How to Change a Post-Christian Nation

The following quotes are from the book The Great Evangelical Disaster:

(The United States) is a post-Christian world in which Christianity, not only in the number of Christians but in cultural emphasis and cultural result, is no longer the consensus or ethos of our society. (p. 29)

Christianity is no longer providing the consensus for our society. And Christianity is no longer providing the consensus upon which our law is based. That is not to say that the United States ever was a "Christian nation" in the sense that all or most of our citizens were Christians, nor in the sense that the nation, its laws, and social life were ever a full and complete expression of Christian truth. There is no golden age in the past which we can idealize - whether it is early America, the Reformation, or the early church. But until recent decades something did exist which can rightly be called a Christian consensus or ethos which gave a distinctive shape to Western society and to the United States in a definite way. Now that consensus is all but gone, and the freedoms that it brought are being destroyed before our eyes. We are at a time when humanism is coming to its natural conclusion in morals, in values, and in law. All that society has today are relativistic values based upon statistical averages, or the arbitrary decisions of those who hold legal and political power. (p. 47)

Not only do I find these quotes interesting but I also find the timing of these quotes interesting. They were written by Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a widely recognized Christian author, speaker, and thinker. Dr. Schaeffer wrote this in the same year in which he died - 1984.

I find this interesting because almost 30 years ago Schaeffer declared America a "post-Christian" nation, yet so many have yet to hear it. I believe that when American Christians realize that we are missionaries in a dark land our expansion efforts will improve greatly. Too many believers are interested in changing laws instead of hearts. Too many believers are focused on the White House instead of God's House. Too many believers want to protest instead of pray. Too many believers want to complain about taxes instead of tithe. Too many believers want to legislate morality instead of demonstrate morality.

We are missionaries here. Think about it. Missionaries don't go into foreign lands to change the government. They change nations by demonstrating the love of Christ one person at a time. This is not to say that citizens shouldn't exercise their right to vote and partake in the political process. It IS to say that there is much more to be done besides engaging in the political process.

I'm proud of my church - TrueNorth Church - who stepped up to the plate this morning during our monthly Second Saturday and covered our city with simple acts of kindness and love. From feeding the homeless to painting an inner city school and dozens of other projects in between, TNC is learning how to change lives - from the inside out. Nearly 400 people came out today to show Christ's love in simple ways!

We will see cultural change when Christians get out of the pews and into the streets. We will see laws change when Christian love prevails. We will see Christ change lives when the world around us sees Christ in us.