Many times during the church’s history, it’s been pushed to the edge of society and culture. More than once we’ve been accused of holding back progress and told humanity would be better off without any religion at all.
Today, in post-Christian America, we find ourselves in much the same situation. Our faith is routinely attacked—even on major news channels.
Christians are the target of obscene, hurtful jokes. If the same things were said about any other group, it would be considered bullying or a hate crime.
How do we respond to this?
First, we relax. We’ve been here before and survived it. Not only have we survived, we’ve also actually thrived.
How did we do that?
By focusing on the areas nobody else wanted. Traditionally, the church has been at its best when it engaged culture in four ways: poverty, education, healthcare, and evangelism.
These opportunities are still here.
We’re a nation of chronic and growing poverty. Our school systems are failing our children. Thousands still have no access to healthcare. Our government has tried to address these issues with limited success.
But these are the issues Christ commanded the church to address. When we do, we’ll have thousands and thousands of openings to share the good news of Jesus.
The gospel of Jesus restores dignity to human beings. Once this dignity is restored, people are changed.
When the church starts engaging our culture in the ways they need us most, people will want to know about the difference Jesus makes.
They’re waiting to see the difference in us, however, before they believe Jesus can make a difference in them.
