"I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." Jesus
Statistics seem to indicate that Christianity in the USA is declining at a fairly dramatic pace. Some groups say that in 1990 86% of Americans claimed Christianity as their faith. In 2008 it dropped to 76%. I understand that there is a big difference in someone saying they are a Christian and someone who actually follows Jesus Christ. A follower of Jesus Christ is someone who bases their life, actions, hopes, and dreams on the sacrificial death of Jesus and on His teachings.
The reason I feel these types of statistics are important is because they reveal not necessarily the truth about who are Christians or not but how our culture views Jesus. George Barna points out that the majority of people who say they are Christians are what he calls "casual Christians" and the rest are what he calls "captive Christians". He says: "The lives of Captive Christians are defined by their faith; their worldview is built around their core spiritual beliefs and resultant values." Where as the lives of Casual Christians are marked by: "...balancing everything just right so that they are able to maximize their opportunities and joys in life without undermining their perceived relationship with God and others."
"Liminality" is a word I have just recently discovered. A basic definition for liminality is a state where what used to work does not work anymore and what is going to work in the future has not yet been revealed. In other words, things are ambiguous. Its sort of like a 13 year old boy. He is no longer a little boy, but is not yet a man.
Liminality seems to describe Christianity in our culture. What used to work or the norm is no longer working and what is going to work has yet to be revealed. I realize that Jesus, His truth, and His true followers contiune, but how that looks in our culture is in a state of liminality.
Christianity in the United Kingdom has been on the rapid decline for several decades. As a matter fact, many parts of England and Scotland are considered unreached people groups. How did this happen? First, The church became irrelevant to culture. It stopped answering the questions of its society. The church became a building rather than a living movement of people who followed Jesus with their whole lives. In other words the church became casual in how it influenced culture. It is easy for the church to have a fortress mentality where people are invited in but the people living on the inside have no influence on those on the outside. The church in America seems to be following in their footsteps.
I know Jesus is building His Church no matter what I think or see. I am actually excited that we find ourselves in "liminality" because that means something good is coming. Whenever God makes changes its always good. I talk to people every day who are bored with their faith or disillusioned about what it means to follow Christ. The statistics of how many American Christian kids leave their parents faith behind once they turn 18 is staggering. I think people are hungry for something beyond casual Christianity. They are hungry for something that they can base ALL of their life on. I am banking on it. I am not ashamed to be a Captive Christian. How about you?
Mark 8:34-35 "If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. NLT
http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/268-casual-christians-and-the-future-of-america
