The speed of the moral revolution in our country has been very, very fast. If I would have been asked five years ago whether or not homosexual marriage would be legalized, I would have answered no. If I would have been asked five years ago whether or not a majority of Americans would believe the way they do now about homosexuality my answer would have also been no.
I read portions of an interview of Penn Jillette in which he discussed his views on the Indiana Religious Freedom Law. You can read the entire thing here.
“I’m OK with holding those contrary beliefs and not really deciding, because … it’s not going to be a problem for long. The acceptance of LGBT lifestyle is moving so fast that soon some of these backwards people are going to be worried that they’ll need a law to get cake for themselves.“
If you read the entire interview, then you will likely be rather disappointed with his remarks about the law. He seems to not really understand the law and equates making cakes for homosexual weddings with doing a magic show. But that is not what we need to notice. He points out something interesting here. In a pointed and humorous way he stated that public opinion was changing dramatically, and it is definitely not in favor of Conservative Christianity.
Things Aren’t Like They Once Were
People that remember days gone by are longing for the return of those days, but it is not to be. Conservative morality held sway over this country for a short while, but it is not so today. The culture is more likely to be agitated and hate Christians for their moral stances than ever before.
This causes some real problems. Many of our churches are stuck in a real rut. They are only one or two generations separated from a time when the morality of their country was different. And, sadly, there has been a lack of change in mindset that will help churches in this changing time.
Change, But Don’t Change
Change is not a bad thing. It is oftentimes necessary, just don’t change the wrong thing. If you change the wrong thing you become unnecessary.
What I’m trying to say is that the church is necessary in this world. The Church is necessary to do its mission. The Church is necessary because it possesses the message that is to be delivered to a lost and dying world. This message will not ever change. We can never act as if this message has changed either because this old, old story is what makes Christianity and the Church necessary, meaningful, and relevant to this culture.
Yet, there are things that need to change. Charles Spurgeon was using the printing methods of his day to publish his sermons to people all over England and America. Do you think that he would hesitate to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media platforms to publish God’s grace to people today? Social media platforms are now places where people hang out. Should we not share the love of God with others in these places. When we do this we are adapting to our culture. Music, the way our churches look, the way we dress, the way we preach, among other things can be changed and oftentimes need to be changed to reach our culture. But even though we adapt our methods we will never adapt our message.
Interestingly, social media is very likely part of the reason that people have changed their minds so quickly about morality. It is part of what can be done with social media. In a moment you can be where many people are, so changing in this area needs to happen.
We must also change the way we do church. In our culture there is a need for the Church to do what it was supposed to do all along. People long for it.
A Longing For The Personal
Sometimes changes are a throwback to a different time. For instance, there is much about the fashion of our culture that I made fun of as a 90’s kid. They were things that had gone out of style, but are now back in style. Our culture has reached back to the 80’s and brought some things back.
I believe that the church has to reach back in time and do so right now. The early church met daily in each other’s houses and then once together as a large group. It was very personal. The people were spending a lot of time together. They spent a lot of time loving each other and sharing one another’s burdens. This is something that people long for today.
In a world where Facebook is a place where people hang out, the personal gets left behind. And it is something that people want. The funny thing is that it is something that was done nearly 2,000 years ago and should never have been left behind. This is what we should be doing as believers.
Be Like Jesus
Our culture is looking for people who will live out what they believe. It is looking for people who actually love and care for people. This is why I was so struck by my reading of two different articles written about the same woman and the same incident.
A lesbian university professor with a strong distaste for Christianity came to faith in Christ and turned from her homosexuality. You can read about it here.
A pastor befriended her. They ate dinners together and talked together. And, over the course of two years he loved and engaged her. He did what Christians have to do. He loved her enough to spend time with her, love her, and engage her with the truth. This led to her reading the Scriptures repeatedly and herself becoming a believer.
It seems to me that this is what Jesus did. He spent time with the tax collectors and sinners. Did He give them the hard truth that they need to repent of their sins? Yes, He did. But, He did it out of love, not hatred and condemnation. He really and genuinely cared for people.
Here’s my point. You’re not lovingly pointing people to Christ when you stand at a gay pride parade with a sign saying that everyone participating is going to Hell. You also do little good if you just let a person die in their sins without telling them the truth. But, you do good eternally when you love someone enough to spend time with them, love them, and engage them with the truth.
Conclusion
There is a revolution upon us. Christians must be ready for this. The Church is going to face a different set of circumstances than the past few generations. We must be ready to meet this revolution with grace, love, and mercy rather than hatred. We must repent of our hated and meet this culture with a truth-telling love.
R. Dwain Minor
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