Most Christians will claim that a Christian presence in a community will bring about a positive impact. The more Christians there are, the better society will be. A British journalist produced a television documentary to investigate this claim.
Regular church attendance was taken as the indicator of a community being “Christianised”. The journalist selected Dallas, Texas. At the time this city had more people per capita in church than anywhere else. He then looked at the social demographics of the city.
Life in Dallas was examined by considering various statistics and studies across a range of areas. This included crime, public safety, police enforcement, health care, hospitals, contagious diseases, infant mortality rate, education, job and employment, the economy, housing, homelessness, and rascism. These categories were then compared with other cities which had significantly less people attending church on a regular basis.
The study concluded that Dallas was one of the worst cities to live in! The level of crime, the decrepit social systems, the disease, the economic discrepancies, the racial injustice all disqualified this community from having an adequate quality of life.
Not my concern
The journalist then presented his findings with respected leaders of the churches within the city. After being told about the condition of their city and community, the answer was essentially the same:
“This is not my concern . . . I’m a spiritual leader.”
These findings should shock us! They are not unique to Dallas. Sadly, the non-Christian journalist’s findings would be typical of most communities throughout the world, even where there is a high presence of Christians.
Infected by the dualism virus
Why should we be shocked by the response from these respected church leaders?
Firstly, because it highlights an infection that has spread throughout the Christian world. It is a virus called ‘dualism’. This separates Christian thinking between what is considered ‘spiritual’, eternal and what really matters, from that which is merely ‘secular’, temporary, and material.
This viral infection became particularly pronounced at the turn of the twentieth century when the wholistic concept of the Hebrew word ‘shalom’ (meaning peace, prosperity, welfare, well-being, harmony, wholeness) was reduced to an overemphasis on the spiritual salvation of the individual.
Diluted gospel
Secondly, because it highlights the acceptance of a diluted gospel rather than a biblical worldview and comprehensive kingdom gospel where Jesus is Lord over all. Protestant reformer Martin Luther said,
‘If the gospel does not address the issues of the day, then it is no gospel at all.’
John Wesley said,
‘If you come to the cross, there needs to be a transformation in your life, and there needs to be a transformation in society.’
Jesus commissioned his church to educate and ‘disciple nations’.
Diluted outcomes
When we lose sight of this vital component of the Great Commission we end up with places and peoples being evangelised, but not transformed. Africa is a case in point. Africa is the most evangelised continent in the world with thousands of churches and evangelists. However, while nearly every person south of the Sahara has been ‘reached’ with the gospel, the sad reality is that it has not really made a difference to the African nations where the gospel has been received. With 30 of the 40 poorest countries in the world in Africa, there is widespread poverty, along with violence, disease, corruption, injustice, chaos and devastation.
Something has gone wrong somewhere. It’s the result of a diluted gospel that is limited to individual salvation.
(Adapted book extract from Empowered! Discovering Your Place in God’s Story by Stuart Simpson, Chapter 2, Faulty Story Paradigms)
(Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash)