Assumptions Pastors Can No Longer Make

 
I recently read an article titled 8 Assumptions Pastors Can’t Make in a Post-Christian Culture. We live in a culture where Christianity is becoming less and less significant in the lives of people. Sunday is no longer a day of worship but a day for fun and sports. There is nothing wrong with fun and sports necessarily but among many other things in our culture they have become far more important than the worship of God and even our Christian faith. I would like to briefly address some the subjects in this article.
 
Biblical Literacy
Pastors can no longer expect that people know the stories of the Bible. Many people have never heard these stories even within many of our mainline churches. Pastors can no long say, “We all know the story of …..” This poses a problem and a challenge. The problem is that the Bible is the foundation of everything Christianity believes and stands for. It is our source of doctrine and authority. The majority of Americans do not know what it really teaches and many don’t care.
Pastors must be faithful to study the Bible and teach the truth of God’s Word so that people understand its relevance and significance. We cannot afford to give in to our culture and succumb to the cries for tolerance. If we do, then true biblical Christianity will crumble.
 
Frequent Attendance
Regular church attendance used to mean attending two to three times a week. Then it reduced to about three times a month. Now one to two times a month is considered regular attendance. This speaks to the attitude of the people and to the inability of pastors to demonstrate the significance of worship and Bible study.
 
Consistent Giving
Giving for many people has become what they do when they have some money left over. There is a decreasing commitment to support the local church with a regular monthly gift. No one likes to hear the pastor preach on giving but the Bible clearly makes it a priority for ever true follower of Jesus.
 
Political Alignment
This country may be more divided over political issues than any other time since the Civil War. People are becoming more and more polarized. For Nebraska there had been a general alignment around conservative political views but that is changing especially among the younger generations. When our political views become our primary issue, the church will become more and more divided. The focus of pastors must be upon God’s truth not politics.
 
Awareness of and Agreement about Biblical Sexual Ethics
Now there is a hot topic. The Bible is clear about improper sexual behavior and about gender. Yet, our culture is telling us that the Bible is wrong. Our culture uses feelings, desires, and circumstances to identify sexual preferences and gender. These parameters have no consistent meaning and are as fickle as the changing of the weather. True followers of Jesus must carefully and lovingly reveal what God has said and demonstrate why God’s ways are actually good for human beings.
 
A Recognition of the need for Salvation
Many people do not believe that they need a Savior. Even for people who believe there is a God do not believe they need anything other than to please themselves. The concept of sin is rejected in favor of a pluralistic view of religion. According to our culture, accepting or rejecting any particular religious belief is simply a personal choice.
Jesus and the Bible are clear. Sin is the issue between God and humans. Jesus came to take care of our problem by suffering for our punishment. He arose from the grave and offers life to anyone who will accept it. He proclaims that he is the only way but offers salvation to everyone. This is the message of true Christianity. We do not want to be arrogant about the message but we must desire to faithfully and truthfully reveal God’s grace and mercy in salvation.
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I am sure that some may not agree with me or may even take offense at what I have written. My purpose has not been to offend but to address some very important issues that the Church of Jesus Christ is facing in our culture which has truly become a post Christian culture. In addition, my purpose has been to encourage true followers of Jesus to evaluate their lives, beliefs, and responsibilities in order to maintain a consistent witness for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.