Author Eric Shuster will be providing a series of blog posts summarizing various sections of his upcoming book Where are the Christians? due to be released this spring from Cedar Fort, Inc. We will feature one post each week from now until May 2013. For more information visit www.findyourchristianity.com.

* * *

SECTION 3: WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIANS?—A Categorization

Chapter 11: They’re Vacillating—Living Under Their Potential as Hesitant Christians

Many Christians, those who are not departing or hiding, are instead dithering and vacillating with great faith waiting to be cut loose! There is a large group of Christians out there that have enormous potential who are sitting on the sidelines indecisive about entering the game. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti passionately stated, “Hell begins on that day when God grants us a clear vision of all that we might have achieved, of all the gifts we wasted, of all that we might have done that we did not do.”

The question for all Christians is “what is your personal potential in Christ?” Paul wrote “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). Jesus taught “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). The eroding state of current spiritual affairs in the United States could be entirely turned around if every Christian rose up and did just that—live their full potential in the Savior.

Before introducing the next Christian type it is important to realize what our potential is as disciples of Christ. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 states that each of us has been given talents, every man according to his several ability (Matt. 25:15). The servants in the parable who doubled their talents understood the principle of “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…” (Luke 12:48). The Bible makes it clear that although Christians are given different abilities and responsibilities, each has the opportunity for the same spiritual blessings of eternal life through faith and sacrifice. The potential of each Christian is tremendous, but all too often that potential is unrealized in a spectacular fashion despite having faith sufficient to do so.

This brings us to the third type of Christian—the Hesitant Christian. This is a Christian who routinely operates under his or her potential. The Hesitant Christian has great faith but is not living up to the potential of that faith.

Paul referred to the potential of the Hesitant Christian when he wrote “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us… (Eph. 3:20-21, emphasis added). The Hesitant Christian may at times be “weary in well doing” (2 Thess. 3:13) and therefore misses service opportunities presented by the Lord despite having the “several ability.”

In answering the question of “where are the Christians?, a portion of them are hesitating, and as the old adage goes: “he who hesitates is lost”—defined as “a person who spends too much time deliberating about what to do loses the chance to act altogether.” When it comes to faith we must use it or lose it.

We have now been introduced to the first three types of Christians, each of which is lagging behind and not making the difference they are capable of making. Next we will look at those Christians who are stepping up to their potential and carrying much of the load in Christian America.

Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to order the book.

Author Eric Shuster will be providing a series of blog posts summarizing various sections of his upcoming book Where are the Christians? due to be released this spring from Cedar Fort, Inc. We will feature one post each week from now until May 2013. For more information visit www.findyourchristianity.com.

* * *

SECTION 3: WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIANS?—A Categorization

Chapter 9: They’re Leaving—Losing Their Belief as Departing Christians

There are 2 billion Christians in the world today; nearly 250 million people in the United States who identify themselves as Christians giving America a Christian population that is over double that of the entire world on a per capita basis. Yet corruption, greed, crime and moral disintegration are all on the rise in the United States. In such a great country where Christianity abounds in vast numbers how can such a trend be? It causes one to ask… Where are the Christians?

The five chapters of Section 3 answer the question by revealing the five major types of Christians in America today—Departing, Adequate, Hesitant, Laboring and Latent—and how one can complete an exercise to identify themselves among these five.

The first Christian type to be explored is the Departing Christian. These are Christians who are literally or psychologically losing their faith. These are Christians that don’t believe as they once did (or perhaps never did), who are living watered down doctrines of Christianity, and losing their testimony of the Savior through inactivity and prolonged sin without repentance. Simply put, these are Christians who are leaving the faith.

The Departing Christian has lost faith in the scriptures. Although there has been 6 billion Bibles sold since its first publication, only 82% of Americans consider it to be sacred scripture and only 69% consider it to contain “everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life” according to the American Bible Society. Other studies suggest lots of Bibles in American homes, but few that are being read.

