Tuesday; November 12

In his book, “Christians In The Age Of Outrage”, Ed Stetzer considers the influence Christians have in the world by taking a look at how Christians live their lives.  As a part of the book, Stetzer sets out to describe various types of “Christians” in the modern world.  Among his categories of Christians are:
1.  Cultural Christians – Some people self-identify as Christians because were born in a historically Christian country and they really don’t fit in any of the other major religious groups.
2.  Congregational Christians – These people may not have a vibrant faith, but they retain some connection to a congregation (a Christian home church).  They typically attend this church during the more “religious” times of year or for the occasional wedding or funeral.
3.  Convictional Christians – These folks readily identify as Christians and are decidedly more religious than the other sub-categories.  They are more likely to go to church regularly, live values that align with Bible-based Christianity and make life-choices based on their faith.
          I realize that these are just one man’s thoughts about Christianity, but as I read his description it helped me understand the identity problem many Christians have.  Often, “Convictional Christians” are ridiculed by the non-Christian world because they are saddled with the hypocrisy or lack of conviction that exists in the other groups.  Too often Christianity gets a black eye – not because of the lifestyle of those who take their spiritual journey seriously, but because of these who don’t.
          When someone criticizes Christianity for what others have done, let’s make it a point to get a description of the offenders.  Maybe, just maybe, the one accused of being an “ugly Christian” wasn’t a genuine Christian after all.
         Think About It!

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