The April 4 issue of Newsweek magazine includes a thought-provoking article entitled "The End of Christian America," based on the recent poll showing a decline in the percentage of Americans who claim to be Christians.  Certainly an important issue for all Christian leaders to ponder.  Such a study raises many questions.  Are Christians leaving the faith, or is Christianity just losing its perpetualness?  Are younger generations choosing against the Faith?  If so, who or what is to blame, and what can be done to reverse the trend?

A complex issue.  One that no single answer will properly address.  Perhaps one of far too much depth for a blog to even begin to touch.  Nonetheless, in hopes of opening some dialogue . . .

First, let me acknowledge that am a Christian.  Was baptized into a Baptist church at age 8, hold a seminary degree from a Baptist seminary, and have remained actively involved in church my entire life.  I worship the Creator of the universe.  I believe in the virgin birth and the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  And I am a witness to the working of the Holy Spirit among us all everyday.  Now, back to the topic . . .

"Of course the church is losing ground," we say.  "Look at the deteriorating culture around us!" 

Wait!  Let's stop there for a moment and shift direction.  Let's examine instead the culture within us.  Without meaning to oversimplify, I think the main reason Christianity is losing support is found within its own walls.  And I do not fear that true Christianity will be lost.  Rather I see a thread, a remnant, which although sometimes very small, will survive throughout history.  I think, however, we in our churches may be misdefining Christianity.

The word "Christian" means "Christ follower," and every Christian claims to be just that.  But are we really?  Or without realizing it, have we become "subculture followers?"  In my own observations, I perceive that American Christianity has largely become a subculture, dangerously indistinguishable from "Christ following" because the subculture is filled with Jesus lingo and Scripture quoting (albeit more selective than we realize), and we do not recognize the difference.


What is a Subculture?

A subculture is a group of people with some factor of commonality (religion, race, ethnicity, etc.), which has developed its own cultural world within the larger culture.  The subculture may have its own form of music, dress, lingo, literature, art, politics, worldview, expected behaviors, and revered leaders, separate from those of the culture around it.

For example, when I was teaching high school I witnessed a subculture of young black males, which said to its followers that education and authority were for white people and they would not be a part of it.  There was one acceptable type of music, one acceptable type of dress, a special vocabulary, and an expected loyalty to the group ideology. 

Then there's the American gay subculture, which says to those with same-sex orientations that they must be imbibers and drug users, that promiscuity is permissable, and that religion is meaningless.  An especially dangerous message considering the church offers these people no alternative.

There are the many subcultures adopted by today's youth.  Youth place themselves into the subculture of their choosing, based on the larger subculture idea that they have to be a part of a subgroup.  They identify themselves as hip-hop, emo, goth, punk, etc., and their choice dictates how they dress, how they wear their hair, what music they enjoy, and their attitude toward life.

There is something natural about subcultures.  It seems to be human nature to group ourselves and to adopt the world views of those with whom we surround ourselves; but it can also be dangerous, if we are unaware of the group dynamic and have given our hearts and minds over to the collective mind of the subculture.

Although is is good for young black males to befriend and support each other, it limits their future when they accept that to be black means to defy authority and to rebel against education.  It also defies reason.  Should one young black man choose to pursue a top education, or to listen to country music, or not to wear sagging pants, does he then cease to be black?  Of course not, and the fallacy of the group thinking is a detriment to the young man's development.  No matter what music or dress he prefers, he is still a young black man.


What Does This Have to Do with Christianity?
  
American Christians too have fallen into a subculture.  We are no longer just "followers of Christ" but followers of a group dynamic that we have come to believe is synonymous with God Himself.  Our group ideology tells us how we must vote, how we must interpret the Bible . . . It may tell us we have to boycott Disney or K-Mart or Proctor & Gamble (this one was a hoax btw) . . . It has its own lingo, its own music industry, its own set of rules for what we all must think.  And we are convinced by the group that all this ideology comes straight from God.  The clear implication from our subculture is "if you dress like us, talk like us, believe like us, etc., you can be a Christian."  

Although it is good to assemble ourselves together for worship and for fellowship, this subculture is a dangerous phenomenon.  The Bible clearly states:



Does this mean if someone is a registered Democrat, or takes his children to Disney World, or listens to pop music, he has not lost his Christianity?  Yes, true Christianity is not dictated by human groups.

It is a good first step just to realize that the subculture exists and that we live in it.  Can we identify the leaders of our "pack"?  Can we distinguish at what points we are following Christ and at what points we may be following man?

Why do we follow subculture leaders?  We want direction.  We trust their judgments.  We believe their interpretations.  It is good to listen to our leaders, but with discernent, realizing that every human being is fallible, and that none, no not one, gets everything right.  Remember Paul's rebuke to the Corinthians that they were not be followers of any man, but of Christ:




Can We Do Anything to Reverse this Trend?

So, let's get back to the issue of Christianity dying in America.  Is there anything we can do to reverse this trend?  Unfortunately there is no magic formula.  There is no perfect set of rules that if compiled will draw all Americans to the Faith.  Nonetheless if we seek to understand how we got here, and what might be behind the trend, there may be some lessons to learn.

100 years ago Paul Moore Strayer "believed the churches were failing to reach the young people . . . and merely condemning vice would do nothing to reverse the situation."  (Helen Barrett Montgomery, p. 190).  Are we not in much the same spot today?  The younger generation sees our hypocrisy and our ignorance about important social issues.  They see our history of mistakes and our resistance to admitting them.  The younger generation longs for relevance.

I submit that a subculture develops in an attempt to preserve.  We huddle together in an attempt to keep alive what we perceive Christianity to be.  But we have lost the original vision.  We are fighting peripheral fights and have lost focus on what it might really mean to be a "Christ follower."  We must seek that original vision.  Maybe a difficult task, as it must necessarily be sought apart from the "herd."   We must look beyond our church programs, our divisive theologies, our judgment of those we deem unbelievers, and the guidance of our trusted leaders; and pursue the mind of Christ Himself.  Read through the Bible entire books at a time, alone.  Turn off the tv, the computer, the radio, and sit alone with God, with no time constraints, pleading for discernment, surrendering totally to His direction, and basking in the aura of His presence.

As we become true Christ followers, we will change, as will others' perceptions of us, and people will be drawn into His presence.  We will learn to love our fellowman, not in empty words, but in truth.  We will seek God's face in our decision-making and will analyze tough issues responsibly and thoroughly.  We will spend more time praying than talking about prayer, and worship likewise.  We will share our faith because it is genuine and alive, and we can't help but share it; not a canned memorized speech that turns others away. 
    
The bad news:  The subculture we call Christianity may indeed die in America during this century, along with my generation.  The good news:  If God is real (and He is), we do not have to worry about the extinction of true Christianity.  What goes extinct will not be God.  Nor His continued interaction with His creation.  There will remain, we can be sure, a remnant of true Christian faith.  

Will it bear any resemblance to what we are doing today?