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Sometimes Christians can “tune out” the criticisms of unbelievers simply because they are non-Christians. It is a dangerous habit to develop. Very often those outside the Christian community can offer a fresh criticism that the Church needs to hear. Take sociologist Alan Wolfe for example. He serves as the Director of the Boisi Center at Boston University and is a self-described agnostic. Wolfe has spent several years now studying the beliefs of evangelical churches to see if they truly live their lives in ways consistent with what they believe. His method of finding this out was deceptively simple. He went out across America and visited specifically evangelical churches. His observations are put forth with disturbing clarity in The Transformation of American Religion.

Wolfe addresses whether or not evangelicals pose any sort of threat to secularism. His conclusions can be paraphrased in the following way:

“Dear fellow secular Americans, I know that you are concerned about the ‘Religious Right’ and their influence in America. You are worried that they possess too much power, and that if they are successful, they will make America into some kind of neo-theocratic state in which religious beliefs stymie the advance of personal moral freedoms in areas such as abortion, religious pluralism, and the normalization of homosexuality in the culture. But fear not, for on the basis of my studies, I have found that while evangelicals claim to believe in absolute truth and an authoritative Bible which governs all of life, they do not live like they say they believe. They say they believe the Bible is the Word of God, but somehow, strangely, the Bible always says what satisfies their personal psychological and emotional needs. They say they worship an awesome God, but their deity is not one to be feared, because He is pretty much nonjudgmental, always quick to point out your good qualities, and will take whatever He can get in terms of your commitment to Him. He’s “God lite”—not the imposing deity before whom Israel trembled at the foot of Mt. Sinai, but the sort of deity who is always there to give you fresh supplies of upbeat daily therapy. And as for God’s people, well, they are really just like everyone else—no more holy or righteous than the rest of us. Put them in the crucible of character, and they’ll fold like a cheap suit. In sum, democracy is safe from religious zealots, because such people don’t really exist in large numbers. So relax, evangelical Christianity in America is as safe as milk.”

Here’s how Alan Wolfe describes his project’s conclusions in his own words:

“In every aspect of the religious life, American faith has met American culture–and American culture has triumphed. Whether or not the faithful ever were a people apart, they are so no longer; . . . Talk of hell, damnation, and even sin has been replaced by a nonjudgmental language of understanding and empathy. . . . far from living in a world elsewhere, the faithful in the United States are remarkably like everyone else.1”

Despite what one might think, Wolfe is torn, and even wistful, about the results he uncovered. He writes: “[W]atching sermons reduced to PowerPoint presentations or listening to one easily forgettable praise song after another makes one long for an evangelical willing to stand up, Luther-like, and proclaim his opposition to the latest survey of evangelical taste.”2 So anxious is evangelicalism to “copy the culture of hotel chains and popular music that it loses what religious distinctiveness it once had.”3

What Wolfe describes is a massive credibility gap for professing Christians. From what he has seen so far, nothing yet has convinced him that what is happening in the evangelical churches is anything particularly authentic. Of course, Wolfe has not visited every church in America. But one wonders how long it would take for him to uncover the kind of countercultural churches which he originally set out to find.

Footnotes :

1 Alan Wolfe, The Transformation of American Religion (New York: The Free Press, 2003), 3.
2 Ibid., 256.
3 Ibid., 256-257.

As the fresh espresso aroma emanated from the cup sitting before me this morning, I read the following words, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” This statement of Paul in 1 Cor 11:1 summarizes one of the profound lessons I have learned through the process of being ordained. Thank God for those who have been an inspiring example to me as I hope to do the same for others.

Along this line of exemplifying Christ’s life, leading sociologist of religion and professor at the University of Washington and Baylor University, Rodney Stark, has written a number of important books on Christianity and culture. In The Rise of Christianity (1997), Stark describes how, in the first few centuries A.D., Christianity grew from being an obscure Jewish sect, to becoming the dominant ideology in the west. One major reason was the impact of the church’s life. Amid the chaos of cities like Antioch, in what is now Turkey, the Church was a glorious force for urban renewal. Acts 11:26 reports that it was at Antioch that believers were first called Christians, which literally means “little Christs.” Stark’s research shows that long after that first designation the Christians continued to live up to their name by letting their good works speak for themselves.

