow love and praise of God, because it is He who has given us freely such superabundant goods in Christ … Therefore see to it that you derive from the Gospel not only enjoyment of the story as such, for that does not last long. Nor should you derive from it only an example, for that does not hold up without faith. But see to it that you make His birth your own, and that you make an exchange with Him, so that you rid yourself of your birth and receive, instead, His. This happens, if you have this faith. By this token you sit assuredly in the Virgin Mary’s lap and are her dear child. This faith you have to practice and to pray for as long as you live; you can never strengthen it enough. That is our foundation and our inheritance. (AE 52:14-16)
When Darkness Closes In: Processing a Tragedy
The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has touched – and shattered – many lives. Last weekend in worship and ABC, the pastors of Concordia offered some thoughts on this tragedy in light of God’s Word and promises. You can check out Pastor Tucker’s message and my Adult Bible Class below.
We pray that God would comfort and keep all those devastated by this terrible travesty. And may the families find their solace and hope in God’s promise of the resurrection of the dead to eternal life!
The Problem with Poverty
“The poor you will always have with you,” Jesus said (Matthew 26:11). This is most certainly true. Our best-laid plans to abolish poverty have fallen woefully short. New York Times journalist Nicholas D. Kristof shines a spotlight on just how short our plans have fallen in his recent column titled, “Profiting From a Child’s Illiteracy.”[1] His opening paragraphs are bone chilling:
This is what poverty sometimes looks like in America: parents here in Appalachian hill country pulling their children out of literacy classes. Moms and dads fear that if kids learn to read, they are less likely to qualify for a monthly check for having an intellectual disability.
Many people in hillside mobile homes here are poor and desperate, and a $698 monthly check per child from the Supplemental Security Income program goes a long way – and those checks continue until the child turns 18.
A plan that seeks to alleviate poverty in the form of Supplemental Security Income in some instances actually perpetuates it. After all, there is no immediate economic payoff for having a son or daughter learn how to read, only a potential loss. And though a myriad of statistics could be marshaled concerning how, over the long haul, children who enjoy solid educations early in life enjoy economic and social stability later in life, these parents can’t afford to concern themselves with “the long haul.” They’re just concerned about their next meal. And so these parents are pressed into a self-perpetuating poverty.
“The poor you will always have with you,” Jesus said. This means two things. First, it means that the sinfulness that leads to poverty will always be with us and in us, at least on this side of the Eschaton. There will always be some people who are lazy and refuse to work, placing themselves in poverty’s grip and on the government’s dole. There will always be some people who are victims of economic injustice – just ask those who were bamboozled by Bernie Madoff. There will always be some people who, because of some fortuitous tragic circumstance – a devastating illness, a lost job, a natural disaster – find themselves with bills they can’t pay and a family they can’t support. Satan will continue to find delight in impoverishing people.
And yet, Jesus’ words are not only a commentary on human sinfulness, they are also a call to Christian action. For with His words, Jesus opens for us plenty of opportunities to show mercy. After all, there are hungry people for us to feed. There are naked people for us to clothe. There are hopeless people for us to encourage. There are plenty of people to which we can offer a cup of water in Jesus’ name (cf. Mark 9:41). In fact, I love how Mark records Jesus’ statement: “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want” (Mark 14:27).
Jesus says, “You can help.” So let’s get to it! How and who can you help this holiday season? Maybe you can serve at a soup kitchen. Maybe you can visit someone who is lonely. That’s your mission. That’s your calling. And, as Jesus says, you can carry out that mission “any time you want” – even beyond the holidays.
I hope you will.
[1] Nicholas D. Kristof, “Profiting From a Child’s Illiteracy,” New York Times (12.7.12).
When Darkness Closes In: Processing a Tragedy
Please take a moment and read this brief important note from Pastor Bill Tucker and then make plans to join us for worship tomorrow at Concordia at 8, 9:30, or 11 am.
Beloved Concordia Family,
The events of Friday in Connecticut have shocked and appalled all of us. Our hearts are broken for the children and families lost…and for those whose lives will never be the same. I cannot imagine a person anywhere in the world who hears of this terrible tragedy that does not feel grief over what has happened.
In the wake of these events and the terrible grief we are all feeling, Pastor Zach and I have decided to divert from the planned messages for ABC and Worship tomorrow. Instead, we will talk about what has happened and address three questions:
1. Why?
2. What about the precious children who lost their lives?
3. What can we do now?
Please plan to join us. In these times of deep darkness, we must cling to our faith and turn to our God. Please invite your loved ones and friends to join us, as well.
You are loved!
Pastor Bill
Pastor Zach's Blog 