How the Church Can Respond to a Post-Christian Culture

For the church, the skies are growing dark in the West. But the sky is not falling in.

In fact, this is a great time to be a Christian.

I know it may not look like that. From terrorist attacks to racial injustice to political chaos to an increasingly secular world that seems to have lost its moral center, we find ourselves in some unique and challenging times. Fear runs rampant across our cultural landscape—and, especially and increasingly, fear sits in the pews of our churches. Talk to most Christians—or read most Christian blogs and social media streams—and it’s clear that the church isn’t what it was. Or rather, it isn’t where it was.

Whether it’s legislation around issues such as gay marriage and transgenderism . . . or the debates around what religious liberty really is (and whether it even matters) . . . or the popularity of the “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan . . . or just the way our neighbors and co-workers look at us if we mention that we agree with what Christ said about salvation, relationships, or truth . . . we’re in a new era.

It was one thing to move toward a pluralistic society where we lived among those who looked and thought differently than us, and who disagreed with us on some of our closest-held beliefs. Now that’s not good enough. We’re currently experiencing the intolerance of intolerance (hopefully you catch the hypocrisy in that). Christians with “traditional” convictions and understandings of sexuality and marriage are seen as “bigots”—churches are being viewed as “hate groups.” Our beliefs are “hateful,” and our positions are “backward.”

Welcome to the age of unbelief. What are we going to do in it? I believe we can thrive. Read More