“[Antioch was] a city filled with misery, danger, fear, despair, and hatred. A city where the average family lived a squalid life in filthy and cramped quarters, where at least half of the children died at birth or during infancy, and where most of the children who lived lost at least one parent before reaching maturity. A city filled with hatred and fear rooted in intense ethnic antagonisms and exacerbated by a constant stream of strangers. A city so lacking in stable networks of attachments that petty incidents could prompt mob violence. A city where crime flourished and the streets were dangerous at night. And, perhaps above all, a city repeatedly smashed by cataclysmic catastrophes: where a resident could literally expect to be homeless from time to time, providing that he or she was among the survivors . .

Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationship able to cope with many urgent urban problems. To cities filled with the homeless and the impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.”1

Since all of us in the Church are called to exemplify Christ, I pray that God would help us to do so in a most conspicuous manner.

Footnotes :

1 Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997), 160-161.

Many of you know that having passed through the fires of theological questioning last week by God’s grace, I am now looking forward to my ordination ceremony, which will be held this Sunday evening. In the meantime, I find myself thinking much about the pastor’s role of equipping the Saints for work of service. The question that keeps coming to mind is, “how to form and nurture genuine Christian faith in the Church?” John Venn (1759-1813), rector of the Clapham Church and Chaplain of the so-called Clapham Sect speaks to this issue. In this excerpt from one of John Venn’s sermons, real Christianity is distinguished from nominal Christianity in vivid terms:

“Religion is not merely an act of homage paid upon our bended knees to God; it is not confined to the closet and the church, nor is it restrained to the hours of the sabbath; it is a general principle extending to a man’s whole conduct in every transaction and in every place. I know no mistake which is more dangerous than that which lays down devotional feelings alone as the test of true religion . . . Let us be convinced that all prayer, all preaching, all knowledge, are but means to attain a superior end; and that end the sanctification of the heart and of all the principles on which we are daily acting. Till our Christianity appears in our conversation, in our business, in our pleasures, in the aims and objects of our life, we have not attained a conformity to the image of our Saviour, nor have we learned His Gospel aright.”2

Footnotes :

1 The full title is A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of this Country Contrasted with Real Christianity.
2 John Venn, Sermons, vol. 2, 238-239, quoted in Michael Hennell, John Venn and the Clapham Sect (London: Lutterworth Press, 1958), 205.

Christians have always supplemented their reading of Scripture with helpful books. The earliest believers, for example, read Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp; authors who wrote about the importance of the gospel, the value of piety, and the danger of heresy. They presented, according to one historian, the “great saving truths of the Faith . . . as vital realities, urgent in their relevance to life, and not as an academic exercise.”¹ However imperfect, their writings provide a window into the values of a young Church. If the Church fathers could read contemporary Christian literature, what would they learn? An examination of Christian bestsellers² leads one to several, disturbing, conclusions.

Theology has nothing to teach us.
Looking, for example, at the fifty top bestsellers in June of 2005, it is easy to infer that Christianity is a mile wide but only an inch deep. Christians are interested in marriage, depression, politics, and pornography but are not inclined to read about the character of God or explore the contours of theology. Simply put, believers do not buy works that plumb the depths of doctrine. Only Randy Alcorn’s Heaven is a purely theological work. As it stands, the evangelical world is anxious to read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. His book introduces Christians to the most basic elements of the faith: worship, discipleship, fellowship, etc. These elements are more than important, they are essential. But they are only a start. The Christian should seek more than to understand the Christian life; he ought to pursue the Christian God! Unfortunately, millions of believers are content to drink spiritual milk—unaware of the feasts that will probably never make the bestseller lists.

Self-denial has nothing to teach us.
Ignatius wrote, “I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”³ How foreign this statement is in today’s Church. The bestseller lists promote self-reference not self-denial. In Approval Addiction, Joyce Meyer wants to help readers accept their faults. In Come Thirsty, Max Lucado writes to believers feeling ineffective. In Your Best Life Now, Osteen teaches the masses how to have daily satisfaction and victory.⁴ “It’s all about ‘me’” is the unspoken mantra of evangelicalism. Personal growth is a worthy goal; every believer ought to strive for sanctification. Still, these bestsellers (and their readers) are missing the main point. Jesus called His disciples to deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Where is self-denial today? Absent without leave.

