Belief matters, but so does action
I’m currently rereading Surprising Insights from the Unchurched by Thom Rainer and ran across a part of the research I had forgotten. According to Rainer’s interviews with formerly unchurched people (those who recently made a profession of faith and joined a church), 91% of those who are unchurched believe doctrine matters. Rainer states:
“The formerly unchurched, however, were not just interested in the facts of doctrine; they were insistent that the churches should be uncompromising in their stand. These facts fly in the face of any incresingly pluralistic and theologcially tolerant culture. It seems as if, when one takes the step from being firmly unchurched to at least being an inquirer, attitudes change. The seeker desires to discover truth and the conviction among Chrisitians about the reality of God, Jesus, and the entire supernatural realm. Jorge C. spoke rather bluntly about the issue: ‘I visited a few churches before I became a Chrisitian. Man, some of them made me want to vomit! They didn’t show any more conviction about their beliefs than I did. And I was lost and going to hell!’”
Isn’t this interesting? I am especially intrigued by these findings since I belong to a denomination whose ad slogan is Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. Perhaps this one, simple fact, that if you have a particular belief system (historic Christianity) people think you ought to actually believe it to be true, could account for why much of United Methodism is seeing decreases in attendance and membership in North America. When you try to validate all belief systems, you invalidate them all. That is because the majority of religions have mutually exclusive beliefs that cannot be reconciled. For example, either Jesus is God incarnate or he is solely a human prophet. Christianity says the first, Islam says the second. The two cannot be brought together and be true.
In this postmodern age, when all knowledge is suspect and every belief is challenged, when most people give lipservice to the idea that there is no absolute truth and no one can have an exclusive position on God, more than ever people are looking for some solid rock on which to build the houses of their lives. I see it kind of like a teenager who pushes the boundaries just to see if his parents still love him. Our society is pushing the boundaries to see if we really do believe what we say we believe, or if we will give up 2000 years of faith and say, “Yep, you’re right. We can’t know anything and our history has only been about gaining money and power at the expense of others.”
So the fact that we believe something and will not compromise on those beliefs counts for something. But, I can say I believe anything I want; my actions will prove what I believe. If I am not prepared to live out my belief system even if it means people calling me narrow-minded, backward, anti-intellectual, or any other slur, my beliefs mean nothing. If I am not prepared to live out my belief system even if it means costing me position or influence in my denomination, my beliefs mean nothing. If I am not prepare to live out my belief system even if it means it will cause a major disagreement with someone else (even if it is family), and the rift because of that disagreement may never be healed, my beliefs mean nothing.
To be uncompromising in our beliefs means, not condemning others who do not share them, but relentlessly living them out in my own life. In that way I can truly show the world what I believe and in whom I believe. St. Francis of Assisi said it best when he sent his monks into the world: “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”
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