The Departing Christian lives a watered down faith. Studies show Christians adopting beliefs and practices that are inconsistent with traditional Christianity. A 2002 Barna study showed 76% of Christians relying on personal scriptural interpretation while 51% believe in praying to deceased saints. A 2009 study by Pew Research revealed 65% of adults adopting elements New Age thinking, 25% believing in astrology, and 24% believing in reincarnation.

The Departing Christian is fed up, disillusioned and dismayed. Negative experiences such as the death of a loved one and natural disasters challenge the faith of the Departing Christian who loses hope and becomes dismayed as to why God would allow such events to take place.

The systematic decrease in the percentage of the American population that considers themselves to be Christian is shown in the National Council of Church’s Yearbook for 2012 where five of the ten largest Christian Churches reported a decrease in membership. Other studies show leading indicators of a waning Christian faith, many of which are likely Departing Christians.

German philosopher Hermann Keyserling introduced the phrase “Post-Christian” in his 1929 book titled America Set Free. Keyserling’s work grew legs into the 1960’s with the “death of God” movement leveraging the phrase used by Nietzche in the 19th century. While the population of Departing Christians may not be large, the elements that have led to their faithlessness are elements that are affecting many in America. Next we will examine the Adequate Christian.

Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to order the book.

Author Eric Shuster will be providing a series of blog posts summarizing various sections of his upcoming book Where are the Christians? due to be released this spring from Cedar Fort, Inc. We will feature one post each week from now until May 2013. For more information visit www.findyourchristianity.com.

* * *

SECTION 2: WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?—a Definition

Chapter 7: It’s Revealing According to the Data

The two part definition of a Christian developed in chapter 6 can be put to the test; however, such a test is not trivial. Measuring belief and practice is complex and thus the caution of Jesus Christ to “Judge not according to the appearance” (John 7:24). Chapter 7 doesn’t seek to judge, but rather to measure how well various Christian denominations are performing in inspiring their members to be strong Believing and Practicing Christians.

To achieve an accurate measurement of effectiveness Shuster analyzes data from three robust landmark quantitative studies conducted in the United States from 2000 to 2008—one from the Barna Group and two from the National Survey of Youth and Religion (NSYR). All three studies are highly respected and widely sourced in the public domain for religiosity across a large number of behavioral attributes.

Because of alignment issues with the three studies it was necessary to select 12 common attributes from all three. There are four attributes relating to belief (belief in Jesus Christ, God, the importance of faith and the reality of evil) and eight attributes relating to practice (praying, reading the Bible, attending church, attending Sunday School, attending small group activities, volunteering, sharing the gospel and tithing). The Barna study covered adults and the two NSYR studies covered youth and young adults allowing for sound coverage of the full spectrum of denominational adherents. To simplify the analysis the vast number of Christian denominations is consolidated into five categories using the REKTRAD method: Conservative Protestants, Mainline Protestants, Black Protestants, Roman Catholics and Mormons (LDS).

This unprecedented exercise has its limitations due to the variation of faith traditions between denominations, the comparability of attributes between studies and the accuracy of applying a quantitative measurement to something that is inherently qualitative. Nonetheless the results were extremely informative:

• There are more Believing Christians than Practicing Christians across all denominations

• There is a decrease of belief and practice with age (Mormons being the exception)

• Conservative Protestants generally performed well across all 12 attributes

• Mainline Protestants tend to reflect the mainstream of the Christian population (the average)

• Catholics lag behind all denominations in belief and practice across all age categories

• Mormons recorded the highest composite scores among all Christian denominations

• Lots of other surprises and a few jaw droppers

Looking ahead, chapter 13 includes an exclusive exercise a Christian can take that will categorize that Christian into one of five types covered in Section 3 of the book (go to www.findyourchristianity.com to take the survey). Perhaps instead of asking someone “Are you Christian,” the more relevant question might be “How strong of a Christian are you?” or “What type of a Christian are you?” Next we will study the critics who desire to make this more complicated for their own benefit.

Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to order the book.