Recently, George Barna released some polling which discussed some of the massive, and expanding, divides we see in American culture. These divides are easily seen in the U.S. population in areas such as the amount of wealth people have (rich vs. poor), race relations, religious conflict, gender battles, sexuality wars, the generation split, and politics. As we can see, these divides play out in a lot of different areas.
At MarketFaith Ministries, we are particularly interested in the expressions of these divisions which affect Christians. Our very purpose, as a discipleship ministry, is to help believers understand these divisions in ways which allow them become more effective in sharing their faith across these divides.
One of Barna’s main points in this poll was to share the message that most Christians have a very difficult time even having a simple conversation about faith with people in groups other than their own – and an even more difficult time knowing how to actually share the gospel message.
Based on his polling, evangelicals are just not very good at talking faith.
28% think it would be difficult to have a conversation with another evangelical.
40% think it would be difficult to have a conversation with an LGBT adult.
67% think it would be difficult to have a conversation with a Mormon.
85% think it would be difficult to have a conversation with an Atheist.
87% think it would be difficult to have a conversation with a Muslim.
Think about that! We are not even talking, here, about sharing a gospel presentation. This is only about having a simple conversation! We cannot even begin to approach the idea of sharing the gospel if we can’t even do something as simple as talk to people.
What does this tell us? It tells us that we, as biblical Christians, are in bad shape when it comes to being faithful disciples. There really is not a much more basic element for expressing our faith in the culture than simply interacting with people who are not Christians.
So what, exactly, is the problem? The problem, for the most part, is that Christians know so little about their own faith, and the faith of people who have non-biblical beliefs – so little, in fact, that they are afraid to interact.
So what is the solution? It is no more complicated than learning what you do not know.
Now, when I say the solution is simple, I really mean it. The knowledge for gaining confidence in this arena is readily available. This fact, though, does not mean it is necessarily easy. You see, if you are really interested in upping your game to become a more faithful disciple of Christ, it is going to take intentional effort. You are going to have to decide to do it, then put out the effort to learn what you don’t know.
My entire purpose in today’s bonus newsletter is nothing more than to motivate you into action. It is God’s will that we be his faithful disciples, and I want to encourage you to make a new commitment to begin (or move forward more deliberately) down that road.
As you know, the very purpose of MarketFaith Ministries is to provide you resources and help you to move in the direction of greater faithfulness. We have scores of free articles, audio podcasts, and videos on the website (www.marketfaith.org). You can immerse yourself in these to your heart’s delight. We also have books you can purchase which provide you with even more in-depth information. And, if you want live, in-person training, we can do that for you, as well – just contact us.
It is not God’s will that we be afraid and ill equipped to be his hands, feet, and lips in the world. It is our hope and prayer that you will begin a systematic effort today to learn what you need to know, so that you can do what you need to do, to serve God as his faithful disciple in our modern divided culture.