Are Christians at Risk of Becoming An Endangered Species?

What does the future hold for the existence of Christianity in the United States? That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? I think it’s often shrugged off because, after all, we live in a Christian nation, right? Can you imagine a day when a Christian could lose his or her job because of their faith; not that they proclaimed it in the workplace or even in the public schools; but outside of the institution—in their private life?! Imagine no more—the day is here. In fact, it wasn’t even the individual who was “accused” of sharing their faith that was fired—it was guilt by association! Read the story here.

I Am Beginning to Understand What “Post-Christian” Culture Means

Now I do not want to get bogged down in politics—believe me, it would be easy as I am a very politically-minded person. Nevertheless, we should be aware of what is happening in other communities as a foreshadowing of where we could be headed. Consider our European brothers and sisters in the UK. Recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury conceded that the UK will eventually have to consider incorporating elements of Sharia law into the public law. That’s an extreme step for a free European nation—and one we should watch closely. If we lose our moral compass— as some claim has happened in the UK— as a result of the weakening of Christianity, then that vacuum may very well be filled with ideologies that will create an oppressive state of affairs for believers in the US. We should all be asking and observing how far other religious extremists will go to replace Christian thought in the public sector.

We have been blessed with a freedom in this country that millions of Christians around the world do not have. Our plight is nowhere near the real persecution occurring every day around the world. However, Islam is spreading and with it, a subtle, sinister pressure on Christians to be ‘tolerant’—which is a nice way of saying we need to change and adapt to the beliefs of Muslims.

So, to back up and avoid sounding paranoid—what’s the point? Muslims are passionate. They pursue their religion and the attempt to convert others with extreme fanaticism. This is no secret, no great revelation or offensive posturing—it is simply the truth. How about believers in Christ? Ours is the message of hope for eternity and compassion for today. Are we living and communicating the message with these two things in mind? If indeed a moral vacuum exists—are we contributing to it? Like it or not, we are influencers. Compassion and tolerance are not synonymous terms—sometimes being compassionate means sharing a message that is offensive. Although we may not (but you might) have the ability to affect society in big chunks, each of us has a small sphere of personal influence. If you really want to make eternal impact on this culture for tomorrow, work with a passion for Christ and His message within your sphere today.

Logic: Fallacies of Credibility

This is the second part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

Argumentum Ad Verecundiam

An appeal to authority exists in the debate over Intelligent Design when only those who hold an atheistic world view are considered true experts in a field of scientific study. This fallacy occurs when one person’s expert opinion is assumed to be more important than another’s; even though their comparative professional credentials are equivalent. Discriminatory authority ensues because worldview affects the perception of many scientists and, like it or not, impacts interpretation of scientific study. It is not grounded by factual results of experimentation, because neither evolution nor design can be proven by repeatable methodology.

All theories of biological origins are speculative—they are based on beliefs, not observable facts. As a result, if an individual is an educated, highly credentialed, competent scientist, he or she is fully qualified to interpret the same observations, but will do so in light of their worldview. One group is open to finding a designer or creator (often in complete separation from religious overtones), the other desperately hopes not to. Why can’t both engage in rational, respectful discourse? (We already know the answer to that.)

An argument that appeals to only one group of two distinct groups within the same expertise, when neither can be conclusively proven, is fallacious. Both sides must be considered equally and given equal due—that is really what the overall debate is about. One reason the ID scientists are not guilty of this fallacy is that they are not attempting to attack or discredit evolutionary researchers. Their platform is to achieve equal ground and opportunity within scientific academia to pursue research of their own: objective, scientific research.

Ad Hominem

No doubt you have read and heard many examples of this fallacy. Now you know what to call it. This argument attempts to reject or dismiss another person’s statement or position by attacking the person rather than the statement or position itself. Ad Hominem is the most frequent tactic employed by the Neo-Darwinist movement and their supporters. The most commonly used words in the works of these scientists when addressing intelligent design proponents are: “stupid, idiots, imbeciles, ignorant, crackpots, loons, irrational (this one’s ironic considering their use of the term in an Ad Hominem fallacy)” and many, many more (some unprintable). But you get the picture.

Did they really just say that?

A very small, but striking example containing both fallacies (italics mine) is below. There are so many more out there to be read…

“…the DI [Discovery Institute] got its list by asking crackpots and specialists in irrelevant disciplines to volunteer to sign on [To sign on to the DI’s list of scientists who support researching intelligent design.], so it is a real (but silly) list that exposes the existence of a tiny minority of loons within science.”(an excerpt from Science Blogs - Pharyngula)

Guest Blogger: AJ Rinaldi on Worship

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting a church in a small community in Texas as part of a project I was working on for EvanTell. This is a rare opportunity because of my family’s involvement in our own church in our own small corner of the Dallas area.

So what? People visit churches every Sunday across the country-nothing remarkable about that, right? Well, that’s my point—there are so many churches across the country in small (or maybe not-so-small) communities that we don’t hear of everyday, we tend to forget that great ministry happens everywhere! What comes to mind when you think of a small church in a small town? One thing I always have to remind myself of is that talent and giftedness is not unique to the “Mega-church” crowd.

