The Shallow-ization of Christianity

IT MAY BE MORE DIFFICULT TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE TODAY THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME IN HISTORY One of the greatest challenges facing the church in America today is the shallow-ization of Christianity. For the last several decades many of us have read the statistics generated by the Barna Group and other polling groups that show the attitudes, values, and behavior of Christians not being statistically significantly different from non-Christians. Christians are supposed to be different from the world, but as an overall category, we are not – or there may at best be a 5- or 10-year lag. Research indicates that not only are we losing our distinctive lifestyle, but we are also beginning to lose our distinctive beliefs on which a distinctive lifestyle is built. Pastors of some of the nation's largest churches have described their congregations as "a mile wide and an inch deep." This would be a significant problem even if the historically Christian culture in the United States were remaining constant. But that is not the case. It is collapsing like a burned out barn, and Christians are collapsing with it. The Pervasiveness and Power of Electronic Media The reasons are complex. But one reason is that it may be generally more difficult to live the Christian life in the 21st century than at any other time in history. This is, in part, because of the pervasiveness and power of electronic communication. From music in elevators to television monitors in gas pumps and touchscreens in taxis to smart phones, tablets, computers, electronic games, smart watches, and televisions that often go on the first thing in the morning and stay on until the last thing at night, our minds are awash in input from electronic media. And because we become what we behold, we are dramatically impacted by the pervasive presence of electronic media. This creates two serious problems. First, it gives the mind no downtime, no solitude, no time for reflection, planning, evaluating, or thinking. The result is that it is very difficult to conceive of higher things, to rise above where we are at the moment. We get trapped in the present with little hope for the future because we give no thought to it. Second, the input that we receive is often godless. By godless, I mean two things. The input may include violence, hatred, greed, and sexual immorality. On the other hand, even if the input is not an obvious affront to God, media typically represents life and values that do not include God or accurately reflect him. So, even if a given TV program or movie is not morally reprehensible, it still tends to teach us to think and live without God, because an accurate and authentic relationship with God is virtually never modeled. All we ever learn by example is how to live without Him. On top of that, electronic media impacts the mind more than written or spoken communication. Have you ever tried to read a book while the television is on? You usually wind up watching television. Electronic media takes over the mind. That is why it is so powerful. In summary, we see:

• The pervasiveness of electronic media keeps us from thinking about the higher things of life
• Much of its input is godless
• It has greater power over the mind than other forms of communication

As a result, the mind is held captive to secular values and thinking. Unfortunately, this is true of the Christian mind as well as the non-Christian mind. The Power of Electronic Media Seen in Rural Africa While I was presenting a workshop at a discipleship conference in England a number of years ago, I was given a dramatic example of the impact of electronic media. Delegates were there from all over the world. In one of my workshops, there was a delegation from central Africa, and after the session was over, we sat around talking about discipleship. This delegation said that their mission was to try to reach the rural villages in central Africa with the gospel before the village got electricity because before a village got electricity, their interest in spiritual things was very high. After the village got electricity, however, their interest in spiritual things dried up almost overnight - because electricity brought not only light bulbs and refrigeration but also television, movies, music, and the Internet. These things captured the minds of the villagers and made them almost impervious to the gospel. Like trying to save people from a coming tsunami, this delegation was trying to save rural central Africans from the coming cultural tsunami of electrification. Such is the power of electronic media in the 21st century. While this instance provides a compelling example of the power of electronic media, its influence on our nation has been less obvious than electrification in central Africa but just as impacting, and it is a reality to which we must respond. Conclusion The Brave New World into which we are entering requires a Brave New Discipleship strategy if Christians are not to be neutralized by a mind-meld with modern culture. As serious Christians explore how to feed our minds helpful input, including media-based and non-media-based sources, we can not only survive, but thrive in our current circumstances. In future blogs, we'll consider promising options. For now, it is helpful to strike a positive and hopeful chord: the most difficult time in history to live the Christian life can be used as a means of grace to produce Christians that are stronger than at any other time in history. As we pioneer new strategies and remain alert to resources the Lord makes available, the potential for serious Christians is very promising. We need not fall victim to the shallow-ization of Christianity going on around us. This blog post is adapted from content in my book Brave New Discipleship – Cultivating Scripture-driven Christians in a culture-driven world. (If you purchase the book through this link, I will receive a small affiliate commission but it does not increase your price of the book. In fact, as of the writing of this blog post, the book is on sale and you can receive free shipping on the book if you use the code: BRAVEFS.)

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