Should the Church Strive for Influence?

Evangelism... and then what?

Well, it seems the hot topic of the day is Christendom and the decline of Christian influence in society. I shared my thoughts on FB, but it’s probably better to flesh out my case here.

Let’s talk about whether Christian influence on societies and government is a good thing or a bad thing.

If you’ve read much on this site, you probably don’t have to guess where I stand. Christian attempts to influence society and government are not only good—they are necessary.

I will once again shout this from the rooftops: culture warring is pre-evangelism.

Culture war and pushing for influence is icky, I know. You have to get your hands dirty. It’s not a pietistic, purely spiritual pursuit, and for that many Christians view it to be wrong.

To be honest, there was a time I held the same belief. I understand the impulse.

But on the other hand, it is nonsensical and should be acknowledged as such. It’s gnostic, evangelism-only thinking. It’s stuck-in-the-first-century thinking.

As the Christians of the first few centuries were imprisoned and martyred, the church continued to grow. But then what? We have to view their martyrdom as much the same as the lives laid down on Omaha Beach at D-Day. Victory wasn’t won at Omaha beach simply because they died. The war didn’t end there. Rather, later victory was made possible by their deaths.

In like manner, the martyrs didn’t die so everybody else after them would suffer the same fate in perpetuity. The martyrs died to spread the leaven and grow the mustard tree (Matthew 13:31-33) so not everybody would have to.

And that’s exactly what happened. All the good things we enjoy are the shade of the mustard tree planted by Jesus and watered by the blood of the martyrs. Your freedom of worship was purchased by the church’s influence on government and society. Your freedom to preach the Gospel was purchased by the church’s influence on government and society. Your freedom to openly raise your children in the faith was purchased by the church’s influence on government and society.

We don’t have to have any of those things. But to say they aren’t a blessing would be bizarre. But more importantly:

The overwhelming majority of Christians today can draw a straight line from their baptism back to Christian cultural influence in some form.

My grandmother came to the faith by walking to the church at the end of her street as a child. Without that, I would not be writing these words today. None of my contemporaries in China can claim the same of their grandmothers.

One of the best men I’ve ever known was converted thanks to his local congregation’s joy bus program. There is no joy bus program in Iran.

How many others were converted by a campus ministry, or by a missionary funded by America’s freedom and prosperity, or by a Google search where the truth was freely available, or any other of resources which have the fingerprints of Christendom all over them?

But Christian influence isn’t just good for evangelism.

There were no children in the 1960s who were groomed by teachers, doctors, the internet, or even their parents into hormone treatment and genital reassignment surgeries. Today, there are. These people’s lives are being destroyed because the roadblock of Christian influence on government has diminished. Are you “welcoming” that?

Opponents of abortion laws (even “Christian” opponents) argue it would be better to provide economic support so no woman would even consider abortion. Setting aside that this totally misses the truth of human wickedness and plenty of them do it out of convenience rather than hardship factors, this does not mean we shouldn’t have laws. Anti-abortion laws don't just save the child’s life. They also prevent women from harming themselves emotionally and physically, too. It is a blessing to everyone when anti-abortion laws are passed. Or was I supposed to “mourn” the removal of Roe v. Wade?

Or, how about in the wake of MLK Day, let’s talk about the blessing of emancipation and equality. Was that Christian influence also a bad thing? I won’t hold my breath waiting on the anabaptists to disavow those laws. Do you feel we “watered down true Christianity” when you see a black man in the same restaurant as you?

We haven’t even discussed the fact this whole discussion started on a free speech platform on devices created by free markets, both of which are results of Christian society.

The level of ingratitude it takes to sit on the riches of 2,000 years of hard work and pretend todays church has been dealt a bad hand is gobsmacking. Could we use our influence better at times? Certainly. Should we give up the enterprise entirely because it’s been done poorly? Of course not.

Christian influence, Christendom, whatever you want to call it, has been the greatest good the world has ever known.

When the kings of earth choose to kiss the Son rather than be shattered by Him (Psalm 2:9-12), it’s actually a good thing.

When the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into the city of God (Revelation 21:24), as many of them did for centuries under Christendom, it was actually a good thing. Not a perfect thing, but a good thing.

When governments execute laws in accordance with God’s will because they realize they are ministers of God commissioned to do exactly that (Romans 13:1-5; 1 Peter 2:13-14), it’s actually a good thing.

When today’s Christians long and pray for the righteous to increase (Proverbs 29:2, 4, 12, 16, 18), producing a government which will align with these truths, it’s actually a good thing.

Anybody who says otherwise does not understand history or God’s work of claiming the world for its king, Jesus Christ. Go read Michael Malice’s The White Pill on life in the USSR or Dear Reader on North Korea’s Kim regime and see if a society freed from the shackles of Christian influence is what you want for your kids, your church family, or the lost.

Christian influence is a good thing, and every Christian needs to be actively working toward it.