As the dominant culture moves further and further away from traditional Christian beliefs, particularly in the area of sexual ethics, [it] is causing tremendous fear, uncertainty, and anxiety among many people of faith. They are struggling with how to deal with this loss of cultural influence. Christians are not all that familiar with being a minority faith, at least not in America. Yet in some important respects, that is what’s occurring. The reaction among some is to push back even harder, to tighten their grip during what they perceive as a tipping point. For others, the reaction is to warn of the impending wrath of God. And for still others, the reaction is resignation and giving way to the temptation to withdraw.
“We used to be the home team,” one person of the Christian faith said to me. “Now we’re the away team.” The challenge facing Christians in America is to remain deeply engaged in public matters even as they hold more lightly to the things of this world; to rest in our faith without becoming passive because of it; to react to the loss of influence not with a clenched fist but with equanimity and calm confidence; and to show how a life of faith can transform lives in ways that are characterized by joy and grace.
Engaging the culture in a very different manner than Christians have – persuading others rather than stridently condemning them – may eventually lead to greater influence. But whether it does or not isn’t really what is most important. Being faithful is. And part of being faithful is knowing that God is present in our midst even now; that anxiety and hysteria are inappropriate for people who are children of the King, as a pastor friend of mine recently told me; and that hope casts out fear.