Ever heard something like this?
“Christian preachers need to wake up! The Church is being persecuted in America.”
“Our Christian leaders are failing us! Where are the voices for justice?”
“The Church needs to stand up and fight. Where are the pastors?”
I’ve read and heard many things like these in the last two years from podcasts, social media, and the news. Christian leaders who’ve remained largely silent in this current cultural moment are being accused by other Christians of denying Christ and their calling. I disagree. Here’s what real Christian leaders, tenured shepherds of people, truly know.
In the insanity and pain of recent years, the mayhem and aftermath of a polarized election and widespread radicalization based on worldview, American Christians, with faith totally shaken, have begun to lose their resolve in the true Gospel of Christ.
Why? Because they live mainly on the internet.
Sorry if that feels too harsh. But I wonder if that verbal stab feels familiar? This type of raw commentary is the online standard. I too have been guilty of it. I’ve since decided that I love rhetoric, but only if it’s rhetorical. What’s being said about Church leaders by the Church and members of the media isn’t rhetoric, it’s an accusation of foolishness. (Note: Matthew 5:22)
Christian leaders are asking, “What’s the American Church really worried about?”
This is our current American Christian moment. We get pinched and think we’ve been punched, we get shoved and think we’ve been in a fight.
Consider this. In the three centuries following Christ’s ascension, the exponentially expanding Church experienced the vilest persecution she’s ever seen. For preaching or teaching Christ and living out Jesus’ commandments, a Christian could be burned at the stake, buried alive, sewn into the abdomen of a dead donkey (Seriously, look it up), and don’t forget, crucified in the public square. The Romans were merciless and had no conscience against those who denied Caesar.
Now is not the time for Christian civil disobedience in America. I can say that because we aren’t being persecuted specifically for the Gospel. I can still say anything I want to whomever I want, and I might only have social consequences for saying it. I have not been hindered one bit in preaching the Gospel or living out the commandments of Christ in this world.
Yes, Christians have descended in American culture. Yet, no revolution is now needed, save one. We stand firm in the radical mission Christ began of preaching the Gospel, making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching them to obey Him. For this world, that will always be radical and rebellious enough. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Look at Acts chapter 5. As the persecution of the Church gained steam in 1st Century Jerusalem, the Apostles were arrested by the Jewish leaders and warned not to spread the message of Jesus Christ. Peter and the Apostles responded, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) For that response the Jewish leaders wanted to kill them, yet the Church kept chugging along. Two chapters later, after they’ve stayed the course of Gospel ministry, we see bloodshed in the murder of Stephen (Acts 7). After that, mass persecution broke out. What did the Church do? Did they fight? Nope. Did they organize, arm themselves and begin a civil war? Nope. Did they stand in the public square, citing articles of Jewish or Roman law and demand rights? Nope. Many Christians left, the Apostles stayed and preached the Gospel. And the Church flourished!
You may be thinking… But the Church in America has been told at times not to gather. Isn’t that persecution? No it isn’t. Persecution isn’t being told to not meet. Words are not persecutory. It’s being arrested, tried, jailed, tortured and/or executed for meeting. In America, we still have a choice to meet and in large part no local, state or federal law enforcement, no judges, are going to stand in the way.
Christian leaders are remaining silent on cultural issues for the spread of the Gospel itself.
The Gospel of Christ is for everyone. Say it aloud… EVERYONE! The calls for equity or the calls for liberty being made by Christians seem only to stem from a cultural worldview and not the Biblical understanding of the word, “all”. For example, here are two poles of this discussion. Extreme conservatives, if they pay attention to religion at all, have commandeered Jesus, wrapped Him in the flag and deemed that Christ views all societal problems the way they do. Extreme liberals, if they call themselves Christian, have reduced Jesus to the all-around good guy, adorned Him progressive tropes and determined Him to be the affirmer and accepter of all humanistic perspectives. Neither of these poles are close to Biblical. Mainly because they eliminate the concept of “all”.
True Christianity, the true Christ, does not reside in or emerge from individual worldviews. Christ isn’t Lord because people believe He is. He’s Lord whether individuals believe in Him or not. Reading the Bible first, then listening to podcasters, bloggers, social media and the news second (or better not at all) will lead us to an understanding and burden of the Gospel being for “all”. Red and Blue, Right and Left, Republican and Democrat, gay and straight, trans and cis, brown and white, socialist and capitalist, the Gospel is for ALL.
Every Christian leader has friends they pray for daily. Maybe they’ve met with these folks weekly for a coffee over a course of years. They’ve listened, they’ve commiserated, they’ve cried with these friends all the while speaking of and modeling Jesus Christ for them. They’ve done this in hope. It’s hope that these friends may come to know the Christ we know, the Lord and Savior, our King of Kings. All the while, they live down the dull actions and statements of Christians whose faith exists inside a culturally determined worldview.
These leaders would rather die than close the door on those friends because they differ in opinion politically, socially, or culturally. They’d rather risk being called weak, woke or unjust because the eternal destiny of their friend matters deeply to them. When we espouse the current cultural dissensions, fight for things Christ cared nothing about or behave in ways He never would, it ends conversations that could lead to the eternal salvation of lives. As we step back and consider the Biblical revelation of the Gospel, we understand that all souls matter deeply to God no matter who they voted for.
Yes, pressure on Christians is greater this year than last year.
Yes, we are moving toward the appropriate end of days the Bible describes.
And yes, we must speak in defense of those with little to no standing in the culture.
But do not lose the Biblical concept of “all”.
Hear the counsel of the writer of Hebrews.
“Consider (Jesus) who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Hebrews 12:3-4 (ESV)
When we say that American Christians are being persecuted, I think of our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Coptic Christians who live every day in the possibility of their houses being burned to the ground or their children killed for practicing Christianity. When we come to believe that unkind things said about Christians is persecution, I frankly get embarrassed. When did we stop being able to hold our own in the public conversation?
We cannot say the current American culture is persecutory to Christians. Real persecution is unmistakable when we see it or hear of it. I’ve learned we need to be careful what we say because the eternal lives of our friends and neighbors can rest on the in-roads we maintain to speak Christ into their lives. Christian leaders who live for the spread of the Gospel to all people know the difference and therefore speak or remain silent.
