THE COST OF A COSTLESS FORM OF CHRISTIANITY

I wish I knew better how to function in the church.  There is a tension that I think I need which I do not possess.  How do we go about being a people who will cause others to want to be a part of the fabric of the kingdom of God?  What is the design of the truest approach?

I dearly love people; especially those who were as I was years ago, looking for God in some meaningful form.  By His grace, I found it.  My heart never stops beating for the next and the next.  My belief is that people are not anti-God.  They are anti-meaninglessness.  And they see in the church the greatest example of the latter in far too many places.

Of course there are a jillion reasons to be given for social resistance to us.  Deception. Hypocrisy.  Boring.  One of the highest in rank would surely be that of little purpose. It is here that I think that David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons have hit upon an awakening statement.

It is easy to embrace a costless form of Christianity in America today, and we have probably contributed to that by giving people a superficial understanding of the gospel and focusing only on their decision to convert.

Bing-bong!  The lights should have just come on!

I, for one, would be guilty of this approach which causes eventual problems.  I give great interest to counting how many baptisms this congregation has without serious focus upon discipleship beyond urging faithful attendance to our three main assemblies.

Because of abuse of churches who worked similarly to cults, we have steered clear of any resemblance.  Too, guys like me are just too ignorant or indifferent to bother.  Yet, we must do a better job of keeping the newly saved on board for the long haul.

Costless Christianity is likely our culprit.  We don't want to turn newbies off.  Yet, from the perspective of the outsiders, they already have enough mediocrity going on without trying to make room for yet one more purposeless venture.

America's approach to Christianity has a way of distracting from the dying cause of Christ by creating sub-cultures within the church hoping to snag active volunteers for our ministries.  Give them a place to serve is not wrong in itself unless this move is designed in a way which inadvertently keeps them among us rather than to keep them embedded in the cause of Christ.

For me, I think the concept of building a life on the hope of Jesus is THE MOST exciting life to be discovered.  My fear of overdoing it, however, may have created a hesitancy in me that sabotages my outreach.  I'm afraid I'll drive them away in trying to draw them in.  Yet, such weakness may be the signal they read as nothing more than another club to take up their time.

The cost of a costless form of Christianity may be subverting the very mission we wish was thriving.