Christian Living, Christian Death, and the Eternal Flow

A post about Christian death is a hard one to draft. As is the case with most, this post culminated in much more than I intended when I started studying it, praying over it, and observing society around me. I also find that I have been in a very gray season of life. That makes doing a post like this all the more challenging. With that said, it’s my sincere hope it will, in turn, challenge you as much as it has challenged me and likely will do so for a long time.

On the surface, this resolution is pretty basic: anxiety can be a gift of opportunity and growth.

But man oh man! Things got super deep from there. So let’s dig in and examine.

Jonathan Edwards Resolution 48

Edwards’ 57th resolution formed after much self examination. His diary notes as much. It seems he too was going through a dismal and gray season. As such, he grew weary of it and the resulting attitude. He then commits to viewing his adversities as blessings, for they become, as he says (and I LOVE this…) “opportunity of rending my heart off from the world and setting it on Heaven alone.”

Considering Christian Death

We often see “Christian Living” as a common book category. Perhaps it’s because nobody would buy books from a “Christian Dying” section, I don’t know. However, Christian Living is easily the largest section of religious book retailers and it’s usually the most prominent part of the “religious” section at large book stores. It’s great that so many of us are looking for ways to live out our faith in this society and world. It’s also great that many of those books become “crossover” (no pun intended) successes into other categories.

And, while these things are good, we should also be mindful that it is also troubling on at least two fronts. First, as “Christian Living” has grown as a category, sections for Bible Studies, commentaries, and theology have seemingly grown smaller. This, I confess, is pure observation and not a validated fact.

However, perception is reality, and that points to a second problematic. You see, we’re called to live in this world, but not of it (John 15:19). This being undeniable, one must question, then, why are we trying so hard to “fit into” a culture that we’re commanded to help enter God’s Kingdom?

Don’t take this as a call to intolerance or of religious fanaticism, both of which are just as dangerous. Rather, take this as an invitation to ponder with me:

If God were to call me home today, would my “Christian living” find approval from God?

The Influencers of Faith

So, thinking a bit further now, who influences how you live out your faith? Edwards obviously is an influence on me because, heck, I will have spent at least two years studying his resolutions by the time I am done. I’ve read from a few other historical theologians and influencers (like CS Lewis, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, etc.). And their work has influenced my faith, yet the broadest centers of influence on building my faith are still breathing with us.

I suspect that’s true for you as well.

Who Were Key Influencers of Jonathan Edwards?

Jonathan Edwards – in addition to John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield – stands as one of the most recognized figures of the First Great Awakening. Yet, while there are many sources quickly lauding Edwards’s influence. Those sources also point to the special spiritual matters that most concerned him in his time. Interestingly, though, there is little detailing individuals who most influenced him and his thoughts.

Certainly, his father, Timothy Edwards, who served as pastor of Second Church Windsor, was an influencer. And, of course, apprenticing two years for his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, before assuming preaching duties of his grandfather’s Northampton parish in Massachusetts shows additional familial influence.

Generally, Edwards was influenced by Puritanism and other reformed entities, while coming of age in colonial America. He was also a man of science, impressed by the works of philosopher-scientists, like Newton and Locke.

In fact, Edwards believed God’s was the binding force of atoms, literally sustaining existence from one moment to the next, and that universe would cease to exist unless he did so. Want to ponder that one more? Check out Hebrews 1:3.

Who are Key Influencers of Today?

We all have influencers when it comes to our spiritual development. For me, in addition to personal pastors and church family, I have drawn a lot from the likes of Warren Wiersbe, John MacArthur, Timothy Keller, and Francis Chan. I also include Daniel Fusco, Christine Caine, Carey Nieuwhof, Paul Tripp, and many other pastors, authors and/or ministry leaders on my list.

Others may be quick to point to the likes of Rob Bell, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Beth Moore, Tim Tebow. Of course, this can never be an all-inclusive list, nor is it suggesting any to be superior or inferior to the others. Rather, it’s to show there are different influencers on us all.

What I am very conscious of, though, is that there are many people who are influencing the church, and its role in society, for wrong reasons. This is despite an enormous amount good that they had done. This group, like Edwards, were ousted from their gigs. I’m talking about the likes of Bill Hybels, John MacDonald, Tullian Tchividjian, Pete Wilson, Perry Noble, Mark Driscoll, and others. There are many more… I’d just rather not go on.

Of course, there’s countless reasons, and greater speculation, for how these very public downfalls came to be. The very simple reality, though, is that these people are broken people just like you and I… and everyone else. However, with so many examples like these, in a hyper-connected age, these downfalls are more notorious than ever.

It’s no wonder that Christianity is losing relevance among emerging generations. And it’s also no wonder so many people are quick to say they are “spiritual but not religious.” We can’t even find surprise when hearing people claim that churches are corrupt, shallow, and intolerant.

A very public – albeit metaphorical – Christian death like these are disastrous. As Carey Nieuwhof says of mega church pastor failures, it’s one more reason people turn away. They turn away, I contend, because they have an underdeveloped sense of grace.

How are You Living Today?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

– James 1:2-4 (ESV)

Are we nearing a Christian death? Perhaps. Some will tell you the church is dying. And maybe it is.

But it’s no longer a question of WHO are today’s influencers? It’s also a vital question of HOW do they influence? Are those people and things that influence you carrying your toward Christian living, or toward Christian death?

Let’s remember that God is a God of second chances. And third, and… okay, he’s a God of unending grace (just ask Peter about God’s Grace).

And God uses broken people to achieve his perfect purposes. After being fired from the church his grandfather once pastored in Northampton, Massachusetts, Jonathan Edwards went on to minister to American Indian tribes. More recently, Francis Chan removed himself from his mega-church because he saw too much emphasis put on him and not enough on God. Chan now nurtures a small church movement (and I suspect pleasing God mightily).

Will pastors stop failing? Nope. Will people stop failing? Nope.
Does that mean we nearing a Christian death? Nope.

But, like it or not, we are heading toward a Christian death of our own.

Examine your ways, dear brother or sister. Ponder the influences in your life and notice the flow to which the banks forming around you now guide your evergoing stream. Ready yourself, gifted by adversity, and fear not what’s ahead.

For it flows into eternity underwritten with God’s remarkable grace.