Trees, Leaves and Churches

A friend from Europe recently asked me about the visibility of churches in America, versus the private practice of religion in Europe. I ranted a bit, but some may be interested in a piece of my response:

Yes, the US is a big country and so there are probably a lot of differences between each region. The northern states are still very different than the southern states, and having lived in both I can say this is so from experience. But here are my overall impressions of American Evangelicalism -- for better or for worse:

Your friends are correct in the sense that religion is 'out in the open' here. The problem I find is that public religion is almost cartoonish (yes, like Mickey Mouse!). Bigger is 'better' here, so churches try to cram as many people they can into large buildings (the American cathedral is a large, square, brick building that holds a lot of people in the sanctuary, with wide seats, air conditioning, and one hour services... the aescetic is almost industrial.) The 'seeker friendly', 'purpose driven' church are American franchises, and it's something we are exporting to the world.

Here's where I personally think we are exporting the wrong thing. I know I probably sound a bit negative -- so forgive my rant if that is so -- but it seems to me that the visible success of the American church is really quite deceiving. The invisible is so lacking. Authentic sprituality and genuine Christian community is a rare find. It's here. And you probably have a better chance of finding it here than you do in Europe, I am aware of that. The problem is that the leaves and flowers that people see on the large trees of American evangelicalism are really quite deceptive, because I don't believe we have or understand the need for the deep roots of the timeless message of the Christian faith. We can get a few big churches, but if you look at the impact the churches are having in the transformation of people's lives -- it's frighteningly minimal. God is not majestically supreme, as I believe he ought to be. Therefore, although we look healthy because of all the show (leaves), our successes are weak when the leaves are removed and the lack of root is exposed. I fear that it won't take a great storm to make it all come tumbling down ...

I am probably overly critical -- and if so , I do apologize. But really it's not even what I 'see' that concerns me - it's what I don't see. I don't see God as central in the lives of professing Christians. I don't see the values of community and prayer and creative service and the truth of Scripture as being that important in the lives of people in churches. There is a small community that is forming around these values at my church in Tennessee -- and I suppose that God has given me the privilege to shepherd and thus speak these values into the lives of those with whom I have influence -- and for that I am humbled and grateful. So God is not absent. But I think he's working much more subversively than our headlines and politicians would lead you to believe. I probably shouldn't be so hard on our culture. But in another sense -- I feel like it's my job.

So in the end - yes, religion in America is quite visible. However, true Christianity is harder to find -- and people should be careful before equating the visible with the authentic. That sounds harsh, but I also think it's Biblical. Think: Jesus speaking of wheat ... living with weeds... and it being very difficult to tell the difference until harvest time.