The
Church and Secular Society:
Reaching and Discipling the Secular Person
Few would deny that America is facing treacherous times. There is a
meltdown in the social, political, philosophical, moral, and spiritual
arenas that is symptomatic of a society that has turned away from God.
America as a society has declared, consciously or unconsciously, its
independence from God and acts in ways that exclude God from its value
system, beliefs and behavior. We have become a secular society.
The shift from spiritual to secular is a slow process as society moves
from being guided and governed by biblical principles to being guided
and governed by personal and self-interests. In a secular society, initial
indifference toward God and religion ultimately becomes hostility toward
God and religion.
How can the church reach and develop the secular person? If we reach
them but fail to develop them as true disciples with kingdom values,
character, and lifestyle, then the influence of the church's message
and ministries is diluted and impotent.
What are the issues and changes that as leaders and churches we need
to be aware of if we are going to be effective in reaching and developing
people? Let's examine the effects of secularization upon evangelism
and the discipling in the church.
Impact of Secularization Upon Evangelism
Secularization changes the people the church is reaching and it affects
Christians as witnesses.
To understand the people we are trying to reach, we must first realize
there is a declining reverence for God and Christian principles. People
often don't even know Christian principles and values and if they do,
they don't regard them in their lives or communities. The idea of moral
absolutes is lost in our society as individual rights and choices are
primary values. Right becomes what I want to do or believe to be right.
Wrong becomes anything I don't agree with or that isn't in my best interest.
As the message of tolerance is proclaimed, the message of moral absolutes
is lost. Consequently, God is seen as just one among many gods and Christian
principles are seen as archaic and irrelevant.
As the gap widens between the values, attitudes, and lifestyles of
society and those communicated in God's Word, Christianity is increasingly
under attack. Christians and the church are seen as out-of-touch and
irrelevant. The church is less likely to be seen as a positive element
in a community. Today there are communities that have banned the building
of new churches. They won't allow churches to buy property or to build
larger facilities. A Brookings Institute study authored by James Reichley
concluded, "A society that excludes religion totally from its public
life, that seems to regard religion as something from which public life
must be protected, is bound to foster the impression that religion is
either irrelevant or harmful" (James Reichley, Conclusions from a Brookings
Institute study, quoted in North American Scene, Christianity Today,
2-7-86, p. 59).
A second issue is that the core social institution, the family, is
being destroyed. Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947
book Family and Civilization, compared the disintegration of
various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures.
Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral
of each culture Zimmerman studied.
- Marriage loses its sacredness; it is frequently broken by divorce.
- Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.
- Feminist movements abound.
- Public disrespect for parents and authority in general increased.
- Juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion accelerate.
- People with traditional marriages refuse to accept family responsibilities.
- Desire for and acceptance of adultery grow.
- Interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes
increase.
This sounds much like America's condition today. The family structure
and values are being destroyed. Divorce is seen as a healthy option
rather than a destructive choice. As for divorce, one expert said she
sees it as a "safety valve" for families. "It makes for better family
life," she said. "There's no merit in holding families together just
for the sake of it. For this reason, divorce improves the quality of
marriages" ( Tulsa World, August 21, 1977, AP). Twisted thinking
about marriage and family abound but this is what people we are trying
to reach are thinking.
Third, more emotional, psychological and social problems exist within
our society. These appear to be related directly to the loss of a national
Christian conscience and the destruction and warping of the nuclear
family unit. "Depression (or melancholia, as it was once known) has...come
so much into public attention that some are calling our era the age
of melancholy, in contrast to the age of anxiety that followed World
War II. Depression has been considered as by far the commonest psychiatric
symptom, and one which is found both as a temporary condition in a normal
person who has suffered a great persona disappointment and as the deep
suicidal depression of a psychotic" (Collins, Gary, R., Christian
Counseling, Word Books, 1980, pp. 84-85).
The disregard for God and His principles leads to the kind of problems
that people are facing personally.
