For a long time, I have struggled with the feeling that many, maybe even most, in the American church are not actually, at their cores, interested in following Jesus. Instead, the church often seems to be a social society, or a morality club, or something that can be abandoned at any time, for any reason. But is that what Christ intended His bride to be?
On top of this, Jesus describes the way to following Him as a narrow road with a small gate. And yet, we see that by some statistics Christianity is the largest religion in the world! I mean, in the United States, studies show that around 80% of people in the country label themselves as “Christian,” with nearly 40% claiming to be “born again,” and about ⅔ of adults claiming to have made a decision to follow Jesus, which they still view as "important"! I don’t know about you, but ⅔ of the adults I meet don’t seem to act as though a relationship with Jesus is important. This is backed up by the fact that only 3% of adults hold what would be considered a Biblical worldview*(see note at end).
So, we have this huge group of people who claim to be Christians (albeit not necessarily holding a Biblical worldview), while we also have a huge group of people who are opposed to that group. Ironically, according to the statistics, many who oppose Christianity are actually churchgoers!
How has this happened?
To start, I think we have to identify the typical types of people who participate in the church today. But first, I want to clarify that I believe there is a difference between the church described in the Bible (the body of Christ, those who are His followers), and “church” (often a building, sometimes a group or denomination) we see today. So, for most of this article, when I refer to “church”, I’m saying the American church and all it’s buildings and denominations... the religion. So, who comprises the American church today?
- Moralists: These have, for varying reasons, latched on to morality. Sometimes it's taught by their upbringing, or their political association, while sometimes it's caught as people see the negatives of a moral paucity. Either way, Christianity can be seen as a route to "upright living". They may leave when the church fails to meet their moral standards.
- Socialites: These folks join the church and are fine with a certain degree of non-commitment. They attend, listen to some sermons and sing some songs, but hold political, moral, relational, and/or sin views which differ from those professed by the church. They may leave when things don't suit their needs or when offended.
- Concerned Parents: These join the church because it supports the values (i.e. morals) they want instilled in their kids, even though they don’t believe those values are relevant for themselves. I still am not sure why people want to instill values in their children, which they themselves disagree with. These people may leave when they don’t like the values instilled in their children, or when it becomes inconvenient.
- Disciples: These people genuinely love Jesus and believe the church is His body on earth - here to show Him off. It seems to me that this group is often frustrated with what they see in most churches...since what they see are the groups above. In desperation they may change churches, hoping to find the Jesus (and His bride) they see in the Bible.
There may be other groups, such as seekers (those trying to learn about God), wolves (those the Bible describes as coming in with the intent to divide the church), etc., but I think the above is a good list to work from.
Comprised of the above groups, the church survives. I believe this is, in part, because there's no persecution... So everyone in this country feels free to choose a religion, even if they don't really believe it. The religion (i.e. institution, again, not the true church) of Christianity in America appears to be, for the most part, a lukewarm suggestion that its people follow the rules laid out in the Bible. Sometimes low to no pressure, other times very high pressure.
The problem I see with this is that most of the churches I’ve visited or heard about, stink at preaching about what matters. If you’re teaching me about rules and how to be good, and not about the GOOD NEWS THAT IS JESUS, then you are a religion...not God’s church. I believe that this is why Christianity can appear to be a large and thriving group... the bulk of its participants aren't actually following Jesus!
Plus, the plethora of denominations and their wildly divergent views, make defining Christianity a bit like trying to specifically define a politician. You can say they “work in politics”, but each politician will explain “effective politics” in radically different, and even opposing, ways. “A politician is someone who creates laws to protect the people.” “No no, a politician is someone who minimizes laws to protect and benefit the people!”
When it comes down to it, it seems most of the people in the American church can’t agree with others in their own denomination, let alone other denominations! Those in the “Christian religion” are usually fine with people as long as they agree with them, or don’t get in their way. But because of the radically divergent views held by each person and denomination, many of them can’t stand others who are supposedly on the same team, or the religious leaders who drag seemingly antiquated (or at least contextless) views into the news and/or political arena.
I could go on and on and on, but I fear this is becoming convoluted.... So, what I’m saying is this: I think Christianity in America is, for the most part, a religion which is just like any other. While there are genuine Jesus followers in its midst, most of its members don’t subscribe to their own church’s views, let alone those in other churches. That said, much of mainstream American Christianity is unified. They’re unified by the rules and morality they see in the Bible, and they are intent on getting those around them to agree and conform. It’s no different than any other arena... people want you to agree with their political views, sports views, entertainment views, and religious views.
But here’s the thing, "Christian" schools, churches, politics, and entertainment often promotes an ideology that is divergent from the gospel... And any divergence from the gospel is a false gospel, and is destructive. (Think moralism, legalism, watering down sin, etc.) This isn’t a new thing. The true church spread like wildfire after Jesus death. Persecution couldn’t stop it. They were unified. They were inclusive, sacrificial, and loving to those around them. They were showing Jesus love to the world. However, eventually Christianity was recognized as a legitimate religion (and even adopted as the religion of the Roman empire). I think this ended up being a bad thing. Mainstream always seeks to please, to comply, to conform. And when people don’t conform, the crusades take place and people are asked “Would you like to conform? Or die?”
But hear me out here... don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. The religion of Christianity in the U.S. (and probably in other places) is, in my opinion, fundamentally broken... but thankfully that doesn’t matter a bit. I don’t need to be known as a Christian. I don’t need to be a church-member. I just need to follow Jesus. Jesus is different. The true church (the body of Christ) is different. I've said it before, but it's hard to genuinely follow Jesus in a lukewarm manner. Sure, you'll have periods of lukewarmness, but it won't be the primary pattern. If you recognize that He is the Creator of all things, and He sacrificed greatly to save YOU, a REBEL, then it will likely drive you to worship-driven joy, where you want to tell everyone. If it doesn’t, be concerned.
For me, I am coming to believe that organized Christianity often gets in the way of people coming to Jesus. Most of the time, the true church doesn't, but most of the time the organized and recognized church does. I don't want to talk about "my church" or "the church I go to" at all anymore. Instead, I just want to talk about "the people I follow Jesus with".
*According to research by the Barna institute, 3% believe the following, with the rest of that ⅔ rejecting one or more of these core Christian tenants:
- That Jesus lived a sinless life
- God is all powerful and all knowing creator who still rules the earth today
- Salvation is a gift from God and can't be earned
- They have a responsibility to share their faith
- Satan is real
- The bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches
- Unchanging moral truth exists and is defined by the bible
