“Direct Evangelism Contact Connect Communicate” find live the gospel, salt and light to give a reason for the hope you have. Yes agreed, and growing up in a small town in the West of Scotland where there was a lot of nominal Christianity, I relate to what you have shared about context and it being different now.
I also despair with the number of times I have been in Evangelical churches where I have heard a speaker / elder say “we need to think out of the box” and I come along with an idea, an attitude even a particular sense of humour that is different to whatever prevailing evangelical culture I find myself in and someone takes offence, and quotes Romans 14 preaching AT me about if what you do distresses your brother you are not loving, then be called a sinner and even a blasphemer for no other reason then doing something that someone else in power in the church doesn’t like and challenging the prevailing church culture.
Wow – it feels cathartic to get that off my chest.
So yes, you are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth, you have to stay bright to be the light of the world, not hide your light under a bushel but put it in the centre of the room where it illuminates everything around.
What I find helps is in finding where your passion lies, what is it that gets you out of bed in the morning, that makes you feel alive then to go and do it. You will meet people along the way and have interesting times. I bee held at knife-point, ostracized, friendships lost and family members alienated been called deluded, mentally ill, and abusive for nothing other than being “in Christ”. At the same time, I have had conversations where people have said they envy what religious people have because of the peace it gives them or similar. This gives me the opportunity to share that the peace that passes understanding is available for everyone and why.
So yes in a “Christian” culture things in one sense could be easier and are tougher now with being in the minority. The church cannot rest on it’s laurals of Christendom but be willing to be uncomfortable and creative.
Secular, anti-Christian? Hasn’t for a large part (if not most) of history being Christian has meant to be despised? “According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular group with members in 38 states worldwide, 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians.” http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/christians-the-worlds-most-persecuted-people-9630774.html
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
“Direct Evangelism Contact Connect Communicate” find live the gospel, salt and light to give a reason for the hope you have. Yes agreed, and growing up in a small town in the West of Scotland where there was a lot of nominal Christianity, I relate to what you have shared about context and it being different now.
I also despair with the number of times I have been in Evangelical churches where I have heard a speaker / elder say “we need to think out of the box” and I come along with an idea, an attitude even a particular sense of humour that is different to whatever prevailing evangelical culture I find myself in and someone takes offence, and quotes Romans 14 preaching AT me about if what you do distresses your brother you are not loving, then be called a sinner and even a blasphemer for no other reason then doing something that someone else in power in the church doesn’t like and challenging the prevailing church culture.
Wow – it feels cathartic to get that off my chest.
So yes, you are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth, you have to stay bright to be the light of the world, not hide your light under a bushel but put it in the centre of the room where it illuminates everything around.
What I find helps is in finding where your passion lies, what is it that gets you out of bed in the morning, that makes you feel alive then to go and do it. You will meet people along the way and have interesting times. I bee held at knife-point, ostracized, friendships lost and family members alienated been called deluded, mentally ill, and abusive for nothing other than being “in Christ”. At the same time, I have had conversations where people have said they envy what religious people have because of the peace it gives them or similar. This gives me the opportunity to share that the peace that passes understanding is available for everyone and why.
So yes in a “Christian” culture things in one sense could be easier and are tougher now with being in the minority. The church cannot rest on it’s laurals of Christendom but be willing to be uncomfortable and creative.
Secular, anti-Christian? Hasn’t for a large part (if not most) of history being Christian has meant to be despised? “According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular group with members in 38 states worldwide, 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians.” http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/christians-the-worlds-most-persecuted-people-9630774.html