Now before you get mad at me, let me tell you a story:
I was born to two Christian parents--my dad a former pastor’s kid and my mom the daughter of two parents who were very active in the local church. From the time I was born, I went to Awana, attended Sunday School, volunteered at Sunday School, went to a small group, went to youth group, attended VBS, was a camp counselor at VBS, and helped lead worship a few times. I grew up in the church and was involved as much as I could be.
Yet I still felt empty inside.
In high school, I found myself attending church out of habit. I was going because I had obligations--social, familial or otherwise--that kept me attending every week. I failed to see Church as an opportunity to be in community with believers and rather saw it as a hurdle I had to jump over to ensure my salvation.
I was becoming bored with the same tagline at every service: “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.” I wanted greater understanding of God, but I didn’t know where to start and didn’t want to begin searching for answers. Ultimately, my “faith” was built upon keeping up appearances and avoiding spiritual and intellectual discomfort, also known as “laziness.”
And that’s what I think is wrong with the American Evangelical movement.
It cannot be denied that Christianity is deeply ingrained in American culture to some degree. For many people, “God Bless America” covers all the bases of faith and patriotism that are often held closely together. In our history classes, we learn about the Great Awakenings in America and how that affected political behavior. Many political arguments from Evangelicals are based on quoting scripture for ensuring that the nation as a whole continues to follow God’s will. Whatever the case, Jesus and patriotism are strangely interconnected, yet the roots of faith in Jesus are connected to conforming to culture and “going through the motions.”
In many parts of the U.S., to claim to be a Christian is to say that you attend the Easter and Christmas services at your local church. To claim to be a true Christian is to vote for the candidate that says “God bless America” the most. To claim to be a true Christian is to be the most proactive Sunday School volunteer in the congregation and to have the youth pastor’s number on speed dial.
Don’t get me wrong, these things can be good—but when the basis of our faith leans towards only maintaining the “good little Christian” image, we fail to recognize the crux of Christian doctrine: to be in an intimate, challenging relationship with a triune God. This requires more than being a Christian on a name-only basis. This requires more than earning salvation which, by the way, is impossible. This requires more than a “God Bless America” bumper sticker. Truth and relationship with Christ cannot be deeply reached unless we get uncomfortable.
What does it mean to be uncomfortable?
In my life, it’s being open to opposing interpretations of scripture. To critically read the Bible. It’s to set aside time in the day and week to be in community with fellow believers and with God Himself. It’s to put Christ and people before politics. It’s to look beyond hellfire and to look towards relationship with Goodness itself. It’s to forgive because Christ forgave us. It’s to be vulnerable when we want to be the least vulnerable. It’s to defend your faith while not being fearful of persecution. It’s to embrace the gray-area paradoxes. It’s to not be afraid of traditional Christianity. It’s to think deeply about theology because it pertains to faith. It’s to have faith that God is boundless.
Granted, I certainly don’t know every American Evangelical in existence. I don’t know the true depths of individuals’ spiritual life, which is why I have no place to judge whether individuals are true Christians or not. That is ultimately knowledge that we have no capacity to reach, by the very fact that we are merely images of the Divine.
Yet, the direction of the American Evangelical movement isn’t headed towards a good place. It’s heading towards a legalism grounded in nothing more than “the Bible tells me so.” It’s quick to yell “persecution” and flee instead of embracing troubles as a means to draw closer to God. It’s a laziness that leads to ignorance, which can lead to hate and a distance from Wisdom Himself. It’s to identify as a Believer but fail to emulate the love of Christ.
I know because I’ve been there. We must not give in to the culture of lazy Christianity, lest we distance ourselves from the Goodness and Beauty that is God.
To my fellow Evangelicals in the United States of America (myself included): let us love God first and be less concerned with earthly matters. Let us investigate and criticize our faith for the sake of deepening our relationship with the One who loves us.
