It seems like more and more Christians are trying to hide their faith. Christianity certainly isn’t very popular amongst the population of the world. If one wants to fit in, then talking about the Savior of the universe doesn’t seem to be the way to go.
However, keep in mind that we were not called to be popular. We were not called to fit in. We were called to spread the Good News that Jesus had given us salvation and redemption. He has given us the way to eternal life with God.
Our pastor was recently talking about how when he is traveling, he can have some really good conversations. That is, until the conversation turns to work. When he is asked what he does and he answers he is the pastor of a church, then the conversations end.
He told us he had come up with a way to continue conversations. Instead of telling what his job was, he decided what he would do is to tell the other person(s) about what his “company” does. He’ll talk of the things they do for the community, for people at risk, for individuals who are in poverty. He said that he could go on and on all day about the things that his group does for the good of man.
He thought that was a great answer. I disagree. I feel that he is being evasive. And, when you get right down to the heart of it, he is doing so to fit in and to have good conversations while he is traveling.
How could he know whether or not God has put him in the path of an individual to tell them about Jesus if it never comes up even obliquely? He can’t and he won’t if he continues with his plan.
I know that if I were traveling (at one time in my life I traveled extensively every single week) and someone talked to me in this fashion, I would still want to know the name of the company and what the individuals actual job was.
If it came out after much conversation that the individual was involved with a religion that was different than my own, I would feel like I had been lied to. It would not only stop the conversation but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth about that religion as well.
Groups that are known for this type of behavior are cults. They will discuss all the great things that they do in order to draw individuals into their web.
I know that the pastor does not have that in his mind, but I would wonder about it if someone did this to me.
In this instance, he seems to have placed the world and culture ahead of living for Jesus. I know, generally, that he is true to true theology. It just seems to have gone out of the window when it comes to conversations while traveling.
We were given a huge task and it is one that all Christians are called to do. That is, to share the story of Jesus and to tell others about what God has done for you personally.
Since the pastor stood in front of the congregation to tell us of his plan, he is, perhaps unwittingly, condoning others to put culture ahead of God.
In the life group that my husband and I recently left, one individual did not feel it necessary to ever tell anyone about Jesus. We spent a year in that group, lovingly trying to teach them how to share their faith and why it was so important to do so in order to grow spiritually and connect to God in a deeper fashion.
In the last meeting we attended, the topic came up once again, and, once again, she gave the same response.
I have to admit it was terribly disheartening. We left for other reasons but this was certainly a big part of it as well.
When the pastor stood in front of our church and told his plan, it probably condoned this type of behavior for that individual as well as any others would feel that they don’t need to ever talk about being Christians.
Don’t get me wrong, there are correct times to share faith and times when it is not correct. If you work at a company where sharing religion is prohibited, then you should either do as they ask or look for another job where you are welcome to talk about such things.
However, it seems like the Church, in general, are being pressed to change to meet the needs of the “new” culture. This culture isn’t new. Sin is the same as it was the first time Adam sinned. Turning away from Christianity also isn’t new. Most recently, it happened in the 1960’s.
At that time, if the entire Church had changed, the Jesus Freak movement would not have happened. Actually, some churches did change and we see the results today as the mainstream Protestant churches are losing more and more parishioners.
They turned their backs on God and, when their message no longer resonated with real truth, people lost interest and starting looking for other sources of spiritual experiences.
That’s where we are today. If we change our message, we will no longer grow in the countries where this occurs.
I look at the persecuted church throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In those areas, Christianity is growing. The people in those areas are looking for, and finding, the only true savior, who is Jesus Christ.
Perhaps Western Civilization needs a little persecution to get back to the truth of the Gospel.
Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”