Suffering Well Revisited
The bigger picture
Last week’s post titled “Suffering Well” brought a number of helpful comments to my inbox. In this article, I want to clarify a bit and look at the bigger picture. In these uncertain times, what is the likelihood of corporate suffering? And why might evangelicals be a target?
A missionary from Spain sent an email questioning the subtitle of the last post. As one who has witnessed firsthand the suffering of Christians, the subtitle of “Enduring unmet needs” seemed so inconsistent with the idea of suffering.
From my context, as one who addresses sexual issues in the US of A, a common refrain among those who oppose the traditional scriptural view of sexual matters is this: “So you are saying my gay son, to be faithful to Jesus, has to remain single, abstinent, and childless till the day he dies?! That’s ridiculously unfair.”
I purposely kept the last post about unmet needs for heterosexuals. If we are going to speak the truth to the LGBTQ community about abstinence, we’d better be willing to travel that road ourselves.
Unmet needs are, of course, much more difficult to quantify than wounds received from others. Instances of abuse can usually be tallied. But how do you count the times you needed intimacy but didn’t receive it? And the ongoing ache of loneliness, sexual frustration, and detachment can’t be measured.
The same day I posted the article, a friend sent a YouTube link of a recent interview with Heidi Baker. A missionary to Mozambique with a PhD in systematic theology, she has witnessed incredible signs and wonders: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead are raised . . . New Testament stuff.
But now incredible suffering . . . Early Church stuff.
Villages are being burned, families massacred, leaders tortured beyond recognition. Many of them are friends, people she has led to Christ. And she herself has endured much: beatings, shipwrecks, knives to her throat, guns to her chest, and the heartache of housing and feeding multitudes of those who’ve lost homes, parents, families. Simply overwhelming.
Comparing wounds, sorrows, difficulties is not a game you can win. Pain is pain. But hearing her story certainly puts things in perspective for cloistered suburbanites.
Persecution elsewhere?
According to Open Doors, persecution is rising everywhere. For the first time in 30 years of tracking persecution, the top 50 countries have all ranked at the “very high” level. Presently, 360 million Christians live in countries with high persecution—that’s 1-7 believers worldwide.
Any difficulties Christians in our country have experienced feel like a paper cuts by comparison.
But our culture is changing rapidly. Can we agree that the day is coming? And when it does, my guess is that our view of sexual practices will make us targets.
Evangelical Chaos
A First Things article dated February 2022 is already creating a lot of buzz. “The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism” by Aaron M. Renn traces the evolution of evangelicalism since 1970. The trajectory it traces is extremely informative for the difficult days ahead.
The Positive World
The first “world” took shape in the 70’s and 80’s and, according to Renn, ended in 1994. Labeled “positive” because Christians were still considered favorably, the context included the Sexual Revolution, the passing of Roe v. Wade, and the Cold War. Deeply influential was the Moral Majority, a movement which sought to rally the sleeping giant of evangelicalism and marshal their efforts at the ballot box.
I first encountered it in seminary. It was a heady tonic. And it was the first shot over the bow in what would soon be called the “Culture War”.
Another development within evangelicalism was the “seeker sensitive” church. Like the culture warriors, its proponents could see the ebbing influence of the Church on society. And so worship was “dumbed down” to be more sensitive to the unchurched visitor. My first pastorate was a church plant which used this strategy.
The Neutral World
Renn maintains the world shifted significantly in the mid 90’s. The Moral Majority became a minority and many evangelicals shifted toward cultural engagement. He lists Dr. Timothy Keller, author, teacher, and founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church as the pioneer of urban ministry, especially among the elite.
Setting down the sword of political influence and picking up the trowel of incarnational ministry, engagement with culture was to rebuild the bridge between cultural elites and the Church.
The Negative World
The year 2015 was a significant watershed. The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges making same sex marriage the law of the land unleashed a surge of animosity toward the evangelical movement. Those still fighting the culture war rallied behind Trump. Other evangelicals distanced themselves from the traditional view of sexuality. And some, repulsed by President Trump’s character, began distancing themselves. Today there is a growing ex-evangelical crowd.
Currently, the evangelical movement is in disarray. Renn believes we will reunite behind the gospel. But we all must learn to navigate this current “negative world”.
Culture Warriors will be increasingly defeated and marginalized. Seeker sensitive churches will realize no one is seeking them. All respect earned by the engagers is quickly dissolving.
We must learn to think outside of the box because the box is heading to the shredder.
Surfing Fundamentals
For pastors, the Great Commission has not changed. In my own little church of recovery people, we will be narrowing our focus to the things which make disciples who are actually, uh, disciplined. That’s the standard. All else in church life must be measured by this mission.
In “Suffering Well”, I elaborated to some degree about how we must not shy away from urging Christian counselees toward obedience. Being single and abstinent is difficult, if not painful. But we are followers of Jesus.
And for all of us, let’s recognize the road ahead will be difficult. But we follow a Savior “who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2 NRSV).
PAID SUBSCRIBERS: Please note the previous article posted with our next Zoom link for February 3rd.
As a mom of two lovely young women, I have to say that I am concerned that the church is often so out of touch with young people. And while some doctrines are very non-negotiable, there are other things that are less clear. I believe in focusing primarily on the Apostle's Creed and the tenets upheld there. I think about my neighbors who are from a branch of Christianity that does not allow women to cut their hair or wear make-up. Their kids have lost their faith in God because they were asked to follow a very restrictive path, one that I would argue was unnecessary. Some issues will be less clear-cut than others, but my heart aches for the young people who have no relationship with God at all because of these culture wars.