The Next Lansing

Next Christians – Next Lansing
Sycamore Creek Church
Tom Arthur
June 23/24, 2013
Luke 2:52 & Mark 1:28

Peace Friends!

Today we wrap up a series called Next Christians.  We’ve been looking at what it’s like to faithfully follow Jesus in a post-Christian culture, a culture where we can’t assume that others share our same values or that the Christian values are “driving the bus” of the culture.  This is a vision series where we take some time to look at where the church is heading.  Today we’re looking at the Next Lansing.  What is this community looking like that we live in?

I’ve got some access to demographic data of our Lansing region and I was surprised to find that in Lansing people generally hold some pretty historically orthodox Christian beliefs.  Take these for example:

In Lansing…
63% agree that “Jesus actually rose from the dead as the Bible teaches.”
63% agree that “Jesus is both divine and human.”
56% agree that “Jesus is the only way for human salvation from sin.”
14% agree that “Jesus was just a good moral teacher and no more.”

And yet, while the general population holds a lot of the same beliefs that Christians have held over two millennia, many think that participation in a Church just isn’t that essential.  Consider these beliefs:

In Lansing…
55% agree that “Jesus belief does not require participation in a church.”
45.1% consider themselves “a spiritual person.”
17.2% consider it “important to attend religious services.”

Wow!  So we’re “spiritual but not religious.”  The church has a lot of obstacles to overcome to reach out to these people and to share our mission that being a part of a community that follows Jesus is an essential part of being spiritual.

There has also been a big demographic shift in Lansing and the United States as of late when it comes to those who are sometimes called “nones.”  On demographic data, they mark “none” as their religious affiliation.  Here’s the data for Lansing:

In Lansing…
Largest percentage for religious preference in Lansing is “None/No Religious Preference” (24.4%, a 3.7% increase over the past ten years).

So almost a quarter of Lansing don’t claim to be spiritual or religious.  Those are the folks I’d like to learn from today.  I think it’s worth listening to them in the spirit of what the new Pope had to say:

“If we [believers and non-believers] do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good.”
~Pope Francis

Apparently the Pope thinks that some conversation and coordination with these “nones” is important for Christians.  When I look to scripture to see how Jesus interacted with the broader culture I am struck by two verses relevant to today’s topic:

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years,and in divine and human favor.
Luke 2:52

At once Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Mark 1:28

While Jesus’ fame grew, it seems that what’s growing today for Christians is our infamy.  Consider this video that we’re using as the opening video for our upcoming series: Search – What is a Christian?

This video should convict us.  We’re learning something about how we are seen from the outside.  God can speak to us through those who are “nones.”  John Wesley says:

“To imagine that those who are not [Christians] cannot teach you is a very great and serious mistake.”
~John Wesley

Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman did some research on what non-Christians think of Christians and what they found was that non-Christians think Christians are, well, “unchristian.”  Here are their results.  Non-Christians think Christians are:

Hypocritical (85%) – Christians say one thing but live something entirely different.
Uncaring (70%) – Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting.
Antihomosexual (91%) – Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians.
Sheltered (78%) – Christians are boring, unintelligent, old-fashioned, and out of touch with reality.
Political (75%) – Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics.
Judgmental (87%) – Christians are prideful and quick to find faults in others.

So what I want to do today is listen to a non-Christian, an atheist, and see what we can learn from him about ourselves.  It’s not an argument.  It’s not a debate.  I won’t agree with everything Bill says today, but the posture I want to take is one of listening and learning, and I hope that’s the same manner you’ll bring to today’s message.

I’d like to introduce you to Bill Vliek, a good friend of mine.  Bill attends our church pretty regularly. His wife is a Christian and he and his wife are having his youngest child baptized this next week.  Bill obviously is choosing to do this for some different reasons than other parents.  Bill and I co-lead the agnostic pub group that our church hosts twice a month.  Bill is a band teacher at Fowlerville High School, and I first met Bill four years ago at the desserts Sarah and I held to get to know people in our church.  I was asking questions to get to know people, and Bill’s answers really blew me out of the water.  He is a thoughtful, kind, gentle, and loving individual, and I am proud to call him my friend.  So please make sure you make Bill feel welcome today.

[Audio link to sermon Q&A pending]

Make sure you thank Bill for taking the time to share with us today.  He’s open to questions, but I’d suggest that today isn’t the time to argue or debate him.  Just listen and learn.  That’s what we’re doing today.  We’re doing that so that we can live into what Jesus told his followers they’d be known by:

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35

I think Bill has helped us learn how to love again.  Thank you God!