The decline of Christianity in America, and the dazzling rise of those who identify as religiously unaffiliated, emphasize something that’s been true for a long time but has really come to light over the last decade or so.
Mainstream Christianity nowadays comes across as weak and defective and pretty indefensible in the public square. The way forward is simple, even though some will find it contentious. It’s original to the earliest Christians and it’s hidden in plain sight in the Gospels and Paul’s epistles.
It clearly works because it’s already been proven to do so.
Once upon a time, members of a tiny Jewish sect called The Way…with the deck overwhelmingly stacked against them…garnered the attention, and eventually, the adoration of the Roman Empire that had previously tried to eradicate it. So maybe the church nowadays oughta follow their lead instead of doing much of what it’s doing today…which clearly isn’t working too good anyway…and take notes from those earliest Christians who are credited with turning not only the Roman Empire upside down, but also eventually evangelizing the world.
