Spiritual Revolution
“I foment spiritual revolution for our time. A persistent loving provocation…”
I have a friend who is essentially a humanist. A naturalist. And agnostic. Very bright educated guy, and successful. We talk business. We talk theology. I work on converting him. He thinks highly of The Theology Project, because we respect each other, and because he loves to simply…think. He’s been on the boards of nearly two dozen non-profits, and his wife is a top non-profit consultant with many big wins in her resume.
He chided me recently because I had done a poor job (really no job at all), raising funds for my recent endeavor. He pointed out the sort of rule of thumb I’d told many of my own clients through the years…”Executive Directors need to spend half their time raising funds for their non-profit” etc etc…So I lamely explained my reasons. My reluctance, my loathing, etc. for asking for people’s resources. I noted the not-so-great taste left in my mouth after many years helping many non-profits do that, and so forth. I believe in our mission, so I have no problem believing folks should get behind it.
But often, leaders will tell you that fund raising is not really what floats their boat. Our passion is the the mission, not seeking donors. I’ve written or overseen more donor and partner activity for ministries than anyone ever should. For churches, para-church ministries, outreaches, missions, TV, best-selling authors, musicians, etc. including many small, mid-size and some of the largest Christian organizations on the planet. And I’ve done work for good secular organizations too. So I get it. I know the drill.
Still, I had a Theology Project donor letter on my desk for weeks. Couldn’t bring myself to send it out. Sometimes leaders are not the smartest. We struggle.
But then I saw this. Another batch of research, to compel us to action (here’s my mashup, with my own emphasis added):
“only 17 percent of Christians who consider their faith important and attend church regularly, actually have a biblical worldview.”
That’s a big deal.
And if these are the serious believers, then what about the rest?!
This latest research found:
“strong agreement with ideas unique to nonbiblical worldviews among practicing Christians… it is striking how pervasive some of these beliefs are…”
And here’s what the report concludes:
“The challenge with competing worldviews is that there are fragments of similarities to some Christian teachings and some may recognize and latch on to these ideas, not realizing they are distortions of biblical truths. The call for the Church…is to help Christians dissect popular beliefs before allowing them to settle in their own ideology…Informed thinking is essential to developing and maintaining a healthy biblical worldview and faith as well as being able to have productive dialogue with those who espouse other beliefs.”
Hey, it happens to me all the time. The world’s system insidiously creeps into my thinking. I even at times let it, invite it. Ugh! Then like many (most?) of my believing compatriots, I look and act like some sort of pagan Christian. It’s shameful.
I don’t live and work in a sort of Christian bubble. I’m out there in the real world of the arts and business (as well as ministry) every day. And the onslaught is brutal. Relentless. “Conform to us!” is the world’s cry, it’s demand.
But Psalm 119:130 says “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” I don’t know about you, but I qualify as “the simple.” I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again…the more I worked for and with ministries, best-selling Christian authors, and leading publishers, the more I saw the need for good theology. In my own life and in the Church.
More than ever, we all need accuracy, definition and right thinking in our faith. I foment spiritual revolution for our time. A persistent loving provocation to think and act accurately, theologically. Christ-centric. Gospel-centric.
One of the richest books of the Bible, Ephesians, declares: “Be very careful then, how you live” (Eph. 5:15). The original language carries with it a meaning of caution, accuracy and exactness. While it’s always been important for believers to think and act with passion and precision, today’s high tech, media-soaked, digital world makes it more needful than ever.
I pray for a landscape where Scripture informs each nuance of our thought, yielding rich lives as Christ’s distinct people, glorifying and enjoying God forever.
Yeah. Basically, I’m on a mission.