Time to Evangelize Our Evangelical Neighbors

Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research have partnered up every two years since 2014 to produce a survey that examines the theological beliefs of Americans. The survey presents respondents with a series of statements and asks them to indicate their agreement or disagreement. Given how often we hear narratives about how our culture is moving away from historic orthodox Christianity, it is helpful to have data on what Americans, and American evangelicals, actually say they believe. You can explore the findings for yourself here.

As you click through the various questions and results, you will quickly see just how divided Americans are on basic questions of Christian theology. For American adults as a whole, this may not be too surprising. We would not expect most non-Christians to have a firm grasp of Christian theology. However, many questions are nearly as divisive among evangelical Christians as they are among the general adult population. When evangelical Christians answered questions about the truthfulness of the Bible, the exclusivity of Jesus as the way to God, and even the divinity of Jesus, they revealed a wide misunderstanding of critical Christian doctrines.

Statement 16: “The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.”

Among American adults, more than half agree with this statement that the Bible is not literally true. Evangelicals answer much better, with over 70% disagreeing, and so affirming the Bible’s truthfulness. However, the percentage of evangelicals who deny the Bible’s truthfulness has grown from 15% in 2020 to 26% in 2022. So even though a strong majority of American evangelicals believe the Bible to be literally true, a growing minority are denying this historic doctrine of the Christian faith.

Strangely, 95% of evangelical responses indicated that “the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches.” This discrepancy is likely because of the way respondents interpreted different statements. Perhaps some saw a distinction between “truth” and “accuracy.” At any rate, when presented with a statement about the truthfulness of the Bible, over a quarter of US evangelicals denied that the Bible was literally true.

Statement 3: “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”

A second core doctrine that is largely rejected is the truth that Jesus is the only way to a restored relationship with God (John 14:6). When presented with the above statement, two thirds of American adults agreed. But even more concerning, 56% of evangelical respondents also agreed. This means more than half of American evangelicals believe that God is not terribly concerned with whether His creatures worship Him in truth. Whether you come to God through Jesus, or through keeping the Old Testament Law, or through keeping the teachings of Mohammed, God apparently makes no distinction. The responses to this question reveal how deeply American cultural values of relativism and pluralism have taken root, even among Christians.

Statement 7: “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.”

Finally, what did Americans and American evangelicals say they believe about God? In response to the above statement, 53% of adults agreed. More than half of evangelicals disagreed, but this is hardly comforting. Forty-three percent of evangelical respondents agreed with the statement that Jesus was not God. Yet, Jesus clearly and undeniably claimed to be God. In John 10:30, he says explicitly “I and the Father are one.” Another statement in the survey gives reason for concern that even among evangelicals who believe Jesus is God, they do not truly understand that claim. Namely, when presented with the statement “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God,” 73% of evangelicals agreed! John 1:3 makes clear that Jesus created “all things.” Jesus, being God, is Creator; He is not a created being. American evangelicals have in many cases drifted from historic Christian truths regarding the person of Jesus.

That so many American evangelicals would reject basic, historic Christian beliefs about the Bible, the exclusivity of Jesus, and even about the person of Jesus, may reveal a crisis of discipleship in the church. In our churches, we need to realize that simply believing in God is not the test of whether one is a Christian or not. Indeed, it never has been (James 2:19). This survey reveals that many American adults claim to be evangelical Christians without any understanding of historic Christian belief. With such a deep and wide misunderstanding of Christian thought, these are by and large Americans who need to hear and understand the Gospel. As we think about strategies for sharing the Gospel in our churches, we need to prepare ourselves to dig deeper in conversations about Jesus with our neighbors, even our supposedly Christian neighbors. We need to go deeper than simply whether they believe in God or have ever attended church. This moment in our history is an evangelistic opportunity. The 2022 State of Theology report makes clear, among other things, that it is time to evangelize even our evangelical neighbors.

What Songs Should We Sing in Church? Pt. 2

Last week, I shared about three questions that help me select and arrange music for our church family to sing together each week. For any song we might sing, I ask “Is it biblical? Is it pastoral? Is it missional?” I looked at the first question and walked through a case study here.

This week, I want to walk through the next two questions. We could call the first question, whether a song is biblical, a vertical question. It has everything to do with God and how He has revealed Himself in His Word. I start there because it is non-negotiable that the songs we sing accurately teach us about God. These next two questions operate together as horizontal questions. Once I have established that a song lines up with God’s Word, it is not a guarantee that it will be a helpful song to sing. I ask two more questions to establish if it is a helpful song for the people singing with us.

