Anyone who knows me know that I am about as far from a fundamentalist as one can get. So it may sound strange for me to advocate returning to the first century state of mind when it comes to American Christianity. For the record, I don’t think the first century church was particularly fundamentalist theologically, but I digress. Among the key characteristics of the first century church were its minority status and its mission. Because of the minority status of the church, it could not proselytize openly, yet it thrived. Why? Because it catered to the poor and the disenfranchised in society, just as Jesus did.
Those with the biggest soapboxes in the American church have all but abandoned this principle. It’s easy to forget the little things when you’re by far the biggest fish is what is admittedly the biggest religious pond in the world. When there are so many denominations fighting for butts in pews, it’s easy to overlook the basic message of Christianity in the pursuit of convincing people that yours is the best (possibly the only) path to salvation.
The Great Commission commands believers to go and make disciples. Most of the “leaders” of American Christianity seem more interested either condemning those whose beliefs don’t line up with theirs or bemoaning the supposed persecution of Christianity in America. If I understand my Bible, neither of these fall under the rubric of making disciples. As I see it, whining has never won anyone to any cause, least of all Christianity. Furthermore, this wrong-headed persecution complex belittles the actual persecution experienced by Christians in many parts of the world.
I spent four months in Cairo this spring, where Christians make up 10% of the population and face many social and political challenges. As in almost all Muslim country, proselytizing is against the law in Egypt. Christians in America who only think their rights are being infringed upon would find those rights actually being curtailed on the streets of Cairo. Yet the churches there are active, they are vibrant, they are, indeed, fulfilling Christ’s command to go and make disciples. These churches have active prison ministries. They teach English to Sudanese refugees. They offer free or nearly free medical care to those who cannot afford to go to hospitals. They provide job training for women so that they can earn money to help feed their families.
The people who are helped by these services are well aware that they are being helped by Christian churches, even if the words “church,” “Jesus,” and “Christian” are never spoken. This is the spirit of the first century church. Jesus and his disciples, above all else, took care of the poor, widows, children, and the sick. When they met with opposition, they didn’t whine or cry or pout because Jesus commanded them to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.
I have been approached by a couple of people in the last few weeks asking what can be done to get young people back into churches, and I think the answer lies in going back to the ideals of the first century church. We have known for many years about the fundamentalist reaction against materialism. However, I think what we are seeing now is a progressive reaction against materialism. I call this a progressive reaction to materialism because those in my generation aren’t suggesting going back to a status quo or advocating a strict interpretation of scripture or any of the things that the fundamentalist movement espouses, but we are distressed by the vacuous nature of the our culture and desperately want to contribute something positive to the world around us.
We care about issues like global poverty, AIDS in Africa, and human rights abuses. We hope to find greener energy alternatives both because of our concern for the environment and our worries about being so dependent on foreign oil. We want to reach out to the impoverished in our own communities. We are distressed by the prevalence of abortion in this country, but do not feel that criminalizing abortion is the answer.
The key to getting young people back into churches is to recognize our concerns and find ways for us to contribute to those causes which we are passionate about which are, incidentally, the same issues Jesus and his disciples were concerned with as well. We are not satisfied with a few hours of singing and platitudes on Sunday mornings. Bishop Mouneer, the head of the Anglican diocese in Egypt, often preaches that the church’s mission does not end at the front door of the church; that’s where it begins. Only when we face the world and confront the problems in it can we claim to be doing the work of the church.
This is the position of many in my generation, yet few of our elders in the American church seem as concerned as we are about the issues we care most about. Churches all around the United States are dying. Their populations are aging, their membership decreasing. To prevent Christianity from diminishing in America, churches must reach out to my generation. This is the blueprint. Will anyone listen?
