Are We Ready?

Everywhere I go, I see people reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, or The End of Faith by Sam Harris. My hunch has been that even people who believe in God are so sick and tired of the loud-mouthed, mean-spirited, often dangerous radicals that march in the armies of both fundamentalist Islam and fundamentalist Christianity that listening to a sermon by an atheist feels like taking a walk through a cool summer rain. Cleansing, somehow. Mind-clearing.

People really are ready for something different.

John Marks, author of Reasons to Believe: One Man's Journey Among the Evangelicals and the Faith He Left Behind, tells Louis Bayard in an interview for Salon.com that this is true even for the most conservative U.S. Christians. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Regarding the current relationship between the evangelical community and President Bush, you say: "Future generations of conservative Christian Americans will look back and grasp that this was a one-time love affair, rarely to be repeated." Could you explain that?

When George W. Bush came along, there were a number of issues -- gay marriage, repeal of sodomy laws, the Ten Commandments on the courthouse -- all those issues allowed activists to go to pastors and say, "Look, this is coming right into your own backyard. These new laws are going to change your world, and they're going to lay the groundwork for the America your children will inherit. So either you vote or you let the country go and you lose your place it."

It was a moment of both political awakening and political naiveté. Because all of a sudden there was a sense of power that the evangelists could have as one bloc. But then they began to look at what they got for their vote, and they began to look more closely at the policies of the president that they had rallied behind.

The war didn't turn out well, and that had been seen, in some quarters, as an ordained venture. People said, "If we're really going to look at the Bible and Jesus as a model for our political involvement, what are we talking about? Christ never talks about homosexuality and talks a great deal about poverty. What about that?" Rick Warren, the most influential evangelist in America right now, is talking about AIDS in Africa. That has to do with a whole different part of the teachings of Christ.

Notice that Marks offers two explanations for this shift among conservative Christians: 1) their real life experience with the limitations of religion and 2) their encounter with Jesus in the Bible. And, I'll tell you what, I think he's right.

Together with a team of researchers from the ELCA, I did a deep dive into a couple of large, fast-growing, conservative churches a few years ago. We discovered five things these congregations had in common. Number two on our list is this: In these congregations, the Bible matters to people. They read it. They believe that God speaks to them through it. They use biblical stories as a lens through which to make sense of their own lives. They go to it to help them make decisions and work through conflict. They let what they hear in it guide them, even if that means taking risks or getting into trouble.

I wrote about this in a little book that has just been published called Reclaiming the E Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity. And I admitted that the WAY the pastors and people in these congregations were interpreting what they read in the Bible made me nervous. But I also said:

I do believe the people in these congregations are being shaped by the word of God.

The truth is that when Christians read the written word of God, the living word of God always shows up. In other words, Jesus shows up. Jesus shows up when we read the Bible no matter what method of interpretation we are using...Jesus shows up in spite of all the prejudices and cultural biases we bring to our reading of the text. Jesus shows up regardless of whatever our political, moral, or theological agenda might be.

And he shapes us. Turning to the Scriptures and expecting to hear a word from Christ is risky business.

I believe that one reason the evangelical churches in this country have grown so wildly is because the people in them have dared to risk an encounter with God through scripture. When you meet Jesus, you get a job...you are called to be his witness...you are called to give yourself away in love and service to your neighbor...you are changed. Many of our evangelical brothers and sisters are, as we can see, being changed in ways that are surprising all of us!

Likewise, I believe a lack of enthusiasm for the biblical story is one of the reasons so many mainline congregations today are floundering. Our councils and boards are "too busy" to spend time together in Scripture; their "devotion time" is usually nothing more than a quick prayer, and their "bible studies" amount to little more than the pastor reading a short text and telling everyone else what to think about it. Our pastors and teachers figure they time they spend "using" the Bible to prepare their next lesson or sermon is enough. Too few among our members know the biblical stories, much less know how to listen for God's voice speaking to them when they read those stories. The biblical lens is not the lens we use to interpret our experiences, make our decisions, resolve our conflicts. Our encounter with Scripture is limited to the sound bites we hear on Sunday morning.

People out there are ready for something different on the religious landscape.

The question is: Are we going to be ready for them?

(Thanks to my friend, Dave Raymond, for pointing out this Salon interview!)

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POSSIBLY RELATED POSTS:

A Season of New Birth

Lutherans Read The Bible

Another Excerpt from the E Word

3 Things People Need to Know About The Bible

Following Jesus to the Other Side

Comments

[Tom in Ontario]

I don't know if you're into the ‘meme' thing. I was tagged and sometimes I'm a "follow the rules" kind of guy and number 5 says "Tag five other people" and you're one of the five blogs I read who hasn't already done this meme. So here it is. Do with it what you will.

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five other people.

KELLY'S RESPONSE:

Nope, I'm not. Don't even do it when my mother-in-law sends them to me. :)

[Tom in Ontario]

After you suggested to our Synod Assembly, in 2004, that congregational council meetings should be half Bible Study and half business I told our council that and there were gasps and smirks all around the table. I got the distinct impression that I better not be trying that.

I didn't mention to them what you suggested in "'C' Word" about Bible Study and Prayer. It sounds great to me but somehow it sounds unrealistic. I wish we could do it but I'm kind of afraid to try.

I'm thinking that at next week's council meeting we might try the "Just 3 Questions" of your "No Experience Necessary" studies. I'll pick a reading from the daily lectionary and see how it works. Then I'll suggest going around the table giving each person a chance to pray. It might not take half the meeting but it'll be a more serious effort at getting into God's word than we've been doing.

KELLY'S RESPONSE:

This sounds like a great first couple of steps, Tom. REALLY great. Obviously, you've always got to start with people where they are. Still, it's good to show them what the goal is. And I'll stand by this: A church leadership team that isn't spending at least half their time together in prayer and holy conversation that emerges out of an encounter with Scripture...and letting that conversation shape their work...isn't doing their job. Realistic? I've lived it. And I'm spending my whole professional life right now helping to clean up the mess that's been created in congregations and judicatories across the continent because leaders have been trying to lead WITHOUT doing this for way too long.

[christopher]

Kelly,

Absolutely. I would appreciate your thoughts on my latest post. We're afraid of the "J" word and we redefine words like "mission" and "evangelism" in ways that scarcely seem to be about anything Christian.

KELLY'S RESPONSE:

I left my thoughts on your site. Great couple of posts!

[InheritorOfHeaven]

Stumbled across your blog today. I like your paragraphs:
"I do believe the people in these congregations are being shaped by the word of God.
The truth is that when Christians read the written word of God, the living word of God always shows up. In other words, Jesus shows up. Jesus shows up when we read the Bible no matter what method of interpretation we are using...Jesus shows up in spite of all the prejudices and cultural biases we bring to our reading of the text. Jesus shows up regardless of whatever our political, moral, or theological agenda might be.
And he shapes us. Turning to the Scriptures and expecting to hear a word from Christ is risky business."

I think all of my growth in love for Christ and others has come as a result of reading the word, being with other believers who also read it, and all of us believing that the Holy Spirit will make it active in our lives. It is the same with worship. Do we believe and look for and listen to, Jesus who is present each time we gather?