Reacting to the New America? I was born in the 40s and finished high school and college in the 60s. The world that I knew growing up was radically different than the world I live in today. As I reflect back, I am tempted to say that those were the good old days, but the Bible warns me not to think that way: Do not say, Why is it that the former days were better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this (Ecclesiastes 7:10). As with every age and place, what we discover is a mixed bag: there were better things and worse things. To be sure, America was OUTWARDLY far more moral and Christian back when I was growing up. However, America was OUTWARDLY far less Christian when it came to dealing with African-Americans. I remember when my father came home from a meeting of the elders of our church, the First Presbyterian Church of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He told Mama, We voted tonight not to let any N.....s into our worship service. If any of them come, well meet them at the door and ask them why they have come. If they say, We have come to worship, well tell them that they have their own churches to worship in. Mama was relieved. When I went to work at Chapins Shell Service in the spring of 1961, black folks could not use the two restrooms for white folks. They had to use a nasty room off the side of our garage. Everywhere I traveled I saw segregation: Sears had two water fountains -- cold water for whites, tap water for blacks. And no restaurants admitted African-Americans -- that was brought home profoundly when I traveled with my aunt and her maid up to Charlotte, and Inez could not find any place to buy lunch for Viola. I was a little boy, but I remember my aunt stopping at drive-ins trying to order lunch for Viola and being turned away until finally once place sold her a chicken plate if Viola didnt eat it on their property. Post World War II America saw a lot of churches built. OUTWARDLY this looked like revival, but on closer examination, many of these churches were Monuments to Moralism rather the places where the Gospel was clearly proclaimed. The 60s can be explained in part by realizing that the Greatest Generation did not pass on a solid foundation for continuing hypocritical, bourgeois Moralism, and their children threw off the yoke of superficial Christian values. In my experience attempting to help other pastors within my own tradition over the past four decades, I found that the majority of the lay leaders in these congregations exhibited little evidence of having a relationship with Jesus Christ, any many could not care less what Scripture taught. I once had an elder tell me in response to my question regarding what Scripture affirmed, Were Presbyterians. We like being Presbyterians. That rejection of the authority of Scripture is one reason why those congregations, not only tolerated, but embraced racist bigotry. In my opinion, while America was superficially more Christian when I was a boy, there are a lot more people in modern American who ENJOY a relationship with the Lord today than back then. But our culture has changed, along with our demographics, so how do we reach the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the Greatest Generation? So much evangelism appears to be proselytizing -- getting people from one congregation or denomination into our own -- thats what a lot of growth in my own denomination looks like, and my guess is that were not alone. How do we reach people whose names are not on church rolls? I learned to preach on street corners and did evangelism by walking up to strangers and being very direct. But I have found that a clerical collar is less intimidating than a Jesus Saves lapel-pin and becoming friends with people through civic clubs and the Boy Scouts is far more effective than buttonholing strangers. Thats my approach. Below is a different approach, probably a whole lot more effective at reaching people without a church connection than mine own approach. This pastor is a man whom I helped commission a week ago today ().
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:02:20 +0000
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