Tuesday, May 9, 2017

The Rise of Church-less Evangelicals

I grew up, as many have, with the cliche that you aren’t a Christian just because you go to church. One saying went like, “Being in church doesn’t make you a Christian just like being in a garage doesn’t make you a car.” It can be a clever exhortation for regular churchgoers to follow James 1:22. I get it.

But it seems the times have really a-changed. There is a large population of people that call themselves “evangelical” or “Christian” in surveys and exit polls, but they don’t go to church

Perhaps the divorce rate among self-dubbed Christians is disturbingly high. But among those who regularly attend church, it’s “markedly lower” than the general population’s average.

According to exit polls, the vast majority of white self-dubbed evangelicals voted for President Trump. “But as Notre Dame’s Geoffrey Layman noted, ‘Trump does best among evangelicals with one key trait: They don’t really go to church.’”

Because of this factor, there are potentially a lot of generalizations and assumptions being made about evangelicals and Christians. 

Could there be other things that we’re getting wrong?

For all purposes (statistical, theological, etc.), how should we define “Christian” or “evangelical”? Should church attendance really (still) be a non-factor?

P.S. I think you should go to church regularly. Research has shown that it does more than just lower your divorce probability.

Thursday, May 4, 2017

My Prayer For #NationalDayOfPrayer (2017)

(Originally posted for last year's National Day of Prayer, updated).

Dear Heavenly Father, Creator of All Things,

Thank you for our country. As I strive to worship You and serve the poor, I regularly am blessed by the fruit of our country’s founding vision of freedom, responsibility and humility. My children attend a very resourceful and culturally-diverse school and church, and there are many other ways my wife and I feel uniquely blessed by our community.

However, we have erred from what is right by Your commandments and what would continue to be deemed good stewardship and cultural flourishing in the land You have given us. 

We have sought self-fulfillment in the wrong places, storing up treasures on earth. Have mercy.

We have treasured our sub-culture and/or country more than Your love and grace. Have mercy.

We have had the over-confidence to disregard the notion of intelligence other than our own, pridefully refusing to be teachable. Have mercy.

Under a guise of justice, we have sought vengeance and victory instead of reconciliation and the common good. Have mercy.

Wanting to create a culture that we thought was better, we have ignored facts and believed heinous lies about people. Have mercy.

We have selfishly sought our own trivial good and ignored the significant plight of others. Have mercy.

We have continually mocked leaders and those in authority that You have ordained, and not prayed for them as You commanded. Have mercy.

Unlike many of Your children outside of our country, many of us continue to lack an adequate theology of suffering. Have mercy.

We ask, Lord, that You would give wisdom and strength to President Trump and all those who are given the difficult task of leading and shepherding a diverse and polarized country. 

May we have the strength to continue to serve You, help others and work for the common good. 

May we, following Your commands, in our relationships with one another, seek absolute grace and not relative justice. 

May we, following Your commands, be elitist about ideas but egalitarian about fellow children of God.

May we never forget, Lord, that You are not surprised or intimidated by actions of men. You are our perfect example of humble servanthood. Give us the strength and courage to serve our country.


Amen.