In response to The Benedict Option, I began a two-part list in the previous post of tactics that I believe will help us — individually and collectively — to begin building more robust communities to sustain Christians in a non-Christian society.  Below is the continuation of that list:

Settle Down.  One of the basic principles in St. Benedict’s Rule is stability, which required monks to live out their lives in the monastery where they professed their vows.  In one of his articles, Rod Dreher elaborates on stability: “The idea is that moving around constantly [and] following our own desires prevents us from becoming faithful to our calling … [God] can lead us away from home.  But the far greater challenge for us in the 21st century is learning to stay put — literally and metaphorically — and to bind ourselves to a place, a tradition, a people.”  We readily accept that pastors are “called” into ministry and to a particular church, but the laity rejects the idea that we are “called” to do the same.  We are.  Too many church attendees come and go like the seasons.  They approach religious belief as consumers — churches are brands, the Sunday morning service is the product, and free samples are the best.  But for the church of the future to resist marginalization, it needs true believers to become committed members who will join the congregation, laugh and cry with fellow believers, love and give sacrificially, and so on.  It’s time-consuming work, but its value is eternal.

Do your civic duty.  The misrepresentation of Christianity through politics has caused the culture to identify believers more by the issues we’re against than by the Savior we’re for.  I encourage you to vote, and vote your conscience, but stop there.  Voting is not a form of ministry.  Partisan politics is not your witness to a broken world, and it’s certainly not a substitute for sharing the Gospel.  Put your faith in the biblical God alone, not in secular systems or people who claim to promote biblical values in ways that Christ himself never did.  And tread lightly.  The divisiveness of politics is like a solar eclipse, it obscures the Son and dims the lights.  You serve the enemy’s agenda when political rancor is your calling card to family, friends, and neighbors, regardless of whether you believe they are lost or fellow Christians.

Look around, a paradigm shift is occurring: we’re no longer fighting to enshrine biblical values in legislation but preparing to endure in the long shadow of the dominate culture.  As Dreher states, “we must keep fighting, if only for our right to be left alone.”

We need godly people in public service (and if you are one, great!), but voting for people who profess to be Christians has not produced a Christian nation.  YOU living a godly life will have a positive effect on the nation.  That’s what being an ambassador for Christ is all about.

Renewing church strategy.  The Pew Research Center conducted a Religious Landscape Study in May 2015 that revealed several key findings among them that the number of people who profess to be Christians is declining.  Suffice it to say, that’s bad for churches.  How should churches respond when all indications are the situation will only get worse?

• A shrinking congregation means churches need to be preparing to survive on considerably less income.  Does your church have a plan for that?
• Prepare for the loss of federal income tax exemption status.
• Create a business continuity plan.  These plans have become increasingly popular over the past twenty years and are designed to help ensure organizations can continue operating in the wake of a disaster.  Although most churches are not routinely threatened by computer hackers or floods, for example, make no mistake — the hostility of the dominate culture is an unfolding disaster for every Bible-believing church in America.  It poses a growing threat to the operation and existence of churches in numerous ways.
• Prepare to incur exorbitant legal fees for resisting the new cultural norms.  Large churches are the most visible, but smaller churches are the most vulnerable to attack.  Does your church have a lawyer on retainer and a legal defense fund?
• Consider establishing a church network (or modify an existing one) that expands the resources available to participating churches to address the issues above.
• Teach more apologetics (that is, how to defend the faith).  We can slow the rate of our cultural demise if believers are better equipped to knowledgeably address basic questions about our faith.  “It’s in the Bible” or “I just believe it’s true” are woefully inadequate responses.  I believe Christianity could have fared better in previous cultural skirmishes had we been better prepared to advance the Gospel as the Apostle Paul did in Acts 17: by reasoning with non-believers.
• Establish a New Believers Boot Camp.  We’re competing as never before with a culture that views truth as a feeling.  New believers who have emotional conversion experiences can be gone as soon as the adrenaline rush wears off.  Too often our response is “Good job and good luck!”  Churches need to do a much better job of grounding new converts (often referred to as follow-up) by pairing them with a mentor and getting them into a course that teaches the basic concepts of what the Holy Spirit has manifested in their lives.  Leaving them in the care of culture is leading the lambs to slaughter.
• For many churches, their physical building and land are the most valuable assets they own.  If church attendance continues to decline, it won’t make sense for tiny congregations to try holding on to buildings they can no longer afford or maintain.  In the meantime, prudently enhancing existing facilities to increase their immediate use and long-term value will best position congregations for resell should that day arrive.

Support Christian education.  K-12 Christian education is often viewed as too expensive for families or as escapism from reality for students.  Neither is entirely correct.  Scholarships are readily available and administrators only wish their schools were safe havens.  The cost of pursuing other options, however, is not measured in financial terms but by the lost worldview of our children.  Students who are regularly grounded in the Word are equipped to be champions of the faith and to guard against moral decay, false teachings, and self-obsession (Psalm 119:9, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Christian schools are categorized as practicing either evangelism (reaching the lost) or discipleship (teaching the faith), the latter remains a major driver of the home school movement.  Participation is prevalent in faith communities, but it’s shocking how many churches don’t support or acknowledge the inherent value of Christian education while decrying the downfall of Christianity in America.  Isn’t the connection obvious?  Do church leaders really believe an hour or two on Sunday mornings offsets 40+ hours of cultural indoctrination each week?  And, no, most kids don’t have enough biblical knowledge or wisdom to be “salt and light to the world” (Matthew 5:13-16).  Our kids will go the way of popular culture unless parents take a stand.  If you are genuinely concerned about the rapid de-Christianizing of America and the “moral revolution” sweeping the country, support K-12 Christian education in your community.  It is one of the best ways to develop strong believers who will one day become leaders of our nation.

_______________________

Christians need to start thinking now about these topics (and many more) while we have the time and religious freedom to prepare for the future.  We also have an obligation to do so (Proverbs 13:22).  If we procrastinate, we doom subsequent generations of believers to becoming a remnant, which may all but silence the church in America.  We owe them a better inheritance.

There are many things that could be added to the above list and the previous post.  What’s missing?  What other topics have you thought about that would be helpful to include.  Please enter your thoughts in the comments below.