George Barna, in a recent interview sent to me from your friend and mine JR Briggs, says the following when talking about the group he calls “casual Christians”…
Casual Christianity is faith in moderation. It allows them to feel religious without having to prioritize their faith. Christianity is a low-risk, predictable proposition for this tribe, providing a faith perspective that is not demanding. A Casual Christian can be all the things that they esteem: a nice human being, a family person, religious, an exemplary citizen, a reliable employee – and never have to publicly defend or represent difficult moral or social positions or even lose much sleep over their private choices as long as they mean well and generally do their best. From their perspective, their brand of faith practice is genuine, realistic and practical. To them, Casual Christianity is the best of all worlds; it encourages them to be a better person than if they had been irreligious, yet it is not a faith into which they feel compelled to heavily invest themselves.
Honestly, I think this description could have been spot on for me in high school and some of college. Not trying to be hard on myself, just stating what i think is reality. The only thing I would disagree with here is that i would say i was taking my faith very seriously and investing in it significantly. However, the faith that I was investing was coming out as someone who was nice, a good family person, a good citizen, a good employee, etc. The problem wasn’t that i wasn’t investing in my faith, the issue was that I was carrying a domesticated understanding of what God had called me to.
I don’t know, what do you think?
Gerald Hiestand said...
1Ouch. And I think you’re right; too much preaching of a domesticated Gospel. Jesus wants us to be more than a nice person, etc.
Great thoughts.
05/29/09 9:55 AM | Comment Link
David W. Congdon said...
2Fairly accurate description of most Christians in the U.S., I suspect.
I think it’s a bit ironic, however, that Barna’s own book, Revolution, seems to advocate precisely this kind of Christianity. He surely doesn’t mean to do so, but when he advocates that church in the future can happen on the golf course — well, it doesn’t get much more casual than that.
05/29/09 10:06 AM | Comment Link
adam lehman said...
3Todd,
Compelling quote. Good stuff.
As a youth pastor, I get a firsthand look at how the faith of adults passes on to the next generation. The students’ faith issues are those of their parents – only amplified and more obvious (because they haven’t learned all the “christian-eze” yet).
Sometimes it is the “christian” teenagers that I have the hardest time communicating with. They hear my words, but they already understand most of faith to be lived passively.
HOWEVER. those students I have – who are from outside of the christian subculture – totally get it. they are the ones who understand what the word “faith” really requires of their life.
05/29/09 10:32 AM | Comment Link