missionaries in the USA (pt. 2)
In one of my recent posts, I said that it bothers me that more Christians don't view themselves as missionaries to this culture and that I would follow up with some possible reasons why. So, here's my first reason why:
#1 The false belief that America is a Christian nation.
One of the major reasons that many believers do not live as missionaries in the USA is because they are under the false impression that we live in a Christian nation. Many say that the country was founded by Christians and for Christian reasons. Even if that were the case (and I would argue that most of the founding fathers were deists at best), the reality is that we are not currently a Christian nation. Fewer people attend church now than ten years ago. While spirituality is on the rise, belief in the Bible is down. Yet, many Christians still think that this is a Christian nation. As a result, these believers tend to expect unchurched people to find their way to church and are shocked when the culture doesn't honor or respect Christians or their principles. So, rather than loving the culture that is hostile toward them (like Jesus did), they get angry and defensive because they suppose that it's wrong for Christians to be the minority. Rather than serving out of love and sacrifice, these believers fight for their "rights" to be heard.
America is NOT a Christian nation. Therefore, Christians who are serious about Christ's mission will realize that people need to be loved, served, and told the truth just like those in countries where there is hostility to the gospel (because there is here too). They will quit fighting the people they are trying to win and, like Jesus, serve them sacrificially out of love and joy.
There