Pastoral Responsibility

On this horizontal plane, I first ask “Is this song pastoral?” Make no mistake, the selecting of songs and leading of corporate singing is a pastoral responsibility. The songs we sing teach us truths about God. The structure of our corporate gathering answers the question “how am I supposed to approach God?” Any worship leader needs to be aware that the role they fulfill is one that requires pastoral wisdom and care.

As I seek to answer this question (is this song pastoral?), I am looking inward towards our congregation. Whether or not a song is biblical is a question that can be answered objectively. But whether or not a song is pastoral will depend on the characteristics and make-up of a specific congregation. Different leaders and pastors will answer this question differently. This question helps me introduce new songs. I can ask questions like these:

• How does this song emphasize a particularly relevant truth about God for our church family?

• Perhaps this song introduces a well-known truth, but does it do so in a fresh way?

• How does this song lead us deeper in our discipleship of Jesus, in new ways?

This question also helps me know what songs we ought to continue singing frequently. For many years, churches have wrestled with the question of balancing new songs with old, praise songs with hymns. As a pastor, I do NOT want to select songs with the motivation of pleasing people. I ought to pursue the approval of God, not the approval of my congregation (Galatians 1:10). However, asking if a song is pastoral gives me room to consider what songs my church family likes. So, I pick songs our church family likes to sing, not out of a sinful heart bent towards people-pleasing, but out of a pastoral heart that seeks to honor the specific people God has given me to pastor. This is part of what it means to arrange a corporate worship service pastorally.  

Missional Opportunity

Choosing songs for the church to sing is not only a pastoral responsibility, it is a missional opportunity. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The songs we sing as a church family can absolutely be tools that serve this mission. This question looks outward at the community that surrounds our church family. For me, this means Weatherford, Oklahoma, and it might especially include students at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Again, this is a subjective question. Its answer will depend on your context. This question asks, “When a member of our community visits our church for the first time, what do they expect? What makes them feel welcome and comfortable? What engages them with the truth of God’s Word most effectively?” This might lead me to select a new song with an exciting melody, because it is more likely to engage someone who is not used to singing the songs we know well. I might consider what songs are popular because a guest might have heard it on Christian radio before they chose to visit our church (As long as that song passes the test of the first question – is it biblical?).

There is of course a temptation to craft our services entirely according to what makes ‘outsiders’ feel welcome and comfortable. This might lead us to completely scrap older songs with outdated language. This might even lead us to avoid certain passages of God’s Word because they might make a guest feel uncomfortable. We might gravitate towards preachers who are gifted public speakers regardless of their character qualifications. This is a dangerous path towards unfaithfulness as a church. But Paul gives instructions about church order in 1 Corinthians 14, and he explicitly considers the experience of an outsider (1 Cor 14:16). We ought to seek a balance between letting the watching world dictate how we worship (only God can do that), and worshiping in a way that is totally inaccessible to the watching world. Asking the question “Is this song missional?” helps me find this balance.

And balance is the right word to end on. These two questions, whether a song is pastoral and missional, operate on a spectrum between a look inward and a look outward. Some songs might be highly pastoral AND missional. Others might be highly pastoral, but not missional, or vis versa. Consider the song “Come Thou Fount,” as an example. This hymn is consistently mentioned by members of my church as one of their favorites. The second verse begins with the line “Here I raise my Ebenezar.” This song would be highly pastoral for my congregation. It stirs our hearts to worship God; it invites God to work in our lives; and we just like singing it. But it might not be highly missional, because an ‘outsider’ may wonder, “What is an Ebenezar? Do I have one? How do I raise it?”

So as I consider what songs to sing with our church family, I want to find a balance. I want to choose songs that engage our people pastorally, while also engaging guests missionally. This means finding a way to connect “Come Thou Fount” with a visitor, perhaps by explaining the language we use. Or it could mean pairing “Come Thou Fount” with a newer song that engages the visitor with a clear and inviting message from God’s Word.

The balance you strike will depend on your context. But whatever your context, you can choose more helpful songs for your church family by considering whether they are pastoral and missional. And if you are not a worship leader, perhaps you can now better appreciate the pastoral wisdom and care that your worship leader or pastor must show as they plan your church services each week.