How the Church Can Reach and Develop the Secular Person
The church's efforts to reach people for Christ and to develop them
into growing disciples are affected significantly as America becomes
increasingly secular. First, there is a proliferation of religious groups
as Americans seek a spiritual experience of some kind. Most of these
groups are not biblical or they demonstrate unbiblical values, ideals,
and practices. This creates an atmosphere of confusion and suspicion
for the church to deal with. People don't know truth from error. To
be effective, the church must start by building relationships and ministering
to needs. Using felt need seminars like Sequence Evangelism's, Positive
Parenting #714-406 or Managing Life's Stress #714-410
is a great way to establish meaningful relationships with the unchurched
while using biblical principles as the foundation for teaching.
Second, since people increasingly view the Bible and Christianity as
irrelevant in dealing with life, personal issues, and social problems,
the church must demonstrate credibility before attempting to share the
gospel. Christians must demonstrate credibility through their values,
character, and lifestyle. The church's influence in the community is
not based upon its programs and ministries but upon the character and
commitment of its people. Thus, the church needs to focus on building
people who have developed the habits, disciplines and character of a
true disciple. Sunday school and Bible study groups must be places where
people learn "how" to pray, study, and apply God's Word and not just
"about" prayer and Bible study. Provide an accountability structure
in your Sunday school. Help people begin to care about each other's
needs and spiritual development. Encourage people to meet together for
accountability and encouragement for their own spiritual growth.
Third, due to less religious training while growing up and poorer religious
education, Christians and non-Christians have less knowledge of the
Bible or spiritual principles. Research reveals that even regular attendees
in our churches are ignorant of the basic tenets of faith. This means
that the church can't take for granted that non-Christians or Christians
have a basic understanding of the Bible. Christians who are being trained
to be effective witnesses must be taught foundational truths and how
to deal with people who have little knowledge of God's Word. We must
teach basic Bible principles and doctrine. One church taught Foundations
For Faith, a basic doctrines course designed for 6th graders, to their
adults and they loved it.
Fourth, since individuality and independence are a cultural norm, the
church must provide a strong vision and strategy to fulfill it. The
lordship of Christ is difficult for people to grasp and apply. The church
that provides both a purpose and strategy for reaching and developing
people is more likely to get people to make a commitment. It is a myth
that people won't make commitments. They commit both time and money
to saving whales and owls. The issue for the church is to provide a
challenging cause (mission of Christ) and a strategy for helping people
develop. People ask two questions when they come to your church and
Sunday school -- "What is the cost to come?" and "What is the benefit?"
If the benefit doesn't outweigh the cost, they will not commit to more
than they get in return. Write out specifically what your mission is
as a church and a specific strategy for helping people to develop. The
We Build People vision and model is designed to help your church do
just that (WBP Book Brochure #714-523; WBP Product Brochure #714-905).
The cultural shift and the trends we see have significant implications
for the church and the programs that we have or should develop. Today's
Americans have a totally different perception of life, a totally different
value system and a different lifestyle. The church that recognizes this
shift and adapts to face it has a great opportunity to reach and develop
people for the kingdom of God.
Understanding The Secular Person
The general characteristics of the person the church is striving to
reach include:
- Essential ignorance of basic Christianity. Most people don't know
the basics of the Bible or what Christianity is about.
- Seeking for life before death. People fear extinction more than
they fear hell or seek heaven. They seek to get the most out of life
now.
- Having a greater consciousness of doubt than guilt. Guilt is viewed
as a social problem but not a personal problem. People who feel guilty
are more inclined to see a therapist to learn to deal with the guilt
than to see a pastor or priest to find spiritual help.
- Holding a negative image of the church. They doubt the intelligence,
relevance, and credibility of the church and Christians.
- Distrustful. Broken relationships, alienation, "getting burned"
or taken advantage of and manipulated lead to distrust.
- Having low self-esteem. Loss of identity, worth, value and dignity
are epidemic. This leads to selfishness and self-deception and dysfunctional
behavior and relationships.
- Feeling the world is "out of control." Assassinations, Vietnam,
and other such events were surprising and shocking. The sense that
the past was out of control leads to anxiety about the future.
- Feeling that issues in their lives are "out of control." People
have issues in their own families and personalities that they can't
control. Their sense of hopelessness becomes self-destructive.
- Unable to find "the door." People are on a search for ultimate reality,
life and God but cannot find the door of life.
----Adapted from George G. Hunter III, How To Reach Secular People;
Nashville, Abingdon. 1992. pp.