The past has nothing to teach us.
One looks in vain for a word from Christian history on the bestseller list. There is more interest in a fictionalized future like The Rising by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins than knowing how the Spirit has grown the Church in the past. The only biography (a great way to learn history) on the bestseller list is Broken on the Back Row, Sandi Patty’s account of her divorce. There is no virtue in romanticizing the past. Still, there is no wisdom in ignoring it either. A Church that forgets the past runs the risk of forgetting the Lord (Judges 3:7).
Much more could be said.⁵ Thankfully, the bestseller list is not without its bright spots. Three apologetics works, for example, made the list, proving that readers are anxious to defend the faith.⁶ Nonetheless, overall, the books Christians read indicate that they believe the Bible is there to teach us how to live well-ordered, peaceful, meaningful lives. This is a shallow half-truth. The pious mind knows that every Christian ought to have a higher priority: “to observe His authority in all things, reverence His majesty, take care to advance His glory, and obey His commandments.”⁷ Books that carry these weighty themes and promote these worthy goals are out there, but one has to walk to the back of the bookstore to find them.

Footnotes :
¹ Maxwell Staniforth, trans. Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1968), 11.
² The following analysis is based upon the top fifty books of June 2005, in retail sales, as compiled by the Christian Booksellers Association and found on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Website, http://www.ecpa.org/ECPA/bestsell.html (accessed October 5, 2005). The number in parentheses following each title indicates its place on the June 2005 bestseller list.
³ Ignatius, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library), 75, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.v.iv.html (accessed July 1, 2005).
⁴ Other works that may fit into the “self-help” category include: Your Best Life Now Journal (49), Joel Osteen, Warner Faith; Beyond Jabez (19), Bruce Wilkinson & Brian Smith, Multnomah; Battlefield of the Mind (39), Joyce Meyer, Warner Faith; Waking the Dead (50), John Eldredge, Nelson Books; God Is Closer than You Think (33), John Ortberg, Zondervan.
⁵ For example, a look at any Christian bestseller list would easily lead one to conclude that Christians are obsessed with issues of manhood, womanhood, marriage, and parenting. Manhood: Wild at Heart (6), John Eldredge, Nelson Books; Every Man’s Battle (30), Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker, WaterBrook. Womanhood: Captivating (3), John & Stasi Eldredge, Nelson Books; For Women Only (12), Shaunti Feldhahn, Multnomah; The Power of a Praying Wife (15), Stormie Omartian, Harvest House; Every Young Woman’s Battle (16), Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn, WaterBrook; Pathway to Purpose for Women (28), Katie Brazelton, Zondervan; Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (42-tie), Joanna Weaver, WaterBrook; Believing God (45), Beth Moore, Broadman & Holman. Marriage: The Five Love Languages (8), Gary Chapman, Northfield (Moody); Love and Respect (37), Emerson Eggerichs, Integrity Publishers; What Every Man Wants in a Woman, What Every Woman Wants in a Man (40), John & Diana Hagee, Charisma (Strang). Parenthood: Bringing Up Boys (46), James Dobson, Tyndale; The Power of a Praying Parent (32), Stormie Omartian, Harvest House; Jesus Wants All of Me (22), Phil A. Smouse, Barbour Publishing. It seems as if believers are looking for a sanctified version of Vogue or O, The Oprah Magazine. Indeed, the vast majority of individuals purchasing the bestsellers are women. In June, 2005, twenty-two percent of the bestsellers are targeted directly to women, compared with 4 percent written directly for men. In addition to the womanhood and parenthood books, most likely being purchased by women, four Christian romance titles appeared on the bestseller list: Moonlight on the Millpond (7), Lori Wick, Harvest House; A Thousand Tomorrows (21), Karen Kingsbury, Center Street (Warner Faith); Whence Came a Prince (24), Liz Curtis Higgs, WaterBrook; and Beyond Tuesday Morning (47), Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan.
⁶ This is evidenced by Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ (35), The Case for a Creator (41), Zondervan, and Hank Hanegraaffs’ The Bible Answer Book (38), J. Countryman. Another encouraging aspect is the popularity of devotional literature. There is a hunger for spirituality which is why Oswald Chambers continues to be popular: My Utmost for His Highest (updated) (17), Oswald Chambers & Jim Reimann, ed.; Discovery House (Barbour); My Utmost for His Highest (26), Oswald Chambers, Barbour; and The Bible Promise Book (NIV) (34), Toni Sortor, ed.; Barbour.
⁷ John Calvin, Writings on Pastoral Piety, ed. Elsie Anne Mckee (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2001), 72. Calvin continued, “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law. And we ought to note this fact even more diligently: all people have a vague general veneration for God, but very few really reverence Him; and wherever there is great ostentation in ceremonies, sincerity of heart is rare indeed.” Ibid., 72-73.