Advent-ure December 5: More than a Bloc

The shepherds outside Bethlehem the night of our Savior's birth following a simple pattern: they
heard the announcement, they went and saw, they believed, and they told. Romans 10 says:
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In the 17th verse, we see these words: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

What we have heard from the Lord, we are called to accept it, believe it, and then apply it.  Once the teachings of Scripture become part of us, our lives will be changed.  We become the witnesses of the presence of the indwelling Christ, and our hearts can be filled with love and devotion.  Many have various perceptions of Christianity, and we have the responsibility to show the world the reality of the Christ of Christianity.  We are not called to be evangelicals, as some sort of brand, but to evangelize, as a practice.

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During the Advent season, we have the opportunity to recognize the significance of the coming of Christ to earth and into our lives and to personalize the story, so that we might grow deeper in our faith.  Christmas can be a time of renewal, of evaluation, and of worship, giving thanks to God for how He has changed and continues to change us and draw us closer to Himself.  We are now into the 5th day of our 25-day Christmas Advent-ure: Around the World in 25 Days!  We can be drawn to recognize and rejoice in what God is doing all around the world, highlighting various Christmas traditions in a number of countries.

Today, we focus on a custom in the South American country of Brazil called Los Pastores, which is the name of a Christmas play that is performed there, according to a website on the history of Christmas.  The name means, The Shepherds.  Our corresponding Scripture is Luke chapter 2, verses 15 and 16.  Following the angelic announcement of the coming of Jesus, we see these verses:
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

The revelation resulted in a response.  And, we can be challenged to make sure that we are not only responding properly to the message of Christ, but delivering and communicating that message in a way that people can see and hear the truth of God's Word.

We should ideally be relating the gospel message in the culture as defined by the Lord; unfortunately, the culture is attempting to define us as Christians, especially those known as evangelicals.  There's a new Barna survey out about the perception of evangelical Christians, which, according to the survey organization, only comprise about 6 percent of the population, according to its metrics, although it admits other survey organizations utilize a broader definition.  A Christian Post article on the survey says:

Thirty percent of adults in the United States have a “positive” perception of evangelicals as Americans increasingly view the religious demographic through a political lens, newly released Barna Group research indicates.

Broken down, about 15 percent of respondents have a "very positive" view of evangelicals and another 15 possess a "somewhat positive" view.  Still another 15 percent have a "somewhat negative" view and 10 percent have a "very negative" perspective.  That leaves about half of survey respondents with a neutral view, about which Barna President David Kinnaman said,

“In addition to those two sides of the ‘Divided States of America,’ an important part of understanding the perceptions of evangelicals is the large percentage of Americans who have no opinion of evangelicals — that is, who express neutrality or no opinion in response to the survey questions,” Kinnaman stressed.

“For these adults, there is an impregnable fortress of indifference toward evangelicals. The extreme views (both favorable or unfavorable) dominate the discussion, but the middle ground doesn’t really know what to think about evangelicalism. That’s not a sensational story these days, but it’s an important one.”

Regarding the reasons behind these perceptions, the article points out:

When asked for the reasons why they hold a positive perception of evangelicals, 61 percent of the 322 respondents who said they have positive opinions of evangelicals said it is because “they are committed to their beliefs.” Meanwhile, 51 percent said “they are loving” and 49 percent said “they are honest.”

According to the Christian Post article, around two-thirds of those who view evangelicals negatively say that they hold that attitude because evangelicals "are too pushy with their beliefs."  6-in-10 believe they are "hypocritical."

Now, here is the statement Kinnaman made that is included in the last paragraph of the article:

“The findings strongly suggest that the perceptions of evangelicals are more barrier than bridge on the road to gaining a hearing for the Gospel,” Kinnaman concluded. “As such, the results of this research require much soul searching among Christians to discern a way forward with the current ‘evangelical brand.’”

And, there seems to be no shortage of material on line that is devoted to denigrating that so-called "brand."  It generally has to do with politics.  We recognize that the media is feeding the perception of Christianity as a selfish, political force, when the reality is that true Christianity is practiced by disciples of Jesus who embrace His truth, show His love, and are devoted to His principles. Certainly we should participate in the selection of our leaders and in applying a Christian worldview to the issues of the day.  Ultimately, we should be known for how we reflect Jesus.

We return to today's Advent reading - the people of Brazil have a custom of presenting a play about the shepherds - we see in Luke 2 that the revelation they received resulted in a response - they heard the news, they went and saw, and then the Bible relates that they went out to tell.  That's the essence of our message and practice - we see Jesus and then we live out what we have discovered.  It's not too complicated, but the idea of what it means to be a Christian has become distorted in some circles, and we can take the steps to correct the perception.