Conversion as Too Easy
In David Kinnaman's excellent book UnChristian he makes the observation that because of the high level of exposure to Christianity in the United States, non-Christians are not looking for another exposure to a simple and costless faith.
In other words, because large segments of our society have been exposed to Christianity and have formed conclusions, the Church does itself a disservice to put too much emphasis on the moment of conversion and too little emphasis on the life-long commitment that such a decision means. To quote directly,
many outsiders actually miss the chance to experience true life in Christ because we cheapen the message of Jesus to church membership or denominational loyalty.
This rings true with me. Christians often find it easier to convert people then they do to disciple them. But this is not what Jesus asked us to do.
In other words, because large segments of our society have been exposed to Christianity and have formed conclusions, the Church does itself a disservice to put too much emphasis on the moment of conversion and too little emphasis on the life-long commitment that such a decision means. To quote directly,
many outsiders actually miss the chance to experience true life in Christ because we cheapen the message of Jesus to church membership or denominational loyalty.
This rings true with me. Christians often find it easier to convert people then they do to disciple them. But this is not what Jesus asked us to do.
posted by Andrew Cromwell at
6:30 AM
1 Comments:
This rang true to me as well Andrew ;). I've always believed that telling the gospel story is the easiest thing in the world to do. I mean...offering the eternal life as a free gift already paid for by ultimate sacrifice of the One and Only person who could possibly provide....?? How compelling is that? However, the "following" part...the praying for Holy Spirit guidance, providing counsel, and generally working with the new-found-faith believer is a whole other "horse of a different wheel-base" (ala-Pastor JT). It's not that I'm a hater of the so-called "easy grace" message. I just don't care for dropping the ball once they've been witnessed as entering the game.
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