Now, I do not attend a “Mega-church”, in fact, comparably our church is modest in size, so I do not judge by attendance numbers or budget—or do I? It’s easy, isn’t it, for us to assume that smaller churches in out of the way places are probably doing the “best they can” with what they have; creatively speaking? I was reminded this past weekend how foolish that assumption is. What a great band! The instrumentalists were highly competent in their art and did a very effective job in leading the congregation to worship.

Occasionally I experience churches that have exorbitant budgets allowing for the hiring of multiple staff members to fill every conceivable position within the worship staff. From musicians to technicians and all points of leadership, these folks are employed and given all kinds of time (not to mention equipment, money, etc.) to prepare for the Sunday (or Friday or Saturday) service each week. What a contrast to those on a more modest budget who have to work with volunteers and squeeze in hours late at night or whenever they can.

I am not suggesting that either is wrong. If they are truly using the resources God has blessed them with as wise stewards then there is no problem at all. What I am suggesting is that you don’t necessarily need to look outside of your own congregation and hire “artistic talent”. Often these roles can be filled by volunteers who can contribute significantly to the quality of worship that your church brings before God! He has placed amazing talent in every corner—just look around!

Effective Evangelism through the Local Church

If the church does not use today to reach non-Christians, we are missing a prime opportunity. The one word written across the faces of many non-Christians is the word insecurity. They are insecure about their jobs, investments, health, safety and their marriages. This is the day to tell them of the One in whom a relationship is so secure no one or nothing can change it.

To impact non-Christians in 2008 through the local church, every message a pastor gives cannot be directed to non-Christians. If it were, he would have a church full of infant Christians – people who know how to enter the Christian life but have never learned how to live it. But at the same time, if believers have genuine relationships with non-Christians, unbelievers should be frequenting church services on a regular basis.

How does one appeal to lost people in a non-evangelistic setting such as a Sunday morning service where the message is directed towards believers, not unbelievers? Articles two through five in this series on “Effective Evangelism through the Local Church” offer several suggestions that pastors throughout the nation have found beneficial understanding that the sermon is not the only place to make the appeal to the lost.

Don’t Give an Offering, Receive an Offering

Sometimes we need what Winston Churchill called “The genius for recognizing the obvious.” We overlook some of the simplest and most natural ways to make an appeal to lost people. For example, it can be done the way one takes up the morning offering.

One time a pastor said, “In a moment we are going to take up the offering. If you are visiting with us this morning, we request that as the offering plate is passed that you not place anything in it. Instead of giving a gift to the church, we would like you to receive a gift Christ has for you. Jesus Christ paid for our sins on a cross by dying as our substitute, taking our punishment and rising again the third day. Therefore, through personal trust in Christ we can receive His free gift of eternal life. Instead of giving, just sit there and meditate upon what God would like to give you. Right here this morning you could receive that free gift. Would the ushers please come to take up the offering?” Be creative. Try this approach. Try your own.

Reference the Gospel During the Reading of Scripture

It can even be done the way one introduces a paragraph of the Scriptures he’s about to explain. For example, suppose one were speaking from 1 Corinthians. It would be most natural and effective to say:

“I enjoy speaking from the book of 1 Corinthians because the person God used to write this portion of Scripture was a man named Paul who, prior to coming to know Christ, called himself a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violently arrogant man. He had every reason to think, I am too big a sinner for God to save. But he recognized that on the cross Christ did not die for some people, He died for everybody. Because He paid the price for our sins by dying in our place and rising again, God can now extend the free gift of eternal life to anyone who will simply put their trust in Christ. So if you think you are too big a sinner for God to save, rest assured that as we study this paragraph in 1 Corinthians, that is most certainly not true.”

Have someone else read the passage of Scripture. Represent every generation in those that read the Scripture and coach them on referencing the gospel during the reading of Scripture. It is a very effective way to share the gospel.

Share the Gospel Through the Conclusion of Your Message

A conclusion of a message has to appeal for action. God wants everyone there to act upon what has been said. Suppose you have been preaching on John 13:1-17 where Christ washed the feet of the disciples. That has absolutely nothing to do with how to get to heaven, does it? But what would be more appropriate than at the end of the message to encourage believers that a mark of greatness in God’s eyes is not how many servants you have but how many people you serve?

Then in a most effective way you can say to lost people in the audience, “My message this morning has been to believers. But maybe you are here today and you do not know for sure if you were to die you’d go to heaven. Before you think about how you can serve the Lord, may I encourage you to think of how the Lord has served you? Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, died on a cross to take the punishment for your sins and rose again the third day. Because the price for sin has been paid, you can receive eternal life as a free gift. If you have not received that free gift, I would love to talk with you and help you arrive at that point where you know beyond the shadow of any doubt that if you were to die, you’d go to heaven. But do not even think about you can do for Him until you have first received what He has done for you.” Now that is a powerful message!

You are Not the Only One Who Can Share

Someone else who can appeal to lost people is a person who gives a five to seven minute testimony. Why not on a fairly regular basis have people from your congregation give a testimony that clearly presents the gospel? That time is critical so it’s important to have them to write it out, allow you to read it, make any suggestions and then re-write it prior to giving it. Through a clear testimony, the lost person can understand how he, too, can come to know the Savior.

Variety is often called the spice of life. It also is the spice of evangelism. When one uses varied ways to appeal to non-Christians in a non-evangelistic setting he ends up making an eternal difference in the lives of those who don’t know Christ.

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