Does culture influence Christians or change us? We would all agree in theory that Christians should be shaping  culture and not the other way around. But I ask this question based on recent Barna research.

Everyday and in so many ways, we see the decline of Christian morality in America. There isn’t an institution that hasn’t been affected. As Christianity continues to be marginalized, Americans give in to cultural narratives and their influences. And this seismic shift away from Orthodox Christian beliefs has happened quickly.

To make matters worse, Christians in the public eye and leaders of churches and ministries have too often not modeled the values of the Christian faith. Just think about recent events: sexual immorality of leaders, money driven pastors who live opulent lifestyles while preaching to the poor, cover ups of sexual improprieties, relaxation of doctrine that no longer matches Scripture, etc. And  many in the church are simply biblically illiterate or ignore the truths of what they profess. What is happening to us as a Christian community? It appears we’ve lost our way and succumbed to cultural-think around us.

To this point, the Barna data suggests that Christians are more shaped by the culture than the other way around. Rather than influencing culture for good, we are allowing culture to influence us. Barna found that only 10% of U.S. adults meet the theological criteria for what makes somebody an evangelical. And even in that group, not everyone lives by the Bible.

Barna notes that we don’t talk about moral truth and how that shapes and defines the Christian life. Yes, we believe in God, Jesus, Satan, but have lost conversations about how Truth shapes our day-to-day life. Just think about the tough issues of our day: abortion, transgenderism, politics, identity, purpose, meaning , etc.  Nor do we address the less controversial like cohabitation, gossip, infidelity, etc. When we don’t address these issues from a biblical theology or worldview, we open the door for secular thinking to do the influencing. So instead of speaking the truth in love, we withdraw or stay silent. We don’t go to church and take time to build community. And media have been allowed to silence or attack our voices and we let them.

Barna contends we need to begin these Christian values conversations in our families. Are we raising spiritual champions who know the word of God and have traded church entertainment for discipleship? Do we take our faith into every aspect of our life, allowing our biblical world view to shape our decisions and our behavior? Or do we justify our actions according to cultural standards? Do we talk about the societal push to not accept what the Bible has to sell? And do we cherry pick the Bible verses we like and ignore the whole counsel of God?

Examine yourself, your home and your relationships with others. Jesus taught us how to be disciples. Are we living up to His teaching or compromising our lives to live more comfortably in our culture? Are we bold in our faith and living lives of integrity? Or are we comprising our beliefs because they are unpopular? The Bible doesn’t change, but have we? How you answer these questions will direct you toward a more consecrated life and witness